The Archbishop Riordan High School Crusader Band is proud to be the only marching band in the city of San Francisco and was recognized as the pride of San Francisco by Mayor Gavin Newsom. Created to represent the United States Marines, the band uniforms of purple and gold represent Riordan.

The band is the highlight of many San Francisco parades: Columbus Day Parade, St. Patrick's Day Parade, Veteran's Day Parade, and the Chinese New Year Parade which is ranked as one of the top ten parades in the country. In the past few years, the band has traveled to Hawaii (2005 and
2010) to compete in the Hawaiian Invitational in Honolulu and to Disneyland (2002, 2004, 2006, and 2009) to march down Disney's Main Street. This summer (2011), the band has been nominated and selected by Representative Jackie Speier and Senator Dianne Feinstein to perform in the National Independence Parade in Washington D.C.!

The vast majority of students in the marching band first picked up their instruments in their freshman year of high school going through Freshman and Intermediate Bands. After two years of practice and mastering of their instrument, students move onto the marching band. Marching band is the quintessence of teamwork, dedication, and musicianship.

After hours of marching practice and rehearsals, the marching band attends band reviews throughout the bay area to compete against 40+ high schools from all over California. The Crusader Marching Band started competing in band review competitions in 2004. The band has only 4 years of competing (excluding 2006-2007) under its belt, making the ARHS marching band relatively new to California competitions. All bands are arranged into classes based on school size from class AAA (the largest enrollment) to class E (smallest enrollment). The band is in class E but is considerably larger than a majority of similarly ranked bands. In 2009, the marching band won first place at a marching competition for the first time in the band's history at the Tournament of Champions hosted by Fairfield High School.

The Marching Band is a great opportunity to learn about true musicianship, cooperation, teamwork, and school spirit. Whether it's cheering at games or playing at competitions, the members know that they represent what it means to be a true Crusader, while also representing themselves, their friends, their families, and their school. Crusaders uphold good sportsmanship and are always respectful at competitions and know how to have good clean fun! Crusaders uphold the three P's:

Pride, Purpose, and Performance!

2010-2011 ARHS Band Leadership

Band Director: Scott Souza
Assistant Band Director: Marina Garza
Percussion Director: Ty Parker
Assistant Percussion Director: James Dumlao
Colorguard Instructor: Mark Lieuw
('07) Assistant Colorguard Instructor: Paisely Parker
Drum Major: Marty Lynch
Assistant Drum Major: Abe Go
Color Guard Captain: Courtni Wong

Band Officers
President: TBD
Vice President: TBD
Secretary / Treasurer: TBD
Librarian: Jonathan Anguiano

Section Leaders
Flute: Noel Canlas
Clarinet: Samson Fong
Alto Saxophone: Gabe Morabe
Tenor Saxophone: Stephen Sabagquit
Trumpet: Cesar Calles
Trombone: Cameron Mau
Baritone: Francisco Alvarez
Tuba: Brian Trani
Percussion: Beau Cadigan

Marching Band Schedule 2010-2011

Fall 2010
- August 2-6 - Band Camp
- October 2 - Del Mar Band Review (All Day)***
- October 10 - SF Columbus Day Parade
- October 23 - Foothill Band Review (All Day)***
- October 31 - Riordan Open House
- November 7 - SF Veteran's Day Parade
- November 20 - Fairfield Band Review (All Day)***
- December 12 - Holiday Boutique/Concert

Spring 2011
- February 19 - Chinese New Year Parade
- March 13 - St. Patrick's Day Parade
- May 8 - Spring Concert/Awards Dinner

Summer 2011
- June 29-30 - Marching Band Rehearsal
- July 1-5 - Washington D.C. Tour - National Independence Day Parade 2011