rgortowski

Sine Wave Brass, under the direction of Dr. Mark Ponzo, has been holding rehearsals to prepare for the DCA 2012 Mini Corps competition in Annapolis. Our 2012 repertoire is Anthony DiLorenzos A Little Russian Circus. The movements we will be playing are Tent of Terror, The Clown, and Rings of Fire. This is an exciting brass tour de force that will move Sine Wave in our new direction. We have a teaser clip from a recent rehearsal at our web site: http://sinewavebrass.com Sine Wave was formed in 2009 with the intent of giving players from the Chicago land area an opportunity to get together and play brass music. Our goal was to perform at the 2010 DCA Mini Corps competition. We hired Chuck Naffier to arrange our book from Jersey Boys and direct us. We performed at the DCA that year, placing 8th. Following our initial year, the group struggled in 2011 trying to determine the direction we wished to go. There was a clear division in opinion on how to proceed and many members decided not to continue with the new direction. After many months of rehearsal, we suspended operations for 2011. The remaining members expressed a strong desire to continue, so management was determined to get the group operational for the 2012 season. We hired Dr. Mark Ponzo, Trumpet Professor at Northern Illinois University to lead us, http://www.markponzo.com and have focused our efforts on performing challenging, exciting brass music in a mini corps setting. We hold our rehearsals in Sugar Grove, Illinois and are holding twice monthly rehearsals. The focus of our rehearsals have changed. Marks approach has been to develop us as brass players and ensemble players. The first half of our rehearsals resemble a master class, with a focus on methods and techniques to make us better individual players. We then move into ensemble work and work on group dynamics. After we do this we work on the actual music. The results have been very good and we have made enormous strides these last few months. We are looking to grow our ensemble. Good players are welcome to visit and sit in with the ensemble. You must be able to read music and perform at a high level on your instrument. Anyone seeking additional information can contact me at rgortowski@aol.com and I would be happy to answer any questions.

Forgive me if this has been discussed, but I can't find any information. I am under the impression that the mini-corps will be performing in the staduim in 2012, at night, under lights. Is this correct? Does anyone know if the corps will be on the actual field, or moved up to be closer to the stands? Will the field size be the same as last year? Finally, with the unfortunate passing of Dick Pronti, is there a new liaison for the mini-corps/individuals, yet, or is it too soon? Thanks for any answers. Rich

Ace, You should be ashamed of yourself - forgetting the Commonwealth Edison "Knights of Light" corps! Seriously - they were a real powerhouse back in the day!

Sine Wave Brass, due to recent attrition, is looking for two trumpets and two mellophones to round out the brass section. Sine Wave is based in Elburn, Illinois – a Northern Illinois suburb northwest of Chicago (near Aurora, IL). We are a brass ensemble that focuses on performing at the DCA mini-corps competition, held over the Labor Day weekend in Rochester, NY. We are playing DiLorenzo’s “A Little Russian Circus.” This is a difficult brass ensemble piece with challenging individual parts and strict ensemble requirements. You must be able to read music and play well in an ensemble. PDF’s and mp3’s are available via email. The trumpets are in Bb and the mellophones are F instruments. The only financial commitments are to get to rehearsals and for the Rochester weekend. You are responsible for your hotel (many members share hotel rooms) and transportation (some members car pool). All fees, insurance, music rights, and instruction are paid for by the group. We are looking at one rehearsal in June, two in July, and two in August. We need to be in Rochester for our final rehearsal, Thursday, September 1st. The performance is Friday, September 2nd. If this interests you, please call or email Rich Gortowski to discuss details. I can be reached at rgortowski@aol.com or (815) 964-1739. Thanks,

Sine Wave Brass, due to recent attrition, is looking for two trumpets and two mellophones to round out the brass section. Sine Wave is based in Elburn, Illinois – a Northern Illinois suburb northwest of Chicago (near Aurora, IL). We are a brass ensemble that focuses on performing at the DCA mini-corps competition, held over the Labor Day weekend in Rochester, NY. We are playing DiLorenzo’s “A Little Russian Circus.” This is a difficult brass ensemble piece with challenging individual parts and strict ensemble requirements. You must be able to read music and play well in an ensemble. PDF’s and mp3’s are available via email. The trumpets are in Bb and the mellophones are F instruments. The only financial commitments are to get to rehearsals and for the Rochester weekend. You are responsible for your hotel (many members share hotel rooms) and transportation (some members car pool). All fees, insurance, music rights, and instruction are paid for by the group. We are looking at one rehearsal in June, two in July, and two in August. We need to be in Rochester for our final rehearsal, Thursday, September 1st. The performance is Friday, September 2nd. If this interests you, please call or email Rich Gortowski to discuss details. I can be reached at rgortowski@aol.com or (815) 964-1739. Thanks,

We spent the whole day last year watching the "Canes and MBI rehearse (same park). It was a blast and we really got to see all the parts of the shows and how good they were. I highly recommend!

A lot of silly talk going on about our group. Rest assured, we know how good the veteran corps are and we are honored to be part of this show. Three of us went to the mini-corp competition in 2009, looking to see if this would be a good venue to focus our efforts on, and we were blown away by what we saw! Putting together a group, finding members, getting music and instruction, procuring rights, and all the administrative details were tougher than we ever thought. Now comes the pay-off. We get to perform with all these other great organizations, in front of a like-minded audience. Trust me - we are excited to be here! The one good thing about going on early, is we will get to see all of the other corps perform. I'm looking forward to watching!

Someone had asked what the mini corps are playing this year. It would be nice to see what everyone is playing - I'll start for Sine Wave: Sine Wave- Music from "Jersey Boys" - Arranged by Chuck Naffier Sherry Walk Like a Man My Eyes Adored Her/Can't Take my Eyes Off of You Who Loves You Pretty Baby 7 Trumpets, 3 Mellos, 6 Baritones, 2 Tubas, 1 Set, 1 Percussionist We're on 2nd - come check out the new boys from the Midwest!

Thank God for Gaines!

Sine Wave just completed a grueling 7 hour practice today in preparation for the the show Friday. We are starting to click and are really excited to be performing our show for everyone. We'll see you all soon!

I just want to make this clear. We have had nothing but pleasant, professional communication with the DCA about joining the circuit. They have been extremely helpful and have guided us through the process. There needs to be rules concerning who can compete. We approached them on what needed to be done and they quickly answered. They are obviously interested in helping us get into the show. Many thanks to Tom and Dick (but not Harry) for the help! Rich

Our Corps Director - Jim Mikowski - has been working with Dick Pronti from DCA and we have been told we meet the requirements. We have been approaching this very carefully and have sought advise from several other groups and origanizations, includinding SDCA and the great guys from Minnie Brass. We organized as a 501 3c so we can make and accept donations to the corps. We have our music rights requests in to the publisher - and you are right - this is a big expense! We are trying to get everything right coming out of the gate. It is a big undertaking, but it has been a good journey so far. We are planning for the long run. Looking forward to seeing everyone in Rochester! Rich

Hey! You forgot Blue Rock (OK - only for one year...) We are having a great time getting together again and performing. We have 7 trumpets, 3 mellos, 6 baris, 2 tubas, and 2 drummers. We are still looking for an additional tuba. We have been practicing about every six weeks and will be kicking it up in May. The show consists of Sherry, Walk Like a Man, a medley of My Eyes Adored You/Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You, and finishes with Who Loves You Pretty Baby. Chuck has done a great job arranging the charts! We are gearing up for our first year and are really looking forward to performing in Rochester!

In the early - mid 70's SCV - was, of course, the Van GOD.