Greetings, Band Alumni!

I hope this message finds you all enjoying a wonderful summer so far!

Now that I have been “official” for one entire month, I wanted to reach out to say, “Hello!” and to give you a few updates of what has been happening in the Band Office.

The month has been filled with meeting a lot of folks and trying to learn as much as possible about all things MSOM. I was very grateful to have the opportunity to meet with the UMBAO officers mid-June. There was lots of ground to cover, but lots of exciting opportunities are ahead! In the coming months we will be bringing you all more details about this year’s Homecoming celebration (it’s our 110th year!) as well as opportunities to interact with the current members of MSOM during Early Week. You as alumni are an integral part of the past, present, and future success of the Maryland Bands and we look forward to strengthening the ties that bind. I consider meeting and interacting with the alumni a very important aspect of my position and look forward to meeting and working with all of you.

UMBAO is starting a series of raffles to raise money for the L. Richmond Sparks Mighty Sound of Maryland Fund.  Our kick-off item is especially for the Band Alums - the Block M Blanket!  

This online raffle will now run through NOON on Friday, August 25, 2017, and Rich Sparks will draw the winning ticket at the BYOP (Bring-Your-Own-Picnic to the Friday night rehearsal of Early Week).  You do not need to be present to win, but we hope you will be at the picnic.

Single tickets are only $5, and bundles are available.  Be the envy of all the Band Alums!  You only have until NOON on Friday to purchase tickets, so get yours today! 

For more information, and to get tickets, go to: go.rallyup.com/lrsmsom

Please help us raise money for the LRS MSOM Fund - Share this with your band family and friends today!

To donate directly to the LRS MSOM fund, go to: go.umd.edu/LRSMSOM

Homecoming 2015
Saturday, November 7th
Maryland vs. Wisconsin

It’s an exciting time at the University of Maryland!

The Maryland Band’s very own Eli Osterloh is at the helm of the Mighty Sound of Maryland! The Endowment fund is building! And the Terps are now 2-1!

Be a part of the alumni band action at Homecoming 2015 on Saturday, November 7th. Kickoff is at 3:30, so reserve the whole day! Keep an eye on your email and this website for details.

You can help raise money for UMBAO and the L. Richmond Sparks Mighty Sound Of Maryland Fund just by participating in Homecoming!

How? It’s an “Incentive Event”. If the Alumni Band has 25 or more alumni graduates spanning at least four decades, UMBAO will be eligible to receive an incentive bonus from the Alumni Association. It’s that easy — and no checkbook required!

So come out and support the band… and the Terps, too!

For those who haven't heard the news yet, Dr. Sparks announced his retirement at the football game this past weekend. He will be around throughout the rest of the school year, so come by College Park to say congratulations. We will post more details and announcements soon.

Many alumni have been posting their personal stories about Dr. Sparks to Facebook, so please take a look at the MSOM group to see those anecdotes and write your own.

Congratulations Dr. Sparks!

Members of the 2014 (first year in the BIG !10), MSOM and Alumni Marching Bands:

We are about to embark on an exciting new project relating to the history of the University of Maryland Bands, and we need your help! In 2007-2008, as we worked on the Bands’ centennial history, Musical Ambassadors of Maryland, we gathered a great number of anecdotes, memories, and interviews to include in the book, many of which we drew upon as we compiled the text. We weren’t able to include everything, however, and we would like to use this new book to bring the Bands’ history up to the present. We are looking for additional anecdotes about any era of band history, and we are especially interested in events since the centennial year, including the first year in the Big Ten. We would like to compile these recollections into a new book, which we plan to release during Homecoming 2015.

If you're in the College Park area around lunchtime, Larry Jacobson will be lecturing at UMD School of Music next Monday, May 5th at 12pm about his book, Demystifying Success: The Thinks They Don't Teach You in High School, and other topics.  For more information, please contact the School of Music at 301-405-5549. 

https://www.music.umd.edu/alumni_and_donors/board_of_visitors/lawrence_jacobson