Kevin Doherty

Gamekid, Welcome to the Forums. You didn't say where you live and that can have a bearing on which way go, but I can tell you that it is highly unlikely you will get on with a World Class Corps as they rarely use High Schoolers. They go for College Music Makers. However there are all age corps that do recruit High Schoolers. Take a look at DCA.org. You may also want to consider calling some nearby WC Corps and see if staff members offer lessons. You would have a better chance starting with Pioneer Just afew things to consider. Good luck. Kevin

93 PR - Closing passage of Fires of Eternal Glory. Contras definitely peeled paint. 93 Cadets - Full ensemble opener in the opener.

Corey, Thanks for the information. Can you provide more information? Where is he teaching? I have homes in Louisiana and Texas. I think R may have been from Louisiana. I was absolutely sincere on my point that extensive exposure should be recognized and given great credit. Thanks, Kevin

Nice clip. Well done. Unfortunately I have major problems with streaming and I think it's due to poor connectivity with my wireless. I usually get no more than 2 seconds, then have to wait over a minute for the next 2 seconds. Very frustrating. Thanks for the effort. The problem is on my end. Kevin

Keith, My foggy recollection says Brasso is correct, but have you contacted the Corps you're interested in to find out if they have anything available? I hope you find what you're looking for. Kevin

Chaos I was not familiar with Larin. I wikied and found that he died young 1956-2008. It didn't appear that he sang with the Met and so he may not have had much American exposure (He may have been too busy singing with better Companies). Of course the Met performances are now rarely available on radio (used to listen to them every Saturday as a small kid), but unless our area Public Radio Stations air other Companies, you're not going to hear them. Last Opera I heard on radio was the Tan Dun - can't remember the name- that received some negative reviews, but I found very interesting. Do you have any links or references where I can listen to Larin? Kevin

I stand corrected. I was thinking of Pagliacci, and if I recall, the soloist was perhaps RD from NW LA St.? I'm using my foggy memory on this and I don't have any recordings with me past 1990 except for 1999 (outstanding year). I used initials because I don't want to bash anyone. There was tremendous exposure, too, on this piece. A very tough position to be in. Takes a lot of kahungas to step in and say "I'll do it - take on the toughest part of the show with total exposure". Takes a lot of self-confidence, too. Perhaps a little off topic, but one could say, how about the Scouts sop soloists and the BD sop soloists (meltdown there, too in 19xx?)? I would say that the exposure was much shorter with lots of backup. It makes me cringe to see anyone blow their solo because I feel very bad for the player. I was a soloist of sorts in jazz ensemble because I was the only one on the instrument. I made mistakes and it still bothers me, but I was covered by the band and recovery is part of musicianship. I hope every moment in every Corps is as good as they can make it. Kevin

CB, Glad you checked it out. Jussi is hard to beat. Not only did he have magnificent tone and expression, but the clip you graced us with shows the best control in Opera. He is in the upper range and there are some breath spaces and musical spaces in which he must hold his note. He comes back in perfectly every time with instant attack. The only other singer I've heard who can do that is Marilyn Horne. Jussi was IMHO the best tenor of the 20th century. Forget about Caruso and Pavoratti (yuck). What does this have to do with DC? Attack and release. Intonation. Last time I heard PR do Nessun, early 90s I think, the soloist had a total melt down as he did at Finals and the orchestral parts were out of tune. Although a short piece, it is very difficult. I hope they can pull it off. It is an exquisite piece of music. I will have to experiment with the diacriticals. Have to learn new things. When I was in College there was no such thing as a PC, we had to use the central Univac and punch our own cards. A TI 4 function calculator cost $75. When my wife was taking Econ courses a few years ago she had to have a TI graphing and printing calculator. I griped about the $90 cost, but I knew it had 100s of times more capability than the old TI. And so it goes, as Linda Ellerby says. Kevin

Good job with the history. I hope it is appreciated. I have often stated that my memory gets foggy, but didn't the Xmen start breaking out into top 12 contenders in the 80s before the Pat Metheny shows? IMO a great Corps that put all elements together in their best years. Loved the drum lines. But as I have said before, every time someone comes back into top 12, someone else gets pushed out. Aargh. Lucy keeps showing up with the football. Kevin

I don't disagree with anyone's list and very many would be on my own. But at what level would they be performing , even at their best? Unless something changes. there are only 12 Finalists. Every time a new finalist moves in another one moves out. Speculative and sad at the same time, but I wouldn't want to have to arrange things if all our favorites came back. BTW someone put up a video of the 1970 BSGKs and they were fabulous. I wish I knew how to find it, Kevin

Great history BAC fans, with a great Corps. I need a litlle help with my faulty memory, and maybe I missed this in the posts, but I have a memory of the Corps competing in the red and black as the Boston Crusaders in the 1960s. Also have some negatives about some spitting incidents on another corps which I find disturbing. Kevin

Corpsband, I have long thought Bjorling's Nessun was the finest rendition I've ever heard, however, I wouldn't rule out Franco Corelli if a version is available. How did you get the umlaut over the O? Just looked for Corelli's recordings on Amazon on the Corelli page. They have plenty. Page 2 has a CD called Franco Corelli "Arias". Nessun is on this CD plus several others. MP3 download is available. Kevin

Corpsband, I have long thought Bjorling's Nessun was the finest rendition I've ever heard, however, I wouldn't rule out Franco Corelli if a version is available. How did you get the umlaut over the O?

This thread has seemed to have have gotten a little off track. I stand to be corrected, but I think NE Brigand really wanted to get at the issue of injuries, not football fields. I commented several months ago over a question about whether drummers should have practice stands or not, and that they should. The injury potential is not head trauma (heh, heh, heh - not getting into this subject), it is musculo-skeletal trauma. Many Corps recognize this and have conditioning programs. Neverthless, it doesn't eliminate the possibility of e.g. a compressed spinal disk because you've been hauling around a Tuba twelve or more hours a day for 56 consecutive days, that no amount of Icey-Hot will ever relieve . I have seen some comments that indicate that one was tougher in the older days. No way. DC was a weekend activity and 56 consecutive days didn't happen. As for the football field issue, so what? Remember Wind Band?

Sad story. All points well made. Any solutions?

Ethan. Oops missed it. I am used to looking at the bottom and your response was at the top, My apologies. Still trying to figure out the blue box. Not getting much help. Kevin

Part 2. What are you doing with the information? Kevin

No content. Did you intend to reply?

And learn to spell arrive. Too few strokes, too little time.

I wll do this as soon as my instantly tunable snare drum and whistling sticks arive. I am a patient person. or maybe by then I will be a patient.

Applause.

As an historical reference, but not exactly on point, the 1991 Cadets started their show with no Contras. The horns were staged on the sidelines and picked up mid-tune in Fast Ride, but all the players were on the field. As for players stepping in from the sidelines I don't know what the rules are/were. but I don't know why you can't do it and add a dramatic impact to the show. What are the rules? Not stupid, just ignorant.

Yes, I distinctly remember PR's 14 member Contra section. Saw them and counted them. The year that they did the Carnival of the Animals tribute to other Corps stands out to me. Underrated overall brass section IMO. Don't remember a delayed entrance Wes, I don't know why anyone would give a negative on the subject other than a finger spaz Kevin

How did Sonny and Cher and Iron Butterfly get left out of the soundtrack?