College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

By Elisabeth Watson ’26

The University of Dayton Pride of Dayton Marching Band will debut a new James Bond-themed show in June at London Band Week.

Family, friends and supporters of the band can catch a sneak preview of their performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at the UD Roger Glass Center for the Arts.

The London send-off concert is free and open to the public. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are not required.

London Band Week is an invite-only global marching band celebration that takes place every year in London, England. This year’s event is June 23-30. 

“This is a really special trip. Everyone is really excited to perform, but also explore London,” said Kenneth Will, senior lecturer and Pride of Dayton director, who has led the band since 2016

More than 160 students, plus faculty and more than 100 supporters, will make the trip. For many, it will be their first opportunity to travel — and perform — in another country.

This will be the band's first time participating in London Band Week, Previously, the band performed in the 2022 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland. 

“When we do these trips, often I'm asking the band, ‘How many of you have flown before?’ And for a significant number, this is the first time they're getting on an airplane,” Will said. “This is opening the world for a lot of these students to experience things they might not have done if they weren't involved in Pride of Dayton.”

Although the trip is primarily for the London Band Week events, the band also will be exploring the country. Students will visit historical sites such as Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and Stonehenge.

“I've been looking forward to it and saving up for a little bit of time, but being able to actually start preparing and getting the music ready has been really exciting,” says Rachel Gleberman, a junior music education major from Mason, Ohio, who is also the band’s assistant CEO. “It's been almost a year and a half of build-up and now we're actually preparing.” 

This trip was made possible because of fundraising efforts through Flyer Funder and other initiatives. 

The band’s appearances during their trip include performing in a parade at Hampton Court and at the London Tattoo, where they will perform a half-time show featuring their new medleys.

“It’s been a learning experience for all of us,” Will said. “Marching bands are very different in the United Kingdom. You have to remember we’re used to using yard lines on a football field — but meters are the standard of measurement in England. So we've had to come up with some creative solutions to adapt what we're used to for London.”

The Pride of Dayton will be performing Victory, Go Dayton Flyers, Neck and a few others songs before closing their show with Defying Gravity. They will also join nearly 1,000 musicians from across the UK for a joint performance including the Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines.

“All of the songs are my favorite,” Gleberman said. “I do like all of them, especially the James Bond medley. We're also doing some things that we have done here at Dayton for football games, like the UD fight song and some Dayton classics, which is exciting to bring to London Band Week.”

Will said students working together to make the trip possible is a big part of the experience.

“We are all going to come back home having shared new experiences and relationships with these people,” he said. “When these students graduate from the University of Dayton, they will have a diploma in their hand and these kinds of experiences to take with them into the world.”