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October 19, 2005
EXCLUSIVE: Colts Percussion Caption Head Resigns
Confirmed by multiple sources, Ryan Thomas, the Percussion Caption Head for the Colts Drum & Bugle Corp has officially resigned. A new caption head will be announced within the week, but as of this point, the Colts organization has not officially announced the news.
Along with the former caption head, the bass tech for the Colts, Chris Sakowski, has joined the staff at the Bluecoats as the new co-bass tech splitting duties with Adam Clay.
At this point there are no other tech changes within the Colts percussion staff. Once announced, the new caption head will most likely make the determination of future staffing changes. Look for the announcement sometime this week.
Posted by Ryan on 03:15 PM | Comments (2)
Bluecoats Announce Percussion Staff for 2006
Bret Kuhn joins the Bluecoats! Looks like an All Star staff...the Top 3 is calling their name.
The Bluecoats are pleased to announce several exciting additions to their 2005 percussion staff. Bret Kuhn will join the Bluecoats percussion team as a consultant and teacher. "The addition of Bret to an already formidable Bluecoats percussion staff is HUGE! I am so excited about working with him again as he is not only a great teacher, but a great friend as well" states Bluecoats Percussion Arranger Michael McIntosh. As percussion design consultant, Bret will be another set of eyes and ears for the percussion design team, and will also have some teaching time with the members this summer.Also joining the Bluecoats team as percussion instructors will be Chad Shaedler, Chris Sakowski, and Eric Ridenour.
Chad marched snare with both Nite Express and the Blue Knights, and is currently Battery Caption Head and percussion arranger for WGI World Class finalist Gateway Indoor Percussion. Chad has also worked with the Pride of MSU percussion ensemble and the Colts Drum & Bugle Corps. He will join veteran Bluecoats staffer Tim Maynard in front of the Bluecoats snare line this year.
Chris Sakowski comes to the Bluecoats after several years spent marching and teaching with the Colts. He also works with Gateway Percussion, and is in his second year as caption head/arranger for the University of Memphis marching band and PASIC drum lines. In 2006, Chris will be joining returning Bluecoats percussion instructor Adam Clay as an instructor of the bass line.
Eric is a former marching member of both the Blue Knights and the Santa Clara Vanguard. Currently, he is actively involved in teaching Pomona High School in Arvada, Colorado and many other high school groups around the Denver area. This season, Eric will assist returning caption head Ray Ulibarri with the tenor line.
Rounding out the Bluecoats percussion instructional staff for the 2006 season are returning front ensemble instructors Brad Palmer and Allen Justus.
Posted by Ryan on 03:08 PM | Comments (0)
October 18, 2005
BREAKING NEWS: Cavaliers Technique Modified with New Staff
An email was sent out confirming changes to the snare and tenor techniques for The Cavaliers. Bass and front ensemble technique will remain the same. Click the link below to read the email.
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From: ////////////
Date: 2005/10/17 Mon PM 04:28:30 EDT
To: info@cavaliers.org
Subject: The 2006 Cavaliers Snare Addendum
Greetings Percussionists!
As many of you are aware, there have been some changes to the percussion staff for the 2006 Cavaliers. With the changes in personnel come changes in the technique program. This will have a direct effect on the snare drums and tenor drums in particular. The bass drum and front ensemble technique programs will remain the same. The changes in technique will be sent to all percussionists who have purchased the Cavalier Warm Up and Technique Books for snare and tenors.
Learning technique by simply reading text is quite difficult on any instrument. For this reason we encourage each student to come to the audition and play the way they are comfortable playing. Don't try to change your entire approach because you think it will be the style we're looking for. During the November Audition camp, each instructor will break down and demonstrate the technique as well as answer all of your questions.
For the battery auditions we will use many of the existing exercises:
* 8's
* New Bucks
* Stick Control
* Double OO
* What a Drag
* 7/8 Grid
* Flowus-Foo-Kee-Deehe
For the front ensemble auditions we will use the following exercises:
* 7/8 Octaves (all major keys and natural minors)
* 7/8 V (all major keys)
* Green (all major keys)
* Spatial Awareness (as written only)
* 1234
* 8-16
* Any other exercise (2 or 4 mallets) that you practice on a regular basis
Some new exercises and musical excerpts may be introduced during the audition process. This new material will test your ability to adapt to change, learn new music, and receive information. There is not much you can do to prepare for this, perhaps some sightreading to keep your skills sharp. Other than that, RELAX! It will be new for everyone.
The 2006 Cavalier percussion staff has experienced educators who are top-notched performers. You will learn an incredible amount about playing your instrument, creating music and you will learn a lot about yourself in the process.
We'll see you in November.
Good Luck to All!
The NEW Cavaliers 2006 Percussion Staff
_www.cavaliers.org/media/pdf/2006_Cavaliers_Snare_Technique.pdf_
(http://www.cavaliers.org/media/pdf/2006_Cavaliers_Snare_Technique.pdf)
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Tenor Technique PDF
http://www.cavaliers.org/media/pdf/2006_Cavaliers_Tenor_Technique.pdf
Posted by Ryan on 02:41 PM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2005
BOA Arlington This Saturday
Well, the BOA Arlington Regional is almost upon us. We (Owasso) have been practicing hard and the show is really coming together, it just depends on how much the kids get done in the next two days. While it seems most of the Texas bands are cleaning (except for maybe Reagan), we are still putting on the finishing touches to the show.
Does this make me nervous? Usually not, but if you haven't seen the lineup for Arlington, it looks more like a Super Regional lineup rather than a normal Regional. Westfield, LD Bell, Reagan, Winston Churchill, Owasso and a host of other groups all vying for a Finals spot. Just the final block of the afternoon is enough to make a midlevel band sweat:
Haltom H.S., TX 2:45 Richland H.S., TX 3:00 Georgetown H.S., TX 3:15 Owasso H.S., OK 3:30 Winston Churchill H.S., TX 3:45 Brazoswood H.S., TX 4:00 Putnam City H.S., OK 4:15 L.D. Bell H.S., TX 4:30
I have one word for that final block: bloodbath. There's a strong possibility that half of the Finalists will come from that last block.
Posted by Ryan on 02:21 PM | Comments (2)
October 07, 2005
Congrats to Last Week's Regional Champs
Congrats go out to last weekend's Regional Champions - BOA Houston went to Winston Churchill and BOA La Joya went to Harligen HS.
This weekend we've got two more Regionals, this time on opposite coasts. The two Regionals will be held in Long Beach, California and Towson, Maryland.
No offense to the attending bands, but Towson seems a little light this year. Other than King Philip, I don't recognize a lot of the bands. As for Long Beach, there are some well known BOA groups in attendance - Etiwanda, Upland, Ayala, and Thousand Oaks. Plus there are a couple Texas bands making the trip to California which should add a nice twist to the competition.
Posted by Ryan on 09:58 AM | Comments (0)
