Tooting their horns for the Ravens

October 27, 2003

Next time you go to a Ravens game – just before the coin toss – look closely at the letter "e" in the trademark script "Ravens" formed by the team’s marching band across the stadium field.

There, mellophone and trombone glinting in the Sunday afternoon sun, are McDaniel College students Julie Palmer and Josh Schotanus.

"It is really awesome," says Palmer, a Political Science major who hasn’t yet mastered the intricacies of the sport but loves sitting in the stands with the band almost as much as she enjoys the dancing and pop music they perform. "Wednesday evening practice is a great chance to chill out and have fun."

Schotanus, who sometimes is found among the trombones in the letter "R," is a devoted fan of Baltimore’s NFL team.

"When they were in the Super Bowl, I decorated my room in purple and black during Jan Term," Schotanus, a six-year band veteran, says of his unwavering team spirit.

The senior Business Administration and Economics major would like someday to meet his favorite player, linebacker Ray Lewis, but is content with cheering from the band’s reserved end-zone seats every home game. One Sunday he high-fived Bill Cosby as the comedian made his way into the stadium.

The band’s 350 members perform in concert in front of Camden Yards before the game. Then, they march to M&T Stadium to dance and make music before and after the game – in addition to performing a new routine each half-time.

Traditional Sousa marches usually only emerge during the four Fourth-of-July parades, Palmer says. Or during the many other Baltimore parades the band marches in. A highlight for the 19-year-old, who plays in the College’s Brass Ensemble, was marching in Pres. George W. Bush’s Inaugural Parade.

Although Palmer acknowledges that the band hasn’t yet performed her audition song. A baritone player, Palmer wanted to try out for the band but knew there was no place for the baritone horn. She figured she could play the mellophone – which is similar to a French horn. Her first day on the mellophone was try-out day, and she chose something simple: "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

The judges thought her choice creative. And five years later, she’s still at it with Metallica’s "No Leaf Clover," Ricky Martin’s "Cup of Life," and the ever-popular "I Get Around" replacing her rendition of the nursery rhyme.

Julie Palmer and Josh Schotanus.

Remember, the letter "e."

Just look among the mellophones and trombones.

For more information, contact Rita Beyer, associate director of media relations, at 410-857-2294.