Archbishop Riordan High School Bands

The award-winning Archbishop Riordan High School Band Program prides itself in having one of the very few, yet largest marching bands in the city and county of San Francisco. In addition to performing at school events like all home football and basketball games, the marching band is very involved in Bay Area civic events like the San Francisco Chinese New Years Parade, the San Francisco Columbus Day/Italian Heritage Parade, and the San Francisco St. Patricks Day Parade to name a few. The marching band and concert groups compete at various Northern California Band Association band reviews throughout the Fall and California Music Educators Association festivals in the Spring. 

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In addition to local events, performances, and competitions, the marching band performs on the world stage. Most notably, the marching band recently performed in four separate events for Super Bowl 50, which included a gameday performance at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. The marching band has performed in places such as Washington D.C., Hawaii, and internationally in Victoria, B.C., Canada and Rome, Italy in 2017. 

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In addition to the marching band, other ensembles in the program include concert groups such as the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Intermediate Band, Instrumental Music Ensemble, and Jazz Band. All of the bands/ensembles showcase their work and achievements throughout the semester at both a Winter/Christmas concert in December and a Spring Concert in May. These concerts are both located in the Lindland Theater on campus.

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Archbishop Riordan High School is one of the very few high schools in the country where students can enter the band program their freshman year without any musical experience or knowledge. Through our Instrumental Music Ensemble class, beginning students are given the opportunity to learn a woodwind, brass, or percussion instrument and be part of the marching band/ concert ensembles by the next school year.