The Fabulous Marching Cavaliers, also abbreviated to FMC, is the marching band of

Princess Anne High School Princess Anne High School (PAHS) is one of 11 high schools in the Virginia Beach City Public School System. The school features, as its academy, the International Baccalaureate Programme. Opened in 1954, it is the oldest remaining high school in ...

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

, United States.

History

The FMC was founded in the 1950's and was called "Fabulous Marching Cavaliers" for the first time in 1967, being initially just called the Marching Cavaliers. According to Director John Boyd, as they came onto the field for a halftime show, the announcer, the 1965-1979 director Ron Collins, said: "Here come your ''fabulous'' Marching Cavaliers!" The name ended up sticking. Collins also came up with the band's motto, Unity with Pride. In 1984, the FMC participated in the 58th Annual

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States ...

Leadership

The current director of the FMC is John Boyd, who has led the band since 2001. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in musical education from

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU or Jax State) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, mas ...

in 1997, and he was formerly the director of bands at Henry E. Lackey High School in

Indian Head, Maryland Indian Head is a town in Charles County, Maryland, Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,894 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. It has been the site of a naval base specializing in gun and rocket propellan ...

. The FMC has a wide variety of student leadership positions, including drum major, field captain, and various lieutenants. There are also non-leadership positions, such as water crew captain and scaffolding crew captain.

Shows

This is a list of the FMC's shows since 1997: * 2024: Bazaar Harmonies * 2023: 11.8.89 Tear Down The Wall * 2022: Open Mic * 2021: Dreams Not Yet Dreamt * Spring 2021 COVID mitigation: The Crown * 2019: From Many: One * 2018: Watching You * 2017: La Rosa * 2016: Stargazer * 2015: Against the Dark * 2014: Nevermore * 2013: Clones * 2012: The Red Square * 2011: Gold Rush * 2010: Quartet * 2009: In xerior * 2008: Symphony in Black * 2007: Superstitious * 2006: Con-zen-tric * 2005: The Composition * 2004: Emoticons * 2003: Race!!! * 2002: Music for the Dark Sky * 2001: Images of Osiris * 2000: The Music of Ron Nelson * 1998: On the Waterfront * 1997: Africa

Awards

The FMC has won the Class AA State Championship award of the Virginia Marching Band Cooperative four times: first in 2018, and then in 2019, 2021, and 2023. In 2024 the FMC won the VMBC State Championships in Class AAA.

''Piece by Piece''

In April 2023, The FMC was reached out to by

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

, a former alumnus, in hopes of them performing for his new biographical film '' Piece by Piece''. The band ended up recording the film's titular musical number, " Piece by Piece". The song released on

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

on September 6, 2024. The FMC was invited up to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to perform for

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

, all paid for by Pharrell's team. They performed in the 8-o-clock hour, appearing on the show alongside Pharrell in an interview. The band performed two segments from the song "Piece by Piece," along with the song "Whack Whack". Later that day, the band visited Jazz at the Lincoln Center to perform for the film's red carpet premier. Last-minute, they were given tickets to view the film alongside celebrities like

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani Shelton ( ; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani rose to fame as a member and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, whose hit singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderwebs", an ...

and

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

References

{{reflist High school marching bands from the United States Education in Virginia Beach, Virginia 1969 establishments in Virginia