University of Iowa

The Iowa Symphony Band and Iowa State University Wind Ensemble presented a joint concert in Chicago's Orchestra Hall on March 28, 2025. This marked the first such collaboration between these two historic programs. 

The Iowa Symphony Band recorded "A Mere Moment" by Michele Fernandez in the spring 2025. The recording was part of a collaborative project with the Iowa Bandmasters Association, which commissioned the work to honor the resilience of the community of Perry, IA as they continue to grieve and recover from the tragic shooting at Perry High School on January 4, 2024.

We spent this 2025 regular season auditioning finalists for the next Golden Voice of the Hawkeye Marching Band. After 44 years as our announcer, Lou Crist announced his retirement, and we honored him by having him announce for the band one last time at our home opener on August 30. For the remaining 6 home games, we had a different finalist announce for the band each time, and we collected feedback from students, staff, spirit squads, Athletics, and our Center for Advancement (development) the following Monday. At the end of the season, all stakeholders had an opportunity to provide a final ranking of the candidates. The search committee will consider that feedback, as they assess the candidates' auditions and determine who the next announcer will be. We plan to announce the chosen candidate in early 2026.

The Hawkeye Marching Band made the switch to Pearl Drumline instruments this year. This deal included a partnership with Pearl and West Music that provides the Athletic Band program with three full lines of drumline instruments for the Hawkeye Drumline, our second drumline (Black and Gold Drumline), and our Alumni Band Drumline. The second drumline and Alumni Band drumline instruments are on consignment from West Music.

2025 saw the largest pool of applicants/auditionees in the history of the Hawkeye Marching Band, along with record retention numbers.