The Patriot Regiment is a composite of three separate classes: Brass and Woodwinds I, Percussion I, and Colorguard.
The Sullivan East High School Patriot Regiment’s members represent the finest students in the community, as shown through their dedication to the band programs. The organization has earned many awards at local competitions throughout East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and North Carolina.
Each year, the marching season begins late in the school year as incoming freshmen arrive at the school for a week of orientation to the band program. This includes getting to know the staff, the student leaders, and the director, as well as learning how to march and reviewing musical knowledge. In July, the full band for the upcoming year meets for the first time and begins to learn the music of the upcoming show and work on the fundamentals of marching. For one week during the summer, the band goes to a local college and begins to learn drill to their show and work on music. At the conclusion of the week, the Patriot Regiment performs the first show of the season for the parents.
The marching band season begins in May and continues into October, in which the band competes in local competitions and performs at football games and pep rallies. After the season winds down, the band transforms into a concert band and performs a Winter Concert. During the Winter and Spring, the band prepares for several concerts, including the Upper East Tennessee Concert Festival. After the festival, the band begins to work on music for the Spring Concert, as work for the next marching season begins to be done behind the scenes.
Though this sounds like a lot of work, the students of the band program work countless hours to make it all possible and make sure every performance is better than the last.
