<p>We are looking for a college on the east coast within driving distance from Virginia that has a marching band with a Pit/Front Ensemble. Recommendations?</p>
<p>I would reccommend that you look in to schools such as Morehead State University in Kentucky, which has one of the best and most prestigious marching band in the area where I live. </p>
<p>Another school which is popular for it’s good band in my area is the University of Cincinnati. I have personally played in their pit percussion and I felt that they were very knowledgeable and I loved the leaders.</p>
<p>Both schools are great and you should look into both.</p>
<p>Here’s a list of college marching bands with links as a starting point - but I don’t know which have front ensembles/pit. Also as a bit of advice, be sure you like the other aspects of the colleges you consider because though marching band might be the most important characteristic of your HS experience, the demands of being part of a marching band in college combined with a challenging college major, might make even the most die-hard marching band fanatic (ala my son) choose to drop the activity at some point in college. My ds is a frosh and this was his top requirement when looking for colleges - the commitment is around 10 hrs of practice a week plus game days are entire day events. </p>
<p>[BYU</a> Bands — College Marching Band Links](<a href=“http://bands.byu.edu/college_marching_bands.html]BYU”>http://bands.byu.edu/college_marching_bands.html)</p>