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2023 Summer Corps Kickoff May 12th

By | Drum & Bugle Corps | No Comments
Image courtesy Gabrielle Sinatra

It’s no secret that summer is just around the corner. We are looking for talented marching members to join Minnesota Brass Drum & Bugle Corps for the 2023 season. Coming off of a strong 2022 season, we are looking forward to an even stronger 2023.

As has been our tradition for over 75 years, Minnesota Brass invites performers of all ages to join. We provide instruments. There are no secret passwords, all we need is you.

Kick-off Weekend

The season starts May 12th & 13th in Eagan, MN:

Friday, May 12th 6-10p
Saturday, May 13th 9a-4p

Silver Bell Learning Center
2120 Silver Bell Rd
Eagan, MN 55122

Summer Schedule

The schedule aims to be accessible for everyone, rehearsing every other weekend on Friday & Saturday. The returning design staff are committed to creating a positive environment, with an emphasis on fun without sacrificing quality. We’re kicking the season off with a couple back-to-back weekends to dig into music & movement early. We want to set our members up for maximum success!

The performance schedule includes 4 drum corps shows and 4 parades plus some extra performance opportunities that are in the works. Our season will culminate at the DCI SoundSport competition in Indianapolis. After which we will attend DCI World Class finals at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Sign Up Today!

We need solid numbers on people that are genuinely interested in being part of the summer drum corps. Don’t count yourself out – sign up today. By filling out our interest form we can connect to discuss any schedule conflicts or concerns you have ahead of time.

2023 Winter Recap – Thank You Donors!

By | Indoor Drumline, MBI Winterguard, Winds | One Comment

MBI Winter Guard

The season kicked off with a bang at the Premiere show when MBI performers came onto the floor veiled in yellow raincoats. They took them off to reveal a full Pennywise costume from IT. The theme was hugely popular, and the guard produced a “Who is IT?” post to showcase performers who you wouldn’t otherwise recognize in their costumes & makeup. MBI Winter Guard finished 19th in Independent Open at Dayton, Ohio.

Guard Donors

  • Margaret Mattson
  • Kathy & Jeff Lovgren
  • Eric Lovgren
  • Ultimate Sports Bar
  • Tiffany Bornetun
  • Many more anonymous donors

MBI Indoor Percussion

Celebrating its 15th year in 2023, MBI Indoor Percussion competed both locally and nationally. The season culminated with MBI being a WGI Semi-Finalist in Dayton, OH and placing 17th in Percussion Independent World (PIW) competition – MBI’s highest placement in a decade. The 2023 production was titled “Fade to Black” and featured the ensemble fading in and out of both visual and musical textures ending as the members literally fading away and disappearing into the all-black set pieces. “Hang my head, drown my fear, til they all just disappear.” This lyrics were heard in the last moments of the show as MBI played “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden.

Percussion Donors

  • Hiawatha Academy
  • Rob Magnuson
  • Joe and Dani Jaeger
  • Larry and Rosanne Tollefson
  • Lynette Fitzsimonds and Jenny Kilgin
  • Kurt “Flash” Schiebel and Andrea Ferguson
  • Bradley kovacovich
  • Griswold Family
  • Naomi Harju
  • Mark Schmid and Sandy Dennis
  • Thomas Peterson
  • Melisa Riel
  • Kim and Scott Myrdahl
  • Ed and Kristiina Terhaar
  • Inga Borggreve
  • Anan Kohn
  • Barry and Heather Tait
  • Troy Jilot
  • Carol Kindya
  • Amy and Rob Takkunen
  • Jennifer Hanna-Tatur and James Hanna
  • Leonard and Judith Heimerl
  • Many more anonymous donors

MBI Winds

“Hello!” was the perfect introduction for the debut of our new WGI Winds ensemble. 20 talented horn players came together to create a vibrant program that entertained audiences. The initial season definitely opened new doors for the growing WGI Winds class, especially at home in Minnesota. MBI Winds finished in 4th place in Independent Open in Dayton, Ohio.

Winds Donors

  • Beth & Paul Gundersen
  • Mary & Don Carlsen
  • Kristina Sorteberg
  • Asher, Trevor, and Tiffany Kraabel
  • Dave & Katie Alfveby
  • Barry Hess
  • Many more anonymous donors

Thank you

Thanks again to all who donated to our winter ensembles. Minnesota Brass is committed to providing a quality performance experience to our members while trying to reduce costs as much as possible. We couldn’t do it without you!

Kory Esterberg Nominated to MBI Board

By | Drum & Bugle Corps | No Comments

At its recent meeting, Minnesota Brass’ Board of Directors nominated Kory Esterberg to become a new member of the board.

As outlined in the bylaws of the organization, the boards’ nomination need to be ratified by a vote of the full membership.

Here is the timeline and process to be followed:
February 6-13, 2023: The ratification process will be conducted online, with details posted here on the website, in the winter drumline Slack workspace, in the winter winds group on Band App, and in the winter colorguard Facebook page. The online form will be open from 6:00 am CT February 6th – 11:59 pm CT February 13th for members to cast their vote.

Kory Esterberg

About Kory:

Kory has been a performing member in MBI since 2017, playing in the front ensemble of the drumline, the drum corps, and sound sport. He went to college in Eau Claire, where he founded the Blugold Indoor Drumline, and is currently teaching the drumline in Minnetonka, as well as the front ensemble of River Valley Percussion Theatre. Now that he has graduated and moved back to Minnesota, he looks forward to serving on the board for MBI!

MBI Winds Holiday Clinic December 28th

By | Winds | No Comments

MBI Winds welcomes all interested hornline players to a free clinic from 3-4pm at the Champlain Park High School gymnasium. Come experience first hand how indoor winds is different from outdoor marching band. MBI Winds is an all-age and all-instrument ensemble, all are welcome!

What to bring

  • Your horn: flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto/tenor/bari sax, trumpet, F horn/mellophone, trombone/baritone/euphonium, tuba
  • Comfortable clothes and shoes to move in
  • Water bottle

What to expect

30 minutes of moving and 30 minutes of playing. We’ll supply the required music & stands. At the end we’ll play a warm-up piece together before dismissing.

RVSP Today

Let us know you’re coming and what instrument you play so we can prepare the appropriate materials:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSedHQboAyOfqnWoBIrP_fsQNOSCKz9pHO3CHzK6NYt8LX5e6Q/viewform?usp=share_link

Wednesday, December 28th 3-4PM @
Champlin Park High School (Enter on the south side of the school, off of Oxbow Creek Dr, directly into the gymnasium)
6025 109th Ave N,
Champlin, MN 55316

2023 Winds Show Announcement

By | Winds | 2 Comments

The first edition of MBI Winds aims to make a great introduction, a stellar first impression, and turn a chance encounter into a lasting relationship. The 2023 edition of MBI Winds presents: Hello!

Hello is an appropriate introduction of this new ensemble to the world… but it’s more. Think about chance encounters you’ve had that may have changed the trajectory of your life. A greeting is just the beginning…

Musical selections include songs by these popular artists to tell our story:

  • Remi Wolf
  • Lionel Richie
  • Twenty One Pilots

World Hello Day 👋

As it turns out, Monday, November 21st is World Hello Day. It started with an idea in 1973 as an effort to avoid conflict and preserve peace through personal communication. The goal is simple: say “hello” to 10 or more people on that day. As we reconnect coming out of a global pandemic, this lesson seems as appropriate today as it did almost 50 years ago.

We encourage you to say “hello” on Monday, November 21st, and then again to our members and staff when you see MBI Winds at show near you.

Performance Opportunities

There’s still a few openings at MBI Winds in the following sections: Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Baritone, and Tuba.

Minnesota Brass was founded on an idea of all-age pageantry and that holds true with Independent Winds. But winds offers the opportunity for all instruments – even if it’s been a while since you’ve played, most accomplished high school and college musicians will find that the muscle memory of these instruments is still there, we’ll help you dust it off!

If you are interested you can get information here: https://mnbrass.org/winds/join/ or contact justin@mnbrass.org.

Performances

It’s sure to be a great time as we compete both locally and nationally:

  • Eden Prairie – February 4
  • Rogers – February 11
  • Foley (clinic & show) – March 3 & 4
  • Brandon Valley, SD (clinic & show) – March 10 & 11
  • Buffalo (WGI Regional) – March 18
  • Burnsville (MPA Prelims) – March 25
  • Farmington (MPA FInals) – April 1
  • Dayton, OH (WGI Finals) – April 22-23