Greek Spotlight and Honor Band

KKY, TBS, and DO are the three Greek musical organizations offered at Virginia Tech. Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma are the National Honorary Band Service Fraternity and Sorority, respectively, while Delta Omicron is an International Music Fraternity. All of these organizations work to advance the field of music here at VT. 

Virginia Tech is home to the Zeta Omicron chapter of Tau Beta Sigma, founded here in 1979. Tau Beta Sigma runs familiar programming such as the Marching Virginians merchandise, Spirit Week, and assisting the School of Performing Arts during Moss Arts Center performances. They work jointly with the Eta Beta chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, which facilitates instrument moves as well as other service events. To be in either organization, you must be enrolled in one semester of an ensemble here at Virginia Tech. 

Tau Beta Sigma after Third Degree (contributed by TBS)

These organizations hold students from all different majors and instruments, with their primary goal being to do service for the ensembles here in the School of Performing Arts. Due to them being joint brother and sister organizations, events such as the Marching Virginians Cookout and Honor Band are often facilitated by both. You can often find a member of either organization wearing Blue and White jerseys with their respective Greek letters on the front when doing events for the SOPA! 

Lastly, our department is home to the Gamma Mu chapter of Delta Omicron. Delta Omicron is the International Music Fraternity, whose purpose is to “promote and support excellence in music and musicianship.” Delta Omicron is comprised of outstanding music majors and minors here at VT. These students are intimately involved in the department outside of their academic hours; they work hard to promote the welfare of collegiate music programs and fortify the music educators of tomorrow. They can be found in purple jerseys with their Greek letters on the front!

Tau Beta Sigma and Kappa Kappa Psi at MV Band Camp (contributed by TBS)

Honor Band is an event for high school students in the greater Southwest Virginia area to come to our campus and perform in the Moss Arts Center. These students audition for band placement, and then come to Blacksburg to work on some amazing music with each other. It is a huge opportunity for high school students to get to interact with college musicians and see music as an opportunity for them in their future. The three organizations work hard to help facilitate Honor Band for the School of Performing Arts. 

Members of Tau Beta Sigma, Kappa Kappa Psi, and Delta Omicron do things from setting up chairs and stands, stuffing folders full of music, and working backstage to move instruments during the Honor Band performance. These students work hard to help the show function smoothly and are another positive representation of the School of Performing Arts. 

This year, we had 338 students signed up for Honor Band! It is truly amazing to see how many talented musicians want to come out and do the thing that bonds us all together: make music. We are so glad that all these students, teachers, and parents take time out of their busy schedules to come and have this amazing time together. 

Delta Omicron (contributed by DO)

Thank you Kappa Kappa Psi, Tau Beta Sigma, and Delta Omicron for all that you do!

Tau Beta Sigma President: Gracie Maslyn, vgmaslyn2025@vt.edu

Kappa Kappa Psi President: Daniel Gaete danielg02@vt.edu

Delta Omicron President: Ethan Bowser ebowser23@vt.edu 

Part 2: Let's Go Bowling! - VT vs Tulane

Parading through Annapolis. Photo credit to Robert White.

On the second day of the bowl game, the MVs tackled two opponents: a morning parade and the big event, The Military Bowl!

Before the sun had even touched the D.C. skyline, the MVs were up, dressed, and on the buses. Once the band arrived at the parade start site, we quickly ate a delightful breakfast and warmed up. The 1.6-mile-long route took the band on a tour of Annapolis where countless bowl game attendees greeted the band in high spirits! During the parade, the MVs played our classic marching medleys of drum cadences, Hokie Pokie, and Tech Triumph. As the parade finished up, the MVs headed back to the buses for a quick snack. At this time, a few of the band’s senior members performed for the President’s Reception and Hokie Club Reception.

Kicking to victory! Photo credit to Robert White.

After a short break, the MVs were recharged and ready for the big game! Together, the band marched into the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and took our seats in Section H. As the clock counted down to the beginning of the season’s end a familiar song pierced the air. Known to every Hokie fan, “Enter Sandman” by Metallica rang through the stadium. Like an earthquake, the stadium began to shake as the fans and band began to jump. The cheers for the VT football team were the loudest all season as the team charged onto the field. The team took its place, and the game began!

Halftime at the Bowl! Photo credit to Robert White.

By the end of the second quarter, VT had a strong 17-10 start to Tulane. This was despite a return of the MVs’ season enemy: rain. Fortunately, the first half experienced only a slight drizzle which let up by halftime. For the Military Bowl, the MVs put on a selection of our Metallica show. This consisted of songs such as “Fade to Black,” “Wherever I May Roam,” and … “Enter Sandman”! The band played “Tech Triumph” off the field, and we returned to our seats to watch the Tulane performance.

Return of the rain! Photo credit to Robert White.

As the second half picked up, unfortunately, so did the rain. This did not stop the football team from driving into Tulane’s defense, and it did not stop the band from playing to the end. At the close of the game, and the 2023 season, Virginia Tech won 41-20. This was the first bowl game win for all current members of the MVs, and we marched from the stadium proud to be a part of Virginia Tech.

To all Hokie football fans, we will see you again in Lane Stadium on September 7th.

Part 1: Let's Go Bowling! - VT vs Tulane

So, we didn’t actually go bowling — we got to go to a bowl game with the Hokies! Our super awesome football team, working tirelessly throughout this last football season, made it to the 2023-2024 Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland. Naturally, they needed the assistance of the Marching Virginians.

So, off we went on our journey to win the bowl game!

Two peas in a pod! Photo credit to Robert White.

Our trip began with buses throughout Virginia picking up MVs. Since many Hokies are on a much-deserved winter break, most of the band wasn’t in Blacksburg. Lots of arrangements were made in order for each of us to make it to Washington, D.C., where we would stay during our trip.

Some of us flew, some of us drove ourselves, and a lot of us rode the bus. Nevertheless, each of the MVs were ready to win the bowl game against Tulane.

Last rehearsal with the MVs. Photo credit to Robert White.

Before the busses got to the hotel, we made a pit stop at McLean High School in McLean, Virginia. Here the Marching Virginians had a super quick break for pizza, and then it was off to the field to do one more run of our halftime show.

We prepared an abbreviated version of one of our favorite shows, Metallica, for the bowl game. This was a show that we had already performed in Lane Stadium, so it was less stressful than having to learn a whole new one during finals season! We ran through a couple fun stand tunes, the music for the show, and then put the show on the field. After a couple announcements from Dr. Polly and Chad, we were back onto the buses to drive to our hotel in Washington, D.C.!

Once we reached the beautiful Washington Hilton hotel, the MVs ventured down to one of the conference rooms to pick up their super cool swag! After picking up our swag, we hopped into bed very early. We had quite a big day ahead of us!

read Part 2 by Seth Boehringer for more of our Bowl Game recap!

January 11 correction: the captions previously attributed the photos to MV Online Content. The attributions have been changed to Robert White.