2009 Minnesota Brass; Committed!

I have signed the contract and am committing to the 2009 Minnesota Brass, Incorporated season. Those of you that have been around these parts know that I have another passion aside from my family and politics, and that is the marching arts. I have been performing in Drum corps, off and on, since 1978. This will be my 19th year as a performer!

I was last on the field in 2005, living my dream of becoming a third generation performer with the Class A World Champion Govenaires. It was a bitter sweet end to that season, not that we finished 2nd, just missing the title, but that I lost a good and dear friend.

Then the kids turned into teenagers and I needed to get them though Junior High and into high school. Now that the youngest two are a Junior and Sophomore, they are starting to 'get it'. With their brother, Sgt. Tom due to return to the states, and moving back to Minnesota, he'll hopefully be able to help out during those out of town weekends when the performance schedule heats up.

My last year with MN Brass was 2003, so it has been a while (The photo is from 1998). Some things have changed a lot, others remain the same. The faces are mostly all new in the line, but the crew that supports us remains consistent. That is the sign of a good stable organization, one that placed 2nd in the world last year.

The 2008 DCA World Championship is over. In open class the Reading Buccaneers pulled off the 4 peat and held off a charging Minnesota Brass with a 97.913 to MBI's 96.513.

The DCA PR Director went on to say:

Buccaneers pulled off their 4-peat tonight and are a GREAT champion but in many ways, the night belonged to Minnesota... congrats to all...

This year, we are making a run at the title!

The 2009 program is entitled Nocturne, Songs for the Night. It begins with an old Drum Corps standard, Harlem Nocturne.

This dark and rich program will explore various moods of the night. Earle Hagen's "Harlem Nocturne" provides the thematic backdrop for the production. Additional selections will include an edgy and mysterious take on Stan Kenton’s “Commencement" as well as his "Aspect." A lush rendition of “My Immortal” from Evanescence will serve as the ballad while the intense energy of Dizzy Gillespie's, "A Night in Tunisia" is sure to bring drum corps fans to their feet. The music and expressive visual program will transport our audiences through the scariness, the sadness and the playfulness of the night.

If you've never experienced the marching arts at an almost professional level, you are in for a treat. This isn't your parents Marching Band, this is an intense, well choreographed, and tight musical performance. Our home show is in late August, the peek of our season, in South St. Paul. You'll want to mark your calenders early, to witness the greatest Drum and Bugle Corps to ever come out of the state of Minnesota, and maybe, a World Champion in the making!

Flash