First Report - Minnesota Brass

[Ron H]

I attended the first rehearsal of MBI last night and was pretty wowed, I have to say. There were roughly 200 people there on this balmy Wednesday night, of which about 150 were performers and the rest staff and friends. Another 25 or so couldn't make the first night. So here's the gist:

The Schedule

The corps will be traveling to the East in July for a great match-up. The plans are confirmed but I'll leave it to DCA to reveal the destination when their schedule is finalized. Counting forward from May 1st to Finals the corps will be performing or rehearsing for a total of 53 days and will include at least 3 DCI and 5 DCA sanctioned shows

The Staff

The 20 or so field staff were great. They approached the evening with their typical goofy humor yet maintained a very professional attitude. (I don't know why the Twin Cities are such a national hotbed of comedic talent. Maybe it's because people there just have to laugh about living in such a frozen hell for a third of the year.) MBI is lucky to have been able to draw from various big Midwestern DCI corps to fill out staff positions yet still maintaining a very cooperative atmosphere where a cohesive style and technique for the corps has been developed over the years. Though it may seem akin to watching paint dry, I was actually entertained as each section of the horn and drum lines took their turns going to the gym where they spent 30 minutes learning just how to move one foot, then the other. And everybody was amused about the first, alarming, attempts at jazz runs.

The support staff members were also their usual fun and efficient selves with lots of free fat-inducing treats and hawking bargain items for sale at the souvenir table. They are the unsung heroes of the corps, doing the thankless jobs like setting up tables, assigning name tags, managing inventories and maintaining records.

The Numbers

The guard met and ran through basic movement techniques but their regular rehearsals won't be until April when the corps' Winter Guard is done with WGI. So it's too early to tell what the guard size is going to be. 28-32 might be a good guess based on the attendance last night.

The battery numbered about 50 so there's going to be some competition for the open spots there! I hope some of them also play baritone as a back-up plan :smile:/>/>/> A lot of High School and College-Age kids. Bottom line is also the easiest prediction ever: MBI will have #### fine drum line. Their percussion section has been a force in DCA for more than a decade and it shows no sign of being otherwise come next September.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't spend any time watching the front line. There were 12 or 13 in attendance I believe. It's a section that I have the least experience in judging so I'll just have to leave it to others for further analysis. The terrific staff is still in place so I suspect they will be vying for another title.

Hornline turnout was about 63 or 64 with several vets unable to make it until next week. Too early to tell what the final size of the hornline will be. Last year they marched 54, if I recall correctly (it may have been 56). But they sounded pretty effing good last night. They ran through two tunes from last season for practice purposes and ended the night playing the "unofficial" opener for 2013.

Which leads me to the next subject...

The Show

Whoa. OK, yes, the 2013 show was announced here on DCP and the tunes were said to be Ravel's Ritual Fire Dance, Dansa Barbara by Neboisa Zivkovic, and Dansa Finale from Estancia by Ginastera. The title of the show is "Primal."

But I strongly advise all of us to take that with a grain of salt. Because the arrangements are likely to be anything but traditional from what the staff said last night. The horn line practiced the opening statement, which - I assure you dear readers - is weirder than I might have imagined. And, believe me, I can imagine pretty weird things. It never occurred to me to juxtapose a Protestant church hymn played at a 180 tempo with a dance meant to worship a fire god. I was, frankly, pleasantly puzzled and I'm really looking forward to hearing the final arrangements.

Show Coordinator Joel Matuzak ended the night with these (paraphrased) comments:

"We're going to be very, very aggressive this year. Very. Aggressive."

"This show is 'Valhalla' on steroids."

"This will be unlike any other musical program ever presented in DCA."

My sense is that MBI's staff is ready to no longer play anything safe. I hope that's true because I think DCA will be better for it.

After talking with Corps Director Eric Molho, those comments Joel made may not be just idle chatter. Minnesota Brass will be going to new uniforms in 2014. And we all might be seeing the destruction of the 11-year-old ones - live, and in living color - in Annapolis.

With the rise of C2, the always-great Bucs and a rejuvenated Caballeros, this year should be a really fun one in DCA!

Edited January 10, 2013 by Ron H

[Fred Windish]

Much appreciated, Ron H!

That whole "let's keep everything under wraps" approach isn't in best interest of building excitement, promoting ticket sales, etc. I am thrilled MB has strong numbers. That's a good sign we need to see! Please put up some "winter video" when you can.

[skeptic]

Thanks for the insight, Ron. Sounds like MBI didnt take finishing in 2nd place lightly.

C2, Cabs, MBI, Bucs... boy this is going to be fun!

[jeff_demello]

I'm immensely looking forward to seeing MBI this year at DCI MN, and at DCA (and, hopefully, at a winter rehearsal!)