I'd like to invite you to visit "Inside the Arc" - a new feature column, written by Frank Dorritie. The column will feature essays on the marching music activity by a person who has been a performer, instructor, and arranger - from the '60s to the present. Frank's unique perspective for Inside the Arc will be historical, educational, and ultimately ..... personal. He'll explore the state of the activity, offer a look back at its growth and the people involved, and paint his essays with anecdotes from his long and storied history in the activity. I'm looking forward to this journey, with Frank as our guide .... and I'm confident that you'll find this insightful new column entertaining and thought-provoking.

Welcome back to the "Land of All Things Brass." This installment of Brass Advantage will focus on the rarely discussed topic of "Slurring on the Trombone".

What most other wind instrumentalists refer to as "slurring" from one note to the next, trombonists call legato. This is because where a trumpet player can slur by just blowing and moving the valves, a trombonist must often make use of a light tonguing motion, called legato tonguing, to avoid "smearing" from one note to the next.

Ah, Rochester . . . competing against our friends in this, DCA’s most important weekend, yet joining together to do battle with Mother Nature! As you have been reading in the Forums, this year’s DCA Championship Weekend was, shall we say, challenging?

Looking back, the only real trouble spot was Saturday’s visit by almost Hurricane Ernesto. Even Ernie wanted to be at DCA this year. He made a once every fifty year visit! Local residents said “ we never get this stuff, it always turns East before upstate.”