News & Press

The Philadelphia Freedom Band (PFB) is excited to reveal our new drum major for the 2025 season! 

The Philadelphia Freedom Band's Board of Directors is thrilled to announce that Robin Coyne has been selected as the 2025 Drum Major. With a deep passion for music, leadership, and teamwork, Robin is ready to guide the band through an incredible season. Our marching band and color guard members who attended our Band Camp on April 26 have already seen her enthusiasm and skill in action—we’re in for something special!

Robin brings a wealth of experience to this role. She currently serves as the Penn Band Program Assistant and is an active member of the Flute section, as well as the Penn Band Alumni Sports Board. 

A dedicated musician and professional, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a Minor in Music in 2012, followed by a Master of Science in Nursing in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner in 2015. During her time as a student, Robin was an integral part of the Penn Band, first as a Conducting Assistant, then as Drum Major for two years. Robin currently resides just over the bridge in New Jersey with her husband Joe and their two sons.

If you are interested in joining PFB's marching band or color guard this season, please fill out our interest form and join us for rehearsal. Our next marching band practice will be held on Monday, May 12, at 7pm at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion (2111 Sansom St). 

Robin’s Drum Major debut will take place at the New Hope Pride Parade on Saturday, May 17—our first parade of the 2025 season. We can’t wait to see her passion and energy shine!

The Philadelphia Freedom Band is excited to announce that we now have TWO concert bands: Symphonic Band AND a new Wind Ensemble! 

The band has experienced massive growth in the past few years, to the point where we are already bursting at the seams in our new practice space, which we just moved to in 2022. Our hope is that the addition of the new wind ensemble will: 

• Offer differentiation, allowing musicians to choose the ensemble experience that best suits their needs and preferences.

• Further PFB's social mission, giving members a chance to feel known, build stronger connections, and develop greater familiarity inside and outside of rehearsal time.

• Provide sectional time, building in more time to focus on fundamentals, help musicians hone their skills, and hear one another.

• Reduce crowding and improve our growth potential, ensuring enough space for more wonderful people to comfortably join us!

• Improve musicianship and artistic satisfaction, allowing musicians in both bands to enjoy a more gratifying ensemble experience, with greater emphasis on expressive musical nuances.

Rehearsals for the concert bands will continue to be held on Monday nights from 7-10, with an alternating Week A and Week B schedule. Each band will have a rehearsal either from 7-8:40 or 8:50-10 while the other holds a sectional rehearsal in another room, rotating through different sections. Our concert will conclude with a joint performance of the combined “Megaband”! 

Rehearsals are held at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion in Center City, accessible via the 2111 Sansom St. entrance. 

Interested in joining one of the concert bands? Fill out the Join Us form to sign up for emails.

*NEW* WIND ENSEMBLE DETAILS 

• Recorded audition required for placement & seating 

• Auditions to be held in Fall only (no re-audition required for Spring season) 

• Striving for minimal part duplication (except where typically called for)

• Primarily Medium- Advanced to Advanced musical difficulty

• Greater expectation of independent music mastery

• For Fall 2024 season, audition materials will be posted 8/12/2024 – recorded auditions will be due on 9/2/2024

  • • • UPDATE 8/12/2024: Audition materials now available here, with some guidelines, the scoring rubric, and the excerpts for each instrument

      • Recordings will be submitted via an online form, which will provide instructions for file naming and uploading

      • A neutral party will anonymize all submissions

      • Artistic Director Hayley Varhol will use a rubric to score anonymous submissions and a neutral party will list the personnel for Wind Ensemble

• 1-2 sectionals per season

• There may be circumstances where a musician is asked to double in both ensembles, at the discretion of the AD

  • • • That person would not necessarily need to participate for 3 full hours every week

• We anticipate that all current percussionists will be needed in both ensembles, at least for certain pieces

  • • • At this time, no audition is required for percussionists

      • The schedule allows for percussionists to participate from 8-10 weekly, straddling the Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble timeframes

• Because of the reduced rehearsal time, individual parts, fewer sectionals, and accelerated rehearsal pace, weekly attendance is especially important

SYMPHONIC BAND DETAILS

• Anyone can join in Fall or Spring 

• No audition required, but music literacy is a prerequisite

• No cap on size or part duplication (yet striving for balance!) 

• Primarily Medium to Medium-Advanced musical difficulty 

• Expectation that musical concepts will be taught and reinforced during rehearsal time

• 2-3 sectional opportunities per season

Philadelphia Freedom Band’s 15th Anniversary kicks off on January 28th with All-Request Nostalgia Fest. The program will be an aural walk down memory lane, featuring some of the band members’ most beloved pieces from high school and college. Perennial staples in the literature, such as Bernstein’s Overture to Candide, De Meij’s The Hobbits, and Shostakovich’s Festive Overture will make their PFB premiere alongside some lesser-known genre gems. The concert will take place at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral with tickets starting at $20.

All-Request Nostalgia Fest is a compilation of favorite pieces that current band members had played in high school, college, or other past ensembles. Artistic Director Hayley Varhol polled band members, then worked together with Assistant Artistic Director Ryan Lowrie to assemble a program with a stylistic variety of compositions meant to spark nostalgia in many generations of concert band aficionados. As a musician and educator serving the greater Philadelphia region for nearly 20 years, Ms. Varhol recounts the enormous influence of her own involvement in school music:

“It is not an exaggeration to say that I am who I am because of my high school band program. So much of my identity emerged out of that culture of teamwork, support, perseverance, and creativity that ensembles helped to nourish in my formative years. As a shy and bullied kid, the band room was a place I always felt safe and accepted, and where my hard work was rewarded. This concert is a thank you to all of the music programs that gave each of us the space and the tools to figure out how to be the best version of ourselves. May we all carry that ethos into our big, beautiful, resonant lives every day.” – Hayley Varhol, Artistic Director

At the January concert, PFB will also be celebrating their new rainbow logo, with merchandise available for purchase with both the new and old logos.  This new logo features the band's proud and vibrant spirit and showcases its members' welcoming and fun energy, making it more reflective of the community it represents. Merchandise helps fund rent, artistic staff, and other organizational costs. Merchandise will cost between $5-$25 per item.

Philadelphia Freedom Band (PFB) is a non-profit band made up of community members dedicated to providing visible, active support to the LGBTQ+ community. This season, a total of around 100 musicians from across Philadelphia and the region perform in the concert band, marching band, and recently-restarted jazz ensemble, which held its first standalone concert in November 2023. In the 15 years of its operation, PFB has provided over 1,000 members of the community a safe place for artistic expression and shown LGBTQ+ pride and representation to over 50,000 audience members. 

Philadelphia Freedom Band was founded in 1988 and created LGBTQ+ music for 8 years during the AIDS crisis. After a hiatus, PFB reformed in 2008 and are proud to now celebrate 15 continuous years of excellence in community music performance.

“I have seen our ensemble members change the lives of our audiences and musician members. I am happy to help grow our musical family since I joined in 2016. Band members help each other move, find jobs, build friendships, and create support systems for one another. We share our LGBTQ+ pride and joy and in that way protect vulnerable community members. I cannot wait to see the impacts that this organization will make in another 15 years.” – David Szczepanik, Board President

PFB’s marching band was the first openly LGBTQ+ organization to march in Philadelphia's Independence Day Parade and their members have had the honor of performing in both of President Barack Obama's inaugural parades. They annually participate in the Philadelphia Holiday Parade, Disability Pride March, Philadelphia’s National Coming Out Day/OURFest celebrations, and pride parades and other events all around the greater Philadelphia area.

Opportunities to support the Philadelphia Freedom Band can be found here, including advertising in the band’s concert programs, sponsoring the marching band banner or follow car, or becoming a Friend of the Band by giving a donation of any amount. 

PFB’s mission is to perform throughout the greater Philadelphia area and provide visible, active support to the LGBTQ+ community. The band welcomes anyone who is committed to their shared goal of musical excellence and their commitment to social justice. 

The band is currently composed of a wide variety of dedicated people, ranging from amateur to professional musicians who all come together to improve as individuals and support one another. PFB does not limit participation in the band to individuals based on skill level, and there are no auditions to join any of the three ensembles, though music literacy is a requirement for participation. 

More information about the concert, how to join the band, and how to support their mission are available at PhiladelphiaFreedomBand.com.

________________________________________________________________

Who

The Philadelphia Freedom Band

Where

Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 19 S 38th St, Philadelphia, PA 19104

When

Sunday, January 28th, 2024, 4pm Concert

Tickets: Ticket cost $20. Donations above that amount will go towards subsidized tickets for other community members with financial obstacles. To purchase tickets, go to pfb15th.eventbrite.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philadelphiafreedomband 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philadelphiafreedomband 

Website: PhiladelphiaFreedomBand.com

Press Contact: David Szczepanik president@philadelphiafreedomband.com