Watch Video FAMU’s Marching 100 Presented to “Hot” Battle of The Bands
The Marching 100 performed their version of “Hot” by Young Thug.
FAMU Marching 100
If there was ever any doubt about the worldwide reputation of Florida A&M University’s “incomparable” Marching 100 band, that has been erased by fashion industry giant Louis Vuitton.
The billion-dollar company invited the band to perform at Louis Vuitton’s men’s Paris Fashion Week show in France on June 23 during an all-expenses-paid trip.
“As soon as the news broke, my parents called me to ask if I would go to Paris with the band,” said Jadon Roberts, a spring 2022 FAMU graduate and returning drum major from Atlanta, Ga., who will go in trip. . “I didn’t have to tell them, they already knew.”
Selected band members will perform during a 30-minute segment in the fashion show with a special surprise artist, all while wearing trademark Louis Vuitton garments.
Band members currently out of town will return to Tallahassee on Wednesday for rehearsals June 15, 16 and 17 before their flight the following day. All flights are scheduled to leave Atlanta on Saturday.
FAMU band director and music teacher Shelby Chipman received the invitation from company representative Max Leader on May 31.
“I took the call and the gentleman said he represented Louis Vuitton. They’ve seen our videos and wanted us to perform at the men’s fashion show in Paris,” Chipman said in a prepared statement. “I almost dropped my phone. I am so excited that our students have this opportunity.”
Louis Vuitton is a luxury fashion brand. A previous Paris fashion show held by the company in January attracted many celebrities, including Venus Williams, Dave Chappelle and Naomi Campbell, who walked the runway. Paris Fashion Week is a series of designer presentations that take place twice a year where famous brands stage their runway shows.
Paris fashion week coverage
Trip to Paris with all expenses paid for 35 of the 100
Design and production agency We Love Art will sponsor the trip, according to Chipman. Expenses covered include flights, meals, and hotel accommodation, leaving students and staff with no costs to pay.
Representatives for Louis Vuitton and We Love Art have not been available to speak about the event.
Although the Marching 100 consists of more than 200 band members, the invitation is for 35 of them to perform. They will be joined by ten staff members who usually travel with students, including Chipman, Assistant Director of Bands Shaylor James, and Music Department Chair and Band Arranger Lindsey Sarjeant.
“Honestly, I didn’t even think I was going to get a chance to go,” said Stephanie Brown, a FAMU sophomore and rank sergeant from Orlando, Fla., who plays trumpet. I thought other students would probably get a chance before me.”
How the band prepares for the big day
Chipman selected the students during an emergency opportunity meeting via Zoom. The designated section leaders were chosen first before moving on to the other members who were able to go.
All sections that are normally represented, from drum majors and flags to piccolos, clarinets, saxophones and percussion, were also considered in determining which students would be selected.
With the trip to Paris only a few days away, the band is preparing as quickly as possible. A rehearsal is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon on campus.
Students and staff with expired passports are being assisted by the Miami Passport Agency and the Atlanta Passport Agency to expedite the renewal process.
To comply with CDC requirements, the band and staff members will also need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours before flying to France.
It is not his first time in Paris.
Paris’s fanaticism for Tallahassee community marching bands dates back to 1989, when the Marching 100 was invited to perform in the Bastille Day Parade to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. Most recently, Florida State University Marching Chiefs were invited in 2019 to perform in France’s D-Day Normandy Parade.
The Marching 100 has been onstage with music legend Prince, whom the band backed during the 2007 Super Bowl halftime show. The fashion show’s mystery artist could be a breakout artist, too.
Marching 100 band members also performed at the 2021 NFL Super Bowl pregame concert in Tampa last September and the 2021 NBA Allstar Game in Atlanta.
FAMU March 100 in the headlines:
“It is wonderful that the Marching ‘100’ is returning to Paris for the Louis Vuitton fashion show as they did for Bastille Day in 1989,” FAMU President Larry Robinson said in a statement. “The ‘100’ March is a symbol of the excellence of FAMU students and the expertise and care of our Music Department faculty and staff. We can’t wait to see them surprise the city of Paris once again.”
As momentum builds, this is what it looks like
Chipman was one of the students who performed in the 1989 parade, which marked his last performance with the band.
“I’m so excited that we get this chance to come back to Paris the way we come back this time, which is a little bit different than the last time we had to go for the show,” Chipman said. “You can even feel the momentum starting to build day by day here in the Tallahassee area now that it’s a fixed thing that we’re going to.”
While in Paris, rehearsals for the fashion show will take place on June 19, 20, 21 and 22. The students will perform at the Louvre Museum on June 23 at 2:30 pm GMT+2 or 8:30 am ET. Following the performance, the band and staff members will fly back to Atlanta on June 24.
The show will be streamed live on the Paris Fashion Week website at https://parisfashionweek.fhcm.paris/en/shows/louis-vuitton-6/.
Contact Tarah Jean at [email protected] or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_.
Source: www.tallahassee.com