Three Sponsors For Scout House Clinics On Sept. 25

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Three of the best-known equipment suppliers in the drum and bugle corps community, Yamaha, Vic Firth Inc. and Zildjian, are sponsoring Scout House Alumni Band’s ‘Time to Step Out’ guard, percussion and brass clinics.

Vic Firth Inc. co-operates with educators around the world to support percussion education. Yamaha products include a wide range of marching music percussion and brass instruments. Zildjian cymbals have been manufactured by the same family for almost 400 years, passing through 15 generations since Avedis Zildjian founded the company in a community near Constantinople in 1623. He first manufactured cymbals of great power and clarity using an alloy of copper, tin and traces of silver that he developed trying to turn base metals into gold.

The concurrent clinic sessions will be held Sunday September 25 at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, 50 Saginaw Parkway, on the corner of Franklin Blvd. and Saginaw Parkway in Cambridge. Some instruments will be available, but participants are encouraged to bring their own instrument or guard equipment. Brass players can use either B flat or G instruments.

Door prizes supplied by the sponsors will be awarded to participants during the clinic sessions. ‘Time to Step Out’ is designed to benefit brass players, drummers and colour guard members of all ages. Registration fee for each of the sessions running from 10 am to 4 pm is $5. Lunch will be available.

Some spaces are still available. Those interested in participating should register immediately. Percussion clinic registration includes all the members of the M. M. Robinson Secondary School Drumline group from Burlington.

To register, contact Scout House Alumni Band president Bruce Witmer at wwitmer [at] rogers [dot] com or telephone (519) 756-0245 or contact Jim Fraser at telephone (519) 743-5164.

Three of the top instructors in the North American drum and bugle corps community, all residents of the Cambridge, Ontario area, will share their experience and expertise with participants during the day.

Dave MacKinnon, of Kitchener, has been a brass teacher, arranger and clinician in Canada since 1977. He has hosted various brass clinics in Japan, Korea and the United States over the last 25 years and has been a music adjudicator at numerous state high school marching band championships in New York, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and Nebraska. Since 1994, MacKinnon has been a brass instructor with the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps from Canton, Ohio and presently holds the position of Brass Co-Caption Head.

Lee Beddis, of Waterloo, is well known in the drum corps community for his ability to teach percussion programs that quickly achieve high success. He is experienced at all levels of instruction from drum technician to caption head, arranger and percussion coordinator. He currently instructs Carolina Crown, one of the top corps in Drum Corps International (DCI). He previously instructed Madison Scouts, Star of Indiana, Phantom Regiment when they won the DCI world title in 1996, Toledo Glassmen and the Crossmen.

Over his years of activity, Doug Cann, of Hamilton, has not only marched in and taught colour guards, he has played in the brass line, marched as drum major, judged DCI and Drum Corps Associates (DCA) drum and bugle corps contests, high school marching band and Winter Guard International (WGI) contests. He was inducted into the North East Color Guard Hall Of Fame in April 2011. He has helped produce championships for many groups, including Legacy of Hamilton, Conqueror II of Hamilton, Empire Statesmen of Rochester, Phantasia of Cambridge, Kitchener/Waterloo Ventures, Sentenelles of Cambridge.

The morning sessions will concentrate on basic concepts and techniques. Following the lunch break, participants will learn Malaguena and all three groups will perform together at the end of the day.

Scout House Alumni Band has already started preparing for the 2012 season. New music includes the popular Stevie Wonder song For Once In My Life and two new medleys for Oktoberfest and Christmas parades. Those interested in participating in Scout House activities over the coming year can obtain more information by visiting the web site at: http://www.scouthouseband.com/

Clinic driving instructions:

St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School is on the corner of Franklin Blvd. and Saginaw Parkway in Cambridge.

If you are coming from west of Cambridge along Highway 401, take the Franklin Blvd. exit. Proceed along Franklin to the lights at Saginaw (Metro food market on right), turn left onto Saginaw then turn left again to enter the driveway to the school parking lot.

If you are coming from east of Cambridge along Highway 401, exit at Townline Road (exit 286). At end of exit ramp, turn left to head south on Townline Road. At the first roundabout, bear right into the first exit leading to Can-Amera Parkway. Proceed along Can-Amera to Franklin. Turn left onto Franklin passing in front of the school then turn left onto Saginaw and into the driveway to the school parking lot.

Coming north into Cambridge on Hwy 8. Follow the detour leading from Highway 8 to Franklin Blvd.. Proceed along Franklin to the lights at Saginaw Parkway, with Scotia Bank and a Tim Hortons outlet on corner. Turn right onto Saginaw and then left into the driveway for the school parking lot.

Posted by on Saturday, September 17th, 2011. Filed under Current News, DCA News, FrontPage Feature.