SALISBURY, Md. – Members of the Salisbury University Marching Band recently joined the Washington Commanders Marching Band for a joint rehearsal in District Heights, Md., giving Sea Gull musicians a chance to practice alongside one of the NFL’s most visible ensembles.
Students learned the team’s fight song, “Hail to the Commanders,” directly from the pros during a weekly practice session attended by musicians who perform before tens of thousands of fans at every Washington home game.
The collaboration comes as Salisbury University’s marching band returns to campus life for the first time in more than 40 years. Originally active from 1972 to 1982, the band was revived this year and made its public debut during the university’s Centennial celebration earlier in the semester.
“We are grateful to Maestro Jeffrey Sean Dokken and the Washington Commanders Marching Band for hosting and providing our students with the opportunity to not only observe, but participate in, a professional football team’s marching band rehearsal,” said Dennis Senkbeil, SU marching band director. “We are excited to build this relationship and look forward to the possibility of similar activities in the future.”
A video from the event is available on Salisbury University’s YouTube page.
The practice marks the latest partnership between SU and the Commanders. In May, head coach and SU alumnus Dan Quinn delivered a commencement address that went viral. Quinn and his wife, Stacey, both SU graduates, have supported the university through three athletic endowments and received honorary Doctor of Public Service degrees last spring.