Junior Abigail Berg ’27 proudly holds up the trophy for First Place Class A Concert Band
Hampton Roads Academy congratulates our Middle School Choir Club and combined Middle and Upper School Spring Trip Festival Band on their award-winning performances at the 2026 Music in the Parks Festival, hosted on Saturday, May 9, at Kings Dominion. The instrumentalists took home the first-place prize for Class A Concert Band, while HRA as a whole was recognized with the Esprit de Corps Award, the coveted final trophy bestowed at the awards ceremony.
The Music in the Parks program invites student ensembles from across the United States and Canada to perform for expert adjudicators and receive valuable feedback before spending a fun-filled day in a regional amusement park. Participation in the festival is a highly anticipated annual tradition for performing arts groups at the Academy. This year, HRA’s talented student musicians, led by Director of Bands Brian Grieb and Middle and Upper School choir director Marshall Severin, competed against 35 ensembles representing 16 different schools across four states.
The Spring Trip Festival Band’s top honors in the High School Concert Band category are a testament to the strength of HRA’s band program as a whole, which recently distinguished itself with a historic performance at the VBODA District VIII Jazz Assessment. The Middle School Choir Club’s strong showing, meanwhile, indicates a bright future for a vocal program that has recently set itself apart through a consistent record of district-leading VMEA Honors Choir participation and the unprecedented success of the eighth- through twelfth-grade pop a cappella group Nowhere to Hide on campus and beyond.
A day of music and fun at Kings Dominion
HRA is especially proud to have earned the Esprit de Corps Award, the only Music in the Parks honor conferred upon a school, rather than an individual ensemble. The prize recognizes the participating school that has best demonstrated maturity, professionalism, respect, and kindness.
“We were honored to accept the award and are grateful to all of our wonderful students who represented the best of the Navigator spirit,” Severin said. “They truly embodied the ideas of honor, respect, and responsibility. It is a pleasure to see this cultivated and made manifest in the arts classrooms here at HRA.”
Severin and Grieb extended special thanks the chaperones who helped make the trip to Kings Dominion a wonderful time for all. Upper School history teacher Christopher Joyce, Middle School history teacher Christine Joyce, and a large team of parent volunteers made the day’s triumphs possible, and the choir and band directors expressed deep gratitude for their role in supporting, shaping, and celebrating an outstanding group of young musicians.
We cannot wait to see what the future holds for HRA’s band and choral ensembles!
