Marching Hawks 2026 - Preliminary Information

The Marching Hawks perform at the South County Invitational, September 20, 2025.

It is hard to believe, but it is time to start preparing for the 2026 Marching Hawks season. Plans are well underway for our Spring Training event and beyond, so here’s some preliminary information to help you plan your summer.

Band Camp Dates

August 3-7 and August 10-14, from 8:00am to 4:30pm – please do your best to make sure all students are at band camp for both weeks!

August 18 and 19; 5:00-8:00pm

Fees

The current projection is for a slight increase in fees to $320.00 total for the season due to a rise in transportation and production costs. These fees will be assessed in the Fall of 2026 via MySchoolBucks invoicing. Additional fees assessed via the School Store as follows:

• Color Guard Fee - $45.00 – Covers a portion of color guard-specific items.

• Shoe Fee - $40.00 – For first-time Marching Hawks members, or returning members needing to replace their shoes.

• Percussion Fee - $30.00 – FCPS-required fee for all percussion (Battery and Front Ensemble) members for use of school instruments (FCPS N5922)

Spring Training 2026 – May 13 and 14; 3:30-6:00pm

All returning members of the Marching Hawks are invited to participate in the two-day Spring Training event! This serves as a recruitment opportunity for new members as well as instructional time for returning members. Attendance is not mandatory to participate in the 2026 Marching Hawks, but is HIGHLY encouraged!

Links

Our way-too-early 2026 presentation is available below, as well as a registration form for the Spring Training event and season if students already know they want to participate.

Marching Hawks 2026 Presentation

Marching Hawks Spring Training 2026 Form

Marching Hawks 2026 Commitment Form

As always, if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them. I am still waiting on the football schedule to determine our performance schedule for the season. I will send that information out as soon as possible. I’m looking forward to another great year for the Marching Hawks!

Concert Band Assessment, Indoor Percussion & Winter Guard Deliver Strong Results

On March 11 and March 12, all three Hayfield concert bands participating in the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association Concert Assessment received a Superior rating! Congratulations to the students in the Concert Band, the Symphonic Band, and the Wind Ensemble on this accomplishment!

Participating in a recent competition at South County High School, Hayfield students playing with the South County Combined indoor percussion group earned a second-place finish for their show, “Redacted.” At the same contest, Hayfield’s indoor guard performed their show “Under My Umbrella,” finishing fourth!

March 2026 Newsletter

Hayfield Bands Pre-Assessment Concert on February 26, 2026.

Upcoming Dates

Winter guard and South County Indoor Perc @ South County HS

• Saturday, March 7; Guard 10:36am, Perc 9:57pm

Assessment Rehearsals

• Monday, March 9; Concert Band, 3:00-4:30pm

• Tuesday, March 10; Symphonic Band, 3:00-4:30pm

Assessment Performances

• Concert Band - Wednesday, March 11; 2:05pm

• Symphonic Band - Thursday, March 12; 1:30pm

• Wind Ensemble - Thursday, March 12; 5:10pm

All Assessment Performances are at West Potomac High School; free and open to the public, we’d love to see you there!

Percussion Ensemble Concert

• Wednesday, March 25; 6:30pm in MS Lecture Hall

Spring Break

• March 30-April 3

NYC Spring Trip

• Thursday, April 9 - Friday, April 10

Solo and Ensemble Festival

• Saturday, April 25

2026-2027 Course Scheduling

As we continue into March, rising 10-12 grade students are making the course selection process for next year. Visit this slide show for details about the following course selections, which are available for all band students.

Percussion Ensemble 925015

• This is a percussion-only course open to all students. Students in this course will serve as the percussion sections for the Concert or Symphonic bands, as well as participate in Percussion Ensembles of their own.

Band 923315

• This is the Concert Band course. There is no audition for this group. Open to all woodwind and brass students with at least one year of experience on their instruments.

Advanced Band 923415

• This is the Symphonic Band course. It is an auditioned group (see below) and open to all woodwind and brass students.

Advanced Band 923416

• This is the Wind Ensemble course. It is an auditioned group (see below), and is the most advanced band class offered to students. This course is open to all woodwind, brass, and percussion students.

All students enrolled in an Advanced Band course that also participate in Marching Band will receive a 0.5 honors-weighted credit.

Students with an FCPS login can visit this page for more information about auditions.

Marching Hawks 2026

The Marching Hawks 2026 season is fast approaching! Here are some key dates to help you prepare:

• May 13-14 - Marching Hawks Spring Training

• June 1 - MH Commitment Forms Due

• August 3-7; 10-14 - Marching Hawks Band Camp

For more details on the experience of being part of the Marching Hawks, visit this slide show.

Band Boosters Vacancies

Are you interested in joining the Hayfield Band Booster Board? The Hayfield Band Boosters will have multiple vacancies next year in positions that are vital to the operation of our band program. If you are interested in joining the board, please visit these descriptions of all positions and reach out to Mr. Specketer or email the boosters at hayfieldbandboosters@gmail.com.

Week of February 23

Important Dates This Week

This week, the Hayfield bands have two rehearsals and a pre-assessment concert.

Tuesday, February 24 Concert Band Rehearsal; 3:00-4:30pm

Wednesday, February 25 Symphonic Band Rehearsal; 3:00-4:30pm

Thursday, February 26 Pre-Assessment Concert; high school bands begin at 7:00pm

All-Virginia Auditions

Additionally, qualifying students will travel to JMU on Saturday, February 28 to audition for the All-Virginia ensembles. Qualifying students have been given their registration forms that they MUST bring with them for the audition. Please ensure that students have these forms – no digital forms will be accepted.

Good luck in the auditions, Hawks!

Week of February 9 Rehearsals

Reminder about rehearsals this week:

• Concert Band (Period 6 and Period 7 Band classes) - Tuesday, Feb 10; 3:00-4:30pm

• Symphonic Band (Period 2 Band Class) - Wednesday, Feb 11; 3:00-4:30pm

• Wind Ensemble (Period 5 Band Class) - Wednesday, Feb 11; 6:00-8:00pm

All rehearsals are required and graded.