NNPS musicians perform for community at Band Expo
Published October 15, 2026
Eighth grade musicians and high school marching bands shared performances with the local community at the fifth annual Newport News Public Schools Band Expo on October 13 at Todd Stadium.
More than 700 student musicians from all over the school division were featured at the event, which was free and open to the public. The evening performance followed an afternoon of music students sharing information and learning from one another.
The annual event featured more than 275 eighth graders from all middle schools performing with all of the high school marching bands on the National Anthem and marching bands from Denbigh, Heritage, Menchville, Warwick and Woodside high schools each performing their football game halftime shows.
"For the Visual and Performing Arts Department, this event serves as a curriculum experience for all grade levels," said Katie SheehanSmith, instructional supervisor for Visual and Performing Arts.
Students arrived early in the afternoon, with eighth grade students working in sectionals with their respective high school feeder bands.
"This provides student leadership and training opportunities for our high school band leaders," SheehanSmith said. "Eighth graders get to experience a day in the life of band camp, as they prepare to continue their music education next year in the high school setting."
After sectionals, student leaders continued to work with eighth graders on the fundamentals of marching and parade formations, techniques and commands.
Students from all grade levels took the field, forming a One NNPS Band, as the stadium filled and the evening's showcase began.
"Playing the National Anthem and a stand tune to hype the crowd, the Band Expo brings the students, the music, and the community together," Sheehan Smith said. "Eighth graders then have the opportunity to join the crowd and watch our high schools perform their field shows for the crowd. We love performing for our community and the Band Expo always brings Newport News together."
The evening's performance was recorded for TV and will air on NNPS-TV once it's edited. NNPS-TV can be seen on Cox Channel 47, Verizon Fios Channel 17, livestream on Roku and Apple TV, and online at nnpstv.com/webstream. The Expo will also be available on demand on the Telecom student YouTube channel.
