Morgan Band’s Performance at This Year’s D-Day Commemoration in France Was a First for HBCUs
An event honoring a turning point in World War II and modern history became an opportunity for Morgan State University to once again take the world stage, this spring. Morgan’s Marching Band, “the Magnificent Marching Machine,” traveled to France to perform in the “80th Anniversary Commemoration of D-Day: The Battle of Normandy and the Liberation of France,” in June. Morgan’s Marching Band, which has been directed by Jorim E. Reid Sr., D.M.A., since July of 2022, became the first HBCU band ever to perform in the annual event.
Morgan faculty and administrators, including President David K. Wilson, joined the 118 students in Morgan’s contingent in France, many of them band members making their first trip abroad. The group — which also included Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael L. Bell, ’76, president of the Morgan State University Alumni Association (MSUAA), and other MSUAA members — spent a week in the country, arriving in Paris on June 5 and riding by bus to Normandy to perform the next day. The band played “America the Beautiful” while marching between the historic towns of Vierville-sur-Mer and Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, which overlook the D-Day site dubbed Omaha Beach by the Allied forces in WWII.
“When we think of the historic events that have shaped the 20th century and the decades thereafter, the courageous moments that took place on the beaches of Normandy, France, nearly 80 years ago, are among them,” President Wilson said before the trip. “The opportunity to have our students not only represent our university but also our nation on such a grand world stage in recognition of such a monumental occasion is truly an honor. Our thanks to the event organizers for their recognition of the talented student performers we have at Morgan, and for providing them with this lifetime experience allowing them to touch history.”
The journey held great personal significance for Dr. Reid, whose grandfather participated in the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, as a member of the U.S. Army.
“I mainly thought of my grandfather, who was a World War II staff sergeant and (who) entered on that beach. So being there, you get a real sense of the gravity of what the beach represents and its historical significance,” Reid explains. “As beautiful as the beach and its surroundings were, you just can’t sugarcoat what took place (there) and the number of lives lost,” he continues. “I had this in mind in the piece that I wrote for our visit to the American Cemetery that incorporated 24 notes from ‘Chaps.’ The pre-Civil War bugle call has an emotional characteristic to it that I believed was appropriate.”
Co-Drum Major Travis Jones, a senior majoring in Electrical Engineering, says the Normandy trip was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“The opportunity for us to be the first HBCU to do this is one of the biggest highlights and top things we can do for Morgan State. I love it, absolutely love it. It was great,” Jones says.
An Opportunity for Cultural Exchange
The marching band members, Morgan administrators and MSU alumni who traveled to France for this great occasion balanced the weighty experience of memorializing D-Day with tours of several must-see points of interest in Paris. Those sites included “The Happiest Place On Earth,” as Morgan and its globetrotting Marching Machine ascended upon Europe’s Land of Mickey, Disneyland Paris, delivering a showstopping performance that left Parisians and tourists wowed and wanting more.
“Disney was a special performance. That was definitely special from beginning to end,” recalls senior Music major Tory James, lead drum major of the Magnificent Marching Machine. “I really enjoyed bringing (the audience) sunshine and something they’ve never experienced before, because I’m pretty sure there’s no marching band like us in France. That’s probably a core memory that’s going to stick with them for life.”
Opportunities to experience the French lifestyle in Paris were abundant, and Morgan’s band of travelers partook heartily. After the band’s performances, they immersed themselves in French cuisine, music and arts. Exploring one of the most famous museums in the world, the Louvre, was a main highlight. The Louvre, the national art museum in Paris, is home to some of the world’s most famous artworks. Morgan art enthusiasts and novices marveled at revered pieces such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
