What do you get when you cross a selfie with a baritone/euphonium section? Why, a “bari/euphie,” of course.
Minnesota Brass’ bari/euph members have taken a photo of themselves before or after almost every performance this season. For the performers, the photos they’ve captured are more than an exercise in vanity.
“I like doing the bari/euphies because it’s a fantastic bonding experience,” says Jennifer Keller-Peterson, a high school senior from River Falls, Wis., who’s in her second year with the corps. “And it connects to the corps song, ‘For All We Know,’ in the sense that ‘for all we know’ we may actually never see or march with the people we have to create friendships with again. Which is another reason why I love the bari/euphies, because they capture one of many memories of the 2014 bari/euph line.”
Seasoned veteran David Anderson, an IS supervisor at Polaris Industries, agrees.
“These bari-euphies are a nice snapshot in time,” he says. “As someone who is now on his 14th season with the corps and started marching before members of the section were even born, the marching seasons really start to bleed together. Having these pictures taken leads to great trips down memory lane in future years, when you can have those discussions surrounding ‘I remember these!’ or ‘Who was this person?’ ”
The major challenges the bari/euphies have posed have been gathering everyone together in mere seconds without compromising the entire hornline’s routine and then getting everyone in the picture. The latter actually hasn’t happened yet. The closest was the most recent bari/euphie at the District 11 Preview in Blaine, where one take had 15 of the 16 members and the next take had the missing person but cut out someone else.
If everything goes right, the shot should include baris Anderson, Jacob Welle, Tony Peterson, John Roy, David Schuck, Andrew Fedje and Tanner Bergersen; euphs Keller-Peterson, Sam Springer, Lucas Frafjord, Jess Belcher, Peter Eklund, Joshua Langlois, Chris Reid, Shelby Ernst, Mark Walentiny; drum majors Nancy Terry and Kimberly Reid; and tech (and photo taker) Randy Salas. That’s 19 people, not counting the occasional photo-bomber.
As Minnesota Brass performs at the DCA World Championships this weekend in Rochester, N.Y., members of its bari/euph section will continue their quest for the perfect bari/euphie.
