vanhoese

Any baritones left at this point?

Brass, High Country Brass

High Country Brass Announces Music and Arranger for 2011 Show The Music The year was 1967. A new group took musical direction away from the then-current pop music, to meld rock and blues with horn arrangements and jazz improvisation. The creation of the band was fueled by the “brass-rock” ideas of The Buckinghams, as well as the early 1960s Maynard Ferguson Orchestra. The band was a hit with the audience, who liked the innovative fusion of jazz with acid rock and psychedelia. In 1969 the band performed a five-song set on a rain-delayed Sunday night at Woodstock. In 1970 they won Album of The Year. The name of the band came from the lead musician who had earlier cut his hand, but was focused so intensely during his show that he hardly noticed the blood covering the keyboard he was playing until the music stopped. The name of this group? Blood, Sweat and Tears High Country Brass’ selections from the music of Blood, Sweat and Tears include: “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” “Lacretia MacEvil” “Sometime In Winter” “Go Down Gambling” But without a good arrangement, four songs would be simply 12 minutes of music. With one of the most talented arrangers and musicians in the drum corps world, four songs can become a symphony of sounds, textures and emotions utilizing all of the weapons in the drum corps arsenal. The Arranger High Country Brass is thrilled to announce that Frank Dorritie will be arranging our musical program this year. Frank has been an instructor and arranger for many of the top junior corps including Blue Devils, Santa Clara Vanguard, Cadets, Bluecoats, and the DCA Open Class corps, the San Francisco Renegades. Frank Dorritie was inducted into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in 2004. Frank has been playing the bugle and trumpet since the 1960s. He was the soprano soloist for 10 years with the Long Island Sunrisers before becoming their instructor and arranger. As a performer, Frank holds the DCA Soprano/Trumpet/Tenor Individual titles for 2003, 2005 and 2006. He is also a member of the Buglers Hall of Fame. Not only has Frank been a performer, arranger and instructor, his audio engineering skills have earned him 9 Grammy nominations and 2 Grammys. He has performed with and engineered for many artists, including Kenny Burrell, Cal Tjader, Herb Ellis Trio, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Billy Cobham, Maynard Ferguson and Wynton Marsalis. The Show With percussion parts arranged by David Evans, guard choreography by Lisa Cowden, and drill design by George Lindstrom, HCB will take its 2011 show to a new level. Don’t miss the chance to witness the 2nd year of competition for Colorado’s only all-age drum and bugle corps. Performers and spectators alike will be blown away!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE High Country Brass Drum and Bugle Corps Joins Drum Corps Associates GOLDEN, Colorado (June 22, 2010) - High Country Brass is pleased to announce that it has been accepted into the Class A Division of Drum Corps Associates (DCA). "We're very excited to finally be able to compete against some of the best all-age drum and bugle corps in the country," said Tom Cowden, Corps Director of High Country Brass. "Joining DCA opens up a lot of opportunities for competition as well as gives us the resources and experience of an organization that was created just for all-age drum and bugle corps." High Country Brass is Colorado's first all-age drum and bugle corps. Based in the Denver metro area, the corps was formed in 2004 when several individuals wanted to continue their drum corps experience beyond the age restrictions of junior corps competition. In 2009 the Board of Directors of High Country Performing Arts Association, Inc, the parent organization of High Country Brass, committed to expanding the size and strength of the corps and moving the corps into the competitive world of all-age drum and bugle corps, first by joining Drum Corps International and now this year, Drum Corps Associates. As an all-age drum and bugle corps, High Country Brass has members from age 17 to over 60 who all have a passion and commitment to drum corps. Corps members come with a rich and varied experience with many members having performed with junior corps including Denver's very own Blue Knights, Santa Clara Vanguard, Blue Devils, Troopers, Sky Ryders, and more! Drum Corps Associates was formed to provide an organization of all-age drum and bugle corps with rules and regulations, which provide for continuous progress and growth for all-age corps. Using entertainment as a primary goal, DCA performances are unique and represent state of the art in mass appeal drum and bugle corps. DCA strives to provide performers with stimulating and rewarding social experiences, to provide a competitive outlet for performers, and to entertain and excite the audiences. The DCA philosophy is to encourage each and all corps to choose and perfect the vehicles that entertain audiences and satisfy membership. Audiences should expect and receive varied programs performed with the highest level of proficiency within the structure of the activity. DCA's audience has the right to receive excellence. The corps have the challenge, the responsibility and the commitment to deliver it! For more information about High Country Brass, please visit their website at www.highcountrybrass.org. For more information about Drum Corps Associates, please visit www.dcacorps.org. High Country Performing Arts Association, Inc. is a recognized IRS 501c(3) non-profit organization and is a member of the Colorado Nonprofit Association. All contributions to it are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Contact: Tom Cowden, Corps Director High Country Brass Email: CorpsDirector@highcountrybrass.org

Shoot they should just use a G horn if they really want to be louder.

High Country Brass is currently going through it's final evaluation on Saturday to become an official DCA corps. The process can be quite time consuming and requires many factors. I would concentrate on just getting people interested in the idea and seeing your resource pool of talent. Once you have that in place and can organize it into a show (don't forget about lisensing) then the fun parts are done. You'll need to be registered as a non-profit 501(3)c organization with your state. If you get through that then make sure during the in person evaluation you show your books and have at least 35 members marching for a practice (which has been difficult at times for us) excluding drug major unless they somehow perform on the field. Naturally as part of the books you need to show that the corps is financially solvent. That's the nickel and dime tour of the process.

High Country Brass has a couple openings. Here's a msg from our corps president, Mike Ryan (not the same as the Cabs guy): Hey there! This is a shout out to all horn players who want to march this season. We still have openings in the show for 1 contra, 2 baris and 1 sop. No worries if you haven't played for years we have some really strong players here to help you get back up to speed. Music is loud and in your face. there is still plenty of time to learn the charts and the drill before Datr and our big shows in August and September. Hope to see you out here!

High Country Brass plans to compete in Class A competition corps and maybe min-corps in DCA and is currently planning to be in Minnesota in mid August and New York in early September during Final's weekend.

High Country Brass will perform their 2010 show entitled Wishes. The show will take you on a familiar journey that originated in the Middle East, where a young peasant man stumbles upon a magical lantern during a trek through the desert. He invokes the power of the genie trapped inside, and is granted three wishes. The show begins with the “Discovery” of the lantern and is quickly followed by the peasant’s wishes for “Riches,” “Passion,” and “Power.” What will happen to this young man? Will he get everything he wishes for, or will he lose what means the most to him in a fit of greed? Wishes was created from music composed and arranged by John Meehan, with additional percussion arrangements written by Ward Durrett. Visual design is by George Lindstrom and the color guard is choreographed by Lisa Cowden.

High Country Brass will perform their 2010 show entitled Wishes. The show will take you on a familiar journey that originated in the Middle East, where a young peasant man stumbles upon a magical lantern during a trek through the desert. He invokes the power of the genie trapped inside, and is granted three wishes. The show begins with the “Discovery” of the lantern and is quickly followed by the peasant’s wishes for “Riches,” “Passion,” and “Power.” What will happen to this young man? Will he get everything he wishes for, or will he lose what means the most to him in a fit of greed? Wishes was created from music composed and arranged by John Meehan, with additional percussion arrangements written by Ward Durrett. Visual design is by George Lindstrom and the color guard is choreographed by Lisa Cowden.

High Country Brass has been relatively quiet since making it's first out of state (CO) performance back in 2008 down in TX. Well this year we're for real. We have a great show, cash in the bank (at least a little), tons of instruments and a modest member turn out. We need more people to come out and perform with us. This season will mark the first time we'll be fielding a pit complete with marimbas, xylophone, timpanis, etc. We're planning on doing a couple shows in MN and closing the season down in Rochester, NY. If you think playing on the side lines or marching with a drum or horn or spinning a weapon/flag this is the time to come out. We'll be practicing every weekend on Sunday 1-6 PM down in Littleton, CO. Brass and percussionist are REALLY wanted. Need more information, go to http://highcountrybrass.org for more!