For the third year in a row, I'll be working with a drum and bugle corps on a design basis.  In 2008, I wrote the drill for Revolution (San Antonio, TX).  Last year, I was a consultant for the Mystikal Drum and Bugle Corps from California.  This coming summer, I'm excited to be working with the Genesis Drum and Bugle Corps as their drill writer.  The corps is based out of the Rio Grande Valley, and is directed by Chris Magonigal, who I've worked with in both of my previous drum corps gigs.

As would be expected, Genesis will start small and local, with the hopes of eventually joining the DCI circuit, and doing a full nationwide tour.  I've long hoped that Texas could, itself become a hotbed of drum corps talent, in the way that California has.  There is clearly so much potential in the state, and I'm particularly glad to see a drum corps based out of the Valley, as there is limitless talent and opportunity in that specific area.  I that that with the right direction, this group could go far.

Things are still very new for this corps, but the groundwork is being laid for a very succesful first season, and more importantly - getting set for a succesful future for this corps.  I'm excited to begin working with this team!

For more information on Genesis, check out their website:  http://www.genesisdbc.org/

A huge congratulations goes out to the L'Anse Creuse H.S. Band for their 4th place finish in Flight 2 at the MCBA State Championships held on Saturday, November 7.

L.C. had fantastic show, and was competitive in all areas and actually place first in the subcaption of Music Ensemble.

It's been such a joy working with this program.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had no clue what to expect when I first came on board, but I'm so glad that I'm involved with the wonderful students and staff at L'Anse Creuse.

We're now on to concert season, and our upcoming Holiday Concert on December 12.  Come on out, if you're in the area! 

One of these Austin area educators is my good friend Cathy Benford. Cathy is one of the assistants at Stony Point H.S. in the Round Rock area. I’ve known Cathy for about 8 years now, and she’s always been very reliable in being a good listener, and helping me make personal and professional decisions. For years, I’ve been trying to get her to convince the higher-ups (i.e., Brian Sedatole) to hire the Montoya brothers to design her show. For a while she always hid behind the old “don’t want to mix friendships with business” excuse. (Personally, I think she just didn’t trust that we could design a good enough product. At the time, we were both relatively new to the game.) More recently, she’d been mentioning our names to the staff and it looked like there might be a possibility for us to work together in a professional manner.

The stars seemed to align last December at the Midwest Conference in Chicago, when Daniel, Cathy and myself decided to grab dinner at one of our favorite hidden gems, the “11” City Diner. Over a delicious open-faced turkey sandwich, Cathy told us that her director was considering doing a show using the music of the band Journey. (Yes, THAT Journey.) Daniel was instantly thrilled, as he’s a huge fan of Journey, and most things 80s. I was also intrigued – being a huge fan of anything that’s not your typical competitive marching band show. Things played out pretty quickly in the ensuing weeks, and Daniel and I were hired to design Stony Point’s 2009 show.

One of the big fears in designing this show was that it wouldn’t be taken seriously, on a competitive level. We were afraid that some in the judging community would just view it as a “pop” or “half-time” style show. We wanted to make sure that the show was designed to be rewarded for a high level of demand, and depth of design. It was decided early on, that the music of Journey would have to be mixed with music of a symphonic nature…something that would be considered “legit” music. Many different works were considered. At one point the music of Saint-Saens and/or Rachmaninoff seemed to be the direction we were heading.

But one day I was driving to get lunch at Panera. (Don’t ask me why I remember that…just do!) And I started thinking about the show itself, and how the majority of our music would be by Journey. It hit me that if one source of music would be a “journey”, then the other source should be a place or destination of some sort. Dvorak’s New World Symphony seemed appropriate, and the rest of the team agreed. Daniel worked his magic, and the result is “Journey through the New World”. This show is in 3 parts, and combines the following: 1.) the first movement of New World and Separate Ways; 2.) the second movement of New World, and Faithfully; 3.) the fourth movement of New World and Don’t Stop Believin’.

Visually, the show it pretty straight forward – as in this production, the music takes precedence. However, there is a running theme of the dance team making their way across the field. The show begins with the band forming a pathway for the dancers to travel. As they pass sections of the band, the pathway disappears, and kicks off the Separate Ways portion of the show. The second production begins with the band in a full-block set which gradually turns into the pathway formation again. As the woodwinds play the Largo melody by Dvorak, the brass creates another pathway for the dance team to move to the center of the field, and become the visual focus. The movement closes with 50 dancers on the field as the band sets up a stage for the classic “power-ballad” moment. The closer takes the band through its own journey of fast paced drill, quick changes in mood, and finally the “marquee” set as the show comes to its climax during Don’t Stop Believin’. As the show wraps up, the band forms the pathway one last time, to let the dancers complete their journey to the other side.

A video of “Journey through the New World” can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCgG6tPNNVo

It was a blast designing this show for Stony Point. As I got to tell the members at one of their football games, it’s refreshing to know that a show can be appealing to both a “football” audience, while remaining competitive to the judges. The show has a certain level of depth and sophistication, which is likely lost on many of the viewers – but that’s okay, because the majority of the people who saw this show loved it, and appreciated the use of familiar melodies and communication with the audience. What more could you ask for?!?

The marching season has come to an end for a majority of my clients, and throughout the next few weeks, I'll be posting information on all my shows.  To start, we'll take a look at Georgetown High School, from Georgetown, TX.

This was my 2nd season writing for G-town, and the first year with my good friend Amanda Marino as their marching band director.  Amanda and I went to TX State together, and have developed a very good, trusting working relationship.  Amanda called me in November, and we began brainstorming ideas.  I remember this brainstorming session well, because it was the day before Thanksgiving, and she was driving home for the holiday, as I was sitting in the Detroit airport waiting to head back to Texas.  After a healthy exchange of ideas, we came upon a concept that we thought would be creative but also appropriate for the level of the GHS band.

The show:  "State of Mind".  The premise: 4 different productions that each display the characteristics of a particular mood.  Early on, Amanda mentioned she wanted to use music from Copland's "The Red Pony" to open the show.  After discussing what images this piece conjures, we decided on the idea of discovery and curiosity.  With that, we had one quarter of the show planned out.  Enter Daniel Montoya Jr., arranger extraordinaire who submitted a large number of potential works for the rest of the show.  It didn't take long before we realized Eric Whitacre's "The Seal Lullaby" would make a gorgeous ballad on the field.  Because of Daniel's friendship with composer John Mackey - we had early access to his latest opus, "Asphalt Cocktail".  After picking these two works, we needed to figure out how to use them in the context of the show.  The aggressive nature of the Mackey - seemed an obvious soundtrack to a movement about anger and aggression.  After much discussion, we decided to use "The Seal Lullaby" to represent love.  We knew we wanted a happy ending to the show, so Daniel suggested a mix of "Ode to Joy" and "Simple Gifts" (two pieces that happen to share the same chord progression...Daniel, that genius!)  The obvious theme for the closer...joy!  So with the show concept, and the musical selections in place, we got to work on the actual design and pace of the show.  Daniel, being ever so efficient, had the first draft of the show done by T.M.E.A., so the staff was able to plan out the show in February.

We decided early on that we wanted characters to help set the mood of the show.  In the opening movement, "Curiosity", we're introduced to a little boy who is gradually discovering the different elements of the marching band...from the timbres of the various instruments, to the basic motor skills of the marchers.  The opener would be 2 minutes of pure discovery and surprise.

In the second tune, "Love", we meet two characters, a band member a color guard member, who experience love at first sight.  While they are, at first, unsure how to deal with these emotions, the piece reaches it's climax with the two lovers giving in to their feelings, and meeting at the center of the field.

A color guard soloist disrupts the beautiful music, and introduces a much more aggressive mood in the third production, "Anger".  Featuring the percussion section and rifle line, this movement is filled with linear and geometric forms that constantly evolve as members of the band pick fights and take out their aggression on eachother.

The mood changes dramatically, once again, as the spirit of happiness takes over the members of the field.  The finale to the show, "Joy" is all about celebration - a celebration of life, a celebration of friendship, and a celebration of the band as they bring their journey through the season to an end.

A video of "State of Mind" can be found here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWEVzkYi07s

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I had the pleasure of visiting Georgetown during my 5-day trip to Texas in early October.  At the time, they were still recovering from an outbreak of H1N1 that had dramatically affected their band.  I believe the day I saw them, they had over a dozen members out sick.  Regardless, they worked their tails off that weekend at the Westlake Marching Festival.  I'm pleased to say that since my visit - every video I saw of the band showed them making dramatic improvements.  These improvements culminated at the BOA Super Regional in San Antonio last week.

Even though the band did not fare as well as they might have hoped, competitively, I'm extrememely proud of them for acheiving a show of such depth at such a high level.  It was an honor to write for them this year, and I anxiously look forward to working with them again next year.

My time with the L'Anse Creuse band has been a really great experience so far.  I walked into the program rather late in the summer, so the majority of the show had already been conceptualized and mapped out.  However, by the time I joined the staff, there were still plenty of details that hadn't been worked out...from body visuals, usage of props, and a total effect standpoint.  This has allowed me many opportunities to collaborate, tweak, and add to the overall program design.  It's been cool experience for me - taking someone else's vision, and helping to mold it into a solid, effective production.

The show is titled, "Going through the Motions", and contains the movements:  1.) Going through the Motions;  2.) Circle Circus;  3.)  Poetry in Motion;  4.) Bodies in Motion;  5.)  e-Motion.  Each section of the show has a different mood and style, both musically and visually.  Taking music that runs the gamut from contemporary wind-band literature to early 20th century impressionism, the band is afforded opportunities to show a vast musical vocabulary.  Equally impressive is each movement's mood in visual design.  From the aggressive opening of the first movement, to the crazy "circus" of the second.  The third tune allows the band opportunities to move in an elegant and expressive manner, before the full band choreography of the fourth tune.  Overall, it's a great program, and I'm very happy to be a part of it, and contribute to the visual design in my own way.

So far this season, the band has had a succesful run, kicking off with our season opener at the Novi Fanfare Invitational.  The band received 2nd place in Flight 2, and 3rd place overall.  A week later, the band traveled to Flint for the Michigan Invitational, where the band received 1st place in Flight 2, as well as the Governor's Trophy for being Grand Champion of the event.

After a few weeks off, the band is returning to competition this weekend, as we attend the Clarkston Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 24.  A week later, we'll be at the Huron Valley Invitational on Oct. 31.  Less than three weeks until States.  Yikes!

It’s been quite a while since I’ve updated this blog, but I’ve been super busy with various adventures and have simply neglected this website. However, it IS marching season, and I feel status updates of myself as well as my various clients are very appropriate at this time of the year.

To begin, an update on myself: Most know this already, but for those who don’t - I am no longer teaching at Plymouth-Canton. However, despite the widespread rumors of a move to Texas, I am still living in Michigan. The thought of moving to Texas did, in fact, cross my mind. Actually, it crosses my mind at least once a year – as I’d like to be closer to family, friends, and the majority of my clientele. However, for personal reasons, I decided to stay in Michigan. In doing so, I found myself with another great teaching opportunity. I accepted a position as an Assistant Director with the L’Anse Creuse High School band in Harrison Township. For those unfamiliar, LC has a great reputation for quality ensembles both on the field, and on the concert stage. It was a rather late hire (my first day with the group wasn’t until mid-August), but it’s proven to be a great situation. I have a great working relationship with the two directors: Russ Hilton and Adam Kosi, and really enjoy working with the students, and the rest of the staff. Three months ago, I had no clue what I would be doing in the fall, but I’m really happy where I am. This program gives me an opportunity to learn from two very talented educators, as well as put forth my knowledge and experience. It’s been a great season, so far, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year, and the beginning of concert season.

We’re well in to the new year, and there’s already plenty of updates to send out. Check back for more updates on my time at L’Anse Creuse, as well as the progress of my various clients and friends. This time, I promise to update more than once every 8 months!