Rudy Wiedoeft

94 Years Old. That's a great run! So much more than just Rocky Point Holiday! I have very much enjoyed playing and conducting several of Ron Nelson's excellent compositions for band and thought I would share the following. Here are several pieces by Ron Nelson that were performed by various drum corps. Take a moment to check some of them out on YouTube. Aspen Jubilee Rocky Point Holiday Sonoran Desert Holiday Passacaglia (Homage on B-A-C-H) Courtly Airs and Dances Epiphanies (Fanfares and Chorales) Medieval Suite Savannah River Holiday Lauds (Praise High Day) Morning Alleluias (for the Winter Solstice) Resonances I Te Deum Laudamus

Wow, I have always been bummed that my age out year at 1981 DCI Finals with 27 was never on video. My sympathies to Freelancer members who didn’t even have the Midwest video.

DCI.org. DCI Bernstein Bonanza 2009 “Leonard Bernstein has historically been synonymous with the sound of drum corps. While the Maestro has been relatively unplayed in recent years,” My understanding is that the Bernstein estate clamped down on copyright permission to arrange and significantly raises the fees for permission. Anyone have more details?

I came across a reference to the 27th Lancers being on the Mike Douglas Show. 75 was a great show for the Lancers! Anyone have more details of what they did? I am assuming they performed. Happy Holidays All!

Mike also performed with Future Corps at Disney World.

Watching Monster Oil's YOUTUBE BRASS CHAT #12 with Boston Symphony Principal Tubist, Mike Roylance. Almost fell off my chair when he was asked what were some of his "breakthrough moments" as a developing musician and he references his experience with SUNCOAST SOUND with Robert W. Smith and Frank Williams. Mike says that the fundamentals he learned in drum corps are the same fundamentals he works with today.

Marion Glory Cadets merger of Marion Cadets and Cincinnati Glory. they had some success in Division II in the 1990s.

You have to admit that it is very much a 70’s name.

“Maybe drones will be part of the a show. “ Already done, by THE most entertaining unit in the marching arts. THE Ohio State University Marching Band.

Stating the obvious: The scoring system has evolved significantly over the past 50+ years. Recently the judging seems to be slotted with the subcaption numbers locked into sequential ranking by tenths. The equipment, performer, and instruction have elevated to its highest level in the history of the activity. Because of the above, there is no relevance comparing scores year to year.

This past weekend, Aug 18th, was the 4oth Anniversary of the Garfield Cadets 1st DCI Championship. What a great show! LOVED Zingali's drill, especially the Z-pull, Jim Prime's brass arrangements (bugles no less!!), and Thom Hannum's expressive and tasteful percussion. If you haven't seen this show go to Youtube and check it out. You'll be impressed! Here are some other info on the 1983 Finals that I found: For the first time, Suncoast Sound made the Finals and the Garfield Cadets won the title, the first eastern corps to do so. A couple records were set that year, with Bridgemen making Finals after scoring 47.15 earlier in the season, and a 20.65 spread between first and 12th places is the greatest in DCI history.

Thank you for the links!

I was surprised to see that the DCP posting with all 2023 show themes and music selections has disappeared. It would be a great tool as fans reflect on the season. Anyone know why it was removed?

Given the challenges we have all faced over the past three years it was impressive to see what these performers and their organizations put on the field. In my opinion this may have been the activity’s finest hour.

Very True!!! IMO Colin McNutt had one of the top lines on the field when he was at Glassmen. Very expressive and tastefully written. So glad to see he continues to be very successful.

It looks like FloMarching is broadcasting Allentown Aug 4th but NOT Saturday Aug 5th. Is that correct?? After the setup you think it would make sense to broadcast both days.

Frank brings up a very important point. The notation for drum corps has been different than the notation for marching bands. Even though the marching Bb french horn is technically a Bb instrument, for band it is written in F (5th above sounding pitch). Here is an excellent MelloCast episode that you might also find helpful: http://hornmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/MelloCast_Episode_57_9-07-2008.mp3

Here is some information that might be helpful: • The Bb marching french horn is basically the Bb concert horn with a bell front tubing wrap. Here is where it gets confusing... the Bb marching french horn reads music that is transposed in F which sounds a fifth below written (same as a concert french horn). This allows for easy transition for concert horn players to read the music. • The tube length and fundamental pitch of a Bb marching horn is the same as the Bb baritone but that is where the similarities stop. When reading treble clef music, the fingerings on a baritone are different than a Bb marching french horn. The narrow bore of the Bb marching horn allow the player to reach a higher range that the baritone. • written RANGE (sounds a fifth lower). Basically the same written range as a trumpet. I would recommend avoiding going above the staff. • HoughtonHorns.com have a Bb Marching French Horn fingering chart available for download on their website. • The Bb french horn is very difficult to play while marching (I marched french horn bugle for several years back in the day). The main challenge is the small width of the mouthpiece rim. • There is a surprising amount of WRONG information on the web about the marching french horn, even from college horn teachers. • Best of luck and I hope this helps you!

I perform regularly on horn and have been teaching brass students at all levels for 40 years. Here are 5 thoughts on your switch to horn. 1. The Yamaha 662 is a good intermediate horn for you. Don’t even worry about the “Geyer vs Kruspe wrap”, until you have achieved an advanced level and are considering your next horn purchase. 2. if you have not done so already, find a good teacher. Unlearning bad habits is the most common setback with beginning brass players. 3. Embouchure development and strengthening is key. Especially given your age and lack of experience on a brass instrument. The best resource I could recommend is Julie Landsmen’s Youtube videos on the Carmine Caruso Method. GREAT for embouchure development. 4. Mouthpiece is as important as the horn. I would recommend a Laskey 75G which is a quality mouthpiece at a reasonable price. 5. Quality Air is essential. I recommend relaxed breathing exercises as part of your warmup. Go for daily short walks while working on your deep breathing. enjoy your adventure with the world’s greatest instrument, and sometimes most frustrating!

Keith, Thanks! Did not know that. I last saw them in 78 and did not see or hear of them after that.

I could be wrong but I believe Anaheim’s last year on the field was 1978.

And the sadly departed from 1972: 1. Anaheim Kingsmen 3. Santa Clara Vanguard 4. 27th Lancers 5. Argonne Rebels 7. Des Plaines Vanguard 8. Kilties 10. Muchachos 11. St. Andrews Bridgeton 12. Bleu Raeders

Reflecting on the corps that were in 1972 finals I thought maybe 6 or more would still be in existence. I was a little surprised to see that only three of the 12 finalists corps are still on the field. Can you guess the three surviving corps without looking?

I do not have an issue with props but how they function in the show. Unfortunately props have often become a distraction and are poorly integrated in the design. How often in a performance are your eyes drawn to members moving props across the field, not for effect but to get the large pieces from point A to point B? There are definitely examples of effective use of props but it is the minority IMO.

Lancers 1981 replace Spitfire with Danny Boy late in the season. That put the Lancers over Phantom at Championships.