First 2014 Scout House Performance At Ventures Indoor Show

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scout_house_100x100For the fourth year in a row, Preston Scout House Band, of Cambridge, will make its debut performance of the year during the Ventures Winter Guards show. The afternoon event will be held at Resurrection High School, 455 University Ave. West in Kitchener on Sunday, March 23.

The show will also feature the Breslau Brass Ensemble, Second Generation Guard with a percussion line, Prizm Winter Guard of Hamilton, St. John’s Cadets and ‘A’ Winter Guards of Brantford and the Ventures Cadets, ‘RA’ and ‘A’ Winter Guards. Tickets are $6 each or $20 for a family of four. Seating is available for 300, with plenty of parking space available at the school.

The Ventures and Scout House have developed a close working relationship over the past few years. Scout House has provided financial assistance to the group and this year invited four members of the Ventures to conduct fund raising projects during the 3rd annual Black Thursday Pub taking place on April 17, the evening before Good Friday. The four girls are auditioning for positions with touring Drum Corps International (DCI) corps with annual membership fees of $3,000 or more.

The Ventures also participated in the 2013 Scout House Spring Opening arena show, offered free to the community as a thank you for support throughout the year. The Ventures junior guard marched with the Preston Scout House Cadets drumline several times last year including the big July 1 Canada Day parade through downtown Preston.

The colour guard show provides Scout House with the opportunity to perform new music in a concert setting before the busy summer parade and field show season begins in mid-May.

Music for the Band’s 2014 field show includes Jupiter, arranged by brass director Gord Cupskey. It will be played as a warm up number on the back sideline when possible or just before the Band takes its position on the field.

Well-known arranger Dave MacKinnon, music arranger and instructor for the Ventures when they were tops in their DCI class, has provided two new selections for the Scout House field show.

The field routine will begin with a 48-count percussion introduction to Miserlou, with the Band in a tight block formation at centre field, expanding sideways in both directions to cover most of the field, winding up with a push to the front sideline for a high volume finish. MacKinnon’s arrangement of Chuck Mangione’s Land of Make Believe, featuring distinct rhythm patterns forming a foundation for the melody, will be presented as a moving concert played partly on the move and partly standing still, with special percussion sound effects adding a wistful touch to the music.

Other field show selections include Waterloo Fanfare, identifying Scout House instantly to drum corps fans across North America; Waltzing Matilda, the Band’s signature tune since the 1950s; Johnny One Note, the novelty number made famous by Judy Garland; Through The Eyes of Love, the emotional love ballad from the movie Ice Castles that closes the field show.

Scout House has already started working on its new field show routine during two indoor practice sessions in the Preston soccer dome. Regular outdoor drill sessions Thursday evenings at Cambridge Centre Mall begin in mid-May.

The 2014 Scout House Spring Opening arena show at Preston Memorial Auditorium on Sunday, April 27 will feature the full band, traditional colour guard, rifle/banner spin squad, heritage drill team and the Ventures and St. John’s of Brantford winter guards.

The April 17 Black Thursday Pub night, an evening of camaraderie, reminiscing and a salute to local drum corps giants John Robins and Al Strassburger, will begin at 7 pm at the Preston Knights of Columbus building at 333 Speedsville Road in the Preston district of Cambridge. The building is the Scout House winter indoor rehearsal facility. Admission is free, with plenty of free parking available.

Anyone with pictures, contest programs, souvenir items or any other memorabilia that could be displayed at the Black Thursday pub should contact Scout House board president Bruce Witmer at email: wwitmer [at] rogers [dot] com

Black Thursday pub nights aim to restore the close relationships between former members of the many drum and bugle corps that flourished in the Guelph, Cambridge, Brantford and Kitchener/Waterloo area over the past 50 years. They are an opportunity for individuals of any age and background to celebrate drum and bugle corps and marching music involvement at any time during their lives.

For more information about Preston Scout House Band, contact Activities Director Nancy Weiler at telephone (519) 653-3376, email prestonscouthouseband [dot] adm [at] sympatico [dot] ca or visit the Web site at http://www.scouthouseband.com/

Posted by on Friday, March 14th, 2014. Filed under Current News, DCA News, FrontPage Feature.