Crofton Resident to Perform with JMU Marching Band in Europe

Rachel Ann Siegfried of Crofton will perform with the Marching Royal Dukes of James Madison University in the 25th annual London New Year's Day Parade. This event is part of the band's Dec. 27-Jan. 4 European tour.
 
Siegfried plays the flute and is one of more than 250 of the marching band's 447 members making the trip.

The band is among about 25 bands expected to play in London's silver anniversary parade, recognized as the second biggest single-day event in London's calendar. Parade organizers said the event attracts more than 500,000 spectators.

The upcoming London trip marks the fifth tour abroad for the collegiate band which was formed in 1972. The Marching Royal Dukes performed in Germany, France, Italy and Monaco in 1997, in Athens in 2000 and Dublin in 2003 and 2006.
 
Scott Rikkers, director of the Marching Royal Dukes and assistant director of bands at JMU said that the tour is a great enrichment opportunity for the students.

"They are able to travel with their peers and friends in an extension of their college experiencw," said Rikkers. 

The band received what is known as the Heisman Trophy of collegiate  marching bands. in 1994 when The John Philip Sousa Foundation named the Marching Royal Dukes recipients of the Sudler Trophy. The band has also performed in inaugural parades and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

For more information about the Marching Royal Dukes, visit their website at http://www.jmu.edu/music/mrd/.