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Shows Corps Should Do


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"Hope" by Klaatu, a Canadian band from the '70's. When Dr. Keith Markey and I attempted to start the "Voice of the Rockies" in Boulder,CO back in the day, he put together a wonderful arrangement of this piece. He was an absolute genius. RIP Keith.

The entire Hope album would be great. Lonliest of Creatures could be very cool as well.

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Time is running out to do a centennial show about The Great War (you could call it Over There!) [here's a slight modification of what I proposed about 16 months ago:]

The pre-show begins with a focus on two couples [who are also shadowed by four horns] (let's call them Johnnie & Mary [trumpet and mello] and Will & Anna [baritone and mello) enjoying their small-town American summer day, listening (and perhaps dancing) to the latest hit on their Victrola: (several possibilities here, but I am currently leaning towards the 1918 Turner Layton tune "After You've Gone"). The applause from the show announcement fades to the sound of military snares and the call of British Bb bugles (yes,real bugles - no valves) playing "Over There" from 1917 by George M. Cohan. The rest of the brass picks up the call, in contrasting and minor keys, as Johnnie and Will pick up their rifles, kiss their ladies farewell, and cross the sea with the American Expeditionary Force, the flags of the guard back home sending them off in patriotic reds, whites and blues.

Arriving to fight in France, the horrors of war are heard through the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos's Symphony #3 A Guerra ("The War") (1919) and Symphony #4 A Vitória ("The Victory") (1919), as many of the guard's flags back home transition to black in ones and twos. The scene ends in the descending chords and Will is among the fallen, as Anna [back home] picks up a black flag. The battlefield is quiet now to the strains of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony #3 Pastoral, mvt. 2, and a lone bugler plays the mournful solo tune. Johnnie gets his gun, and the allies put an end to the war, from the stirring battle of the timpani to the victorious end of of Carl Nielsen's Symphony #4 The Inextinguishable (1916).

As Johnnie returns to the small town, the beautiful end title music written by Elmer Bernstein for the film To Kill a Mockingbird evokes both the sense of small-town America, and the loss of innocence it underwent, losing so many young men to the war. Mary, sweeping the front porch while her mellophone shadow plays the solo melody down front, which gets picked up by Johnny's trumpet shadow as Johnny exits the train on cructches back field, then gets handed back to Mary. The music swells with the full corps, as townspeople start to notice Johnny and come up to welcome him home. Anna, dressed all in back, joins him in tears. Then finally Mary notices him and runs into his arms, the rest of the town gathered about them, playing the final chords. [i worked bells into the final chords in place of the woodwinds in my arrangement - reminded me of small town church bells].

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Time is running out to do a centennial show about The Great War (you could call it Over There!) [here's a slight modification of what I proposed about 16 months ago:]

The pre-show begins with a focus on two couples [who are also shadowed by four horns] (let's call them Johnnie & Mary [trumpet and mello] and Will & Anna [baritone and mello) enjoying their small-town American summer day, listening (and perhaps dancing) to the latest hit on their Victrola: (several possibilities here, but I am currently leaning towards the 1918 Turner Layton tune "After You've Gone"). The applause from the show announcement fades to the sound of military snares and the call of British Bb bugles (yes,real bugles - no valves) playing "Over There" from 1917 by George M. Cohan. The rest of the brass picks up the call, in contrasting and minor keys, as Johnnie and Will pick up their rifles, kiss their ladies farewell, and cross the sea with the American Expeditionary Force, the flags of the guard back home sending them off in patriotic reds, whites and blues.

Arriving to fight in France, the horrors of war are heard through the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos's Symphony #3 A Guerra ("The War") (1919) and Symphony #4 A Vitória ("The Victory") (1919), as many of the guard's flags back home transition to black in ones and twos. The scene ends in the descending chords and Will is among the fallen, as Anna [back home] picks up a black flag. The battlefield is quiet now to the strains of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony #3 Pastoral, mvt. 2, and a lone bugler plays the mournful solo tune. Johnnie gets his gun, and the allies put an end to the war, from the stirring battle of the timpani to the victorious end of of Carl Nielsen's Symphony #4 The Inextinguishable (1916).

As Johnnie returns to the small town, the beautiful end title music written by Elmer Bernstein for the film To Kill a Mockingbird evokes both the sense of small-town America, and the loss of innocence it underwent, losing so many young men to the war. Mary, sweeping the front porch while her mellophone shadow plays the solo melody down front, which gets picked up by Johnny's trumpet shadow as Johnny exits the train on cructches back field, then gets handed back to Mary. The music swells with the full corps, as townspeople start to notice Johnny and come up to welcome him home. Anna, dressed all in back, joins him in tears. Then finally Mary notices him and runs into his arms, the rest of the town gathered about them, playing the final chords. [i worked bells into the final chords in place of the woodwinds in my arrangement - reminded me of small town church bells].

It's a great idea, and well thought out, but I feel like people tend to gravitate towards the Revolutionay, Civil, WW2, and Vietnam war's over most others. I'd be surprised if I saw a show based on the French and Indian, 1812 (sans 1812 Overture), Spanish-American, Korean, Desert Storm, War on Terror, etc., were chosen as themes.

Personally, I'd like to see it, but I just don't feel a connection or fascination that the first 4 I listed have. Such as even the History Channel. There's tons of shows on Revolutionary, Civil, WW2, and Vietnam, but not a lot else. Although, now that channel really doesn't even show history.

I'm not sure I made any sense, but that's just how I think about it.

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... the times may have passed.

Well, if you want something more timely ... though in fact both retro and futuristic at the same time ... give me this show

fallout-4-trailer-grab.jpg

it's even Spandex-friendly

Edited by Eleran
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Well, if you want something more timely ... though in fact both retro and futuristic at the same time ... give me this show

fallout-4-trailer-grab.jpg

it's even Spandex-friendly

Enough with everyone inflicting their puppies and pets on the public wherever we go today. Just what corps managers would have to deal with, Fido and imus being sneaked on the guard bus. "But he's so cute and huggable. blah, blah, blah."

Edited by xandandl
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