Sunrisers Announce 2015 Program
How would you respond if someone said, “You can travel the world for the price of a seat at a drum corps contest?”
That is the option available to those who will see the Long Island Sunrisers in 2015. The journey is called “Come Fly With Me.”
“When we sat down to map out the course of the corps, we wanted to choose a show that was audience-friendly, artistic and true to the identity of the Sunrisers,” program coordinator Gene O’Brien states. “Many routes were open to us, but this one really excited the staff as being a Sunrisers production, with a twist.”
“The concept was chosen because the staff felt that a travelogue would present excellent opportunities visually combined with a limitless array of music,”O’Brien states.
“During a conference call in the early fall, one participant said that the concept reminded him of an iconic Frank Sinatra travelogue concept album from the 1950s ‘Come Fly With Me’. JD Shaw, our brass arranger, thought that tune would be a perfect launching pad for this international journey.”
The show opening evolved into a flight from New York’s JFK Airport to Europe. Keep your eye on the Sunrisers color guard this year, led by Nick Ashley and Budd Williams as they take us on this visual journey with the first stop being Spain. “The paso doble is a great Spanish dance form, so Alfred Reed’s ‘El Camino Real’ seemed a perfect choice,”O’Brien said. “This is music with lots of fire and drive. What really excites me is the opportunity for the front ensemble and brass to engage in a conversation. Organic design is important to us,”he states.
From Spain, the Sunrisers will bring the audience to Italy. “So many pieces could fit this bill, but JD gravitated to Mascagni’s ‘Cavalleria Rusticana.’ This was an excellent selection, because it is such a great tune that has so far flown under the drum corps radar. It is so difficult to find material that hasn’t been picked over by drum corps, but this piece is a gem,’ O’Brien says.
The Sunrisers entourage then travels to India, in which the percussion features within “Jai Ho” from the hit movie franchise “Slumdog Millionaire.” This film is the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” states O’Brien: “This is a great opportunity for us to explore ethnic percussion. Kevin Murphy, our new percussion writer and caption head, presented this material and is very excited about producing it for the field. We are equally excited.”
The journey so far has been fun, but the Sunrisers are working their way back to the mainland. France, in the form of “Marseilles” is the conclusion of the European trek and springboard for the return to the mainland.
Staff coordinator, Frank Mauriello states, “We as a staff are extremely excited about this upcoming season and it is one of the most anticipated seasons to date for the Sunrisers. We have assembled one of the most experienced rosters of staff that we have ever had, with JD Shaw, Bobby Jones, and Kevin Murphy taking the lead on the design team.”
The design team and instructional staff have many years of experience and knowledge coming from all over the drum corps landscape; ranging from The Santa Clara Vanguard, The Cadets, The Blue Devils, The Blue Stars, Syracuse Brigadiers, Reading Buccaneers, and Phantom Regiment and more.
Frank Mauriello continues, “Obviously, this top notch team is no stranger to success and we’re looking forward to having them share their wealth of knowledge with our members, as well as help the Sunrisers soar to new heights in their 2015 production, ‘Come Fly With Me.’”
