Insider Archive - Page 3 of 3 - Minnesota Brass

I think most of you are aware that our numbers in the hornline this year are smaller than we had hoped and smaller than previous seasons.  I’m not entirely sure of all the factors that have gone into this (I’d welcome your thoughts!).  In general I think the external environment has changed a bit with Chops increasing their recruiting efforts and River City Rhythm on the scene.  I think the late date of Labor Day and our overlap with school calendars (particularly for folks who want to march in their college marching band) has created a challenge for us.  And finally, I think some of our veterans from previous years have chosen for any number of reasons not to march this year.

Last week, Joel, Katy, Paul, Scott and I met to discuss the hornline numbers.  Our challenge is always trying to balance the need for realistic recruiting goals while maximizing our presence on the field.  We are very much aware of the difficulty learning and marching the show with holes.  That sucks for everyone.

So . . . we’re planning to write the show for 48 horns this year.  We are feeling pretty good about filling all of our high brass spots.  Our tuba line is solid at 7 currently so we’ve got a few folks to find there.  The biggest challenge is in the bari/euph line.  We will also want to make sure we are ready to field a significant guard this season as well.  Your color guard friends will soon be ending their winter season and we hope lots of them will want to keep spinning all summer long.  We’re doing all we know how to do in terms of social media, calling and reaching out to prospective names.  But our most valuable recruiters are you . . . our members.

Quite simply, there is nothing more meaningful than when a member brings a friend or calls someone they know to join us.  Your personal contacts and your network are our best resources for filling the hornline this year.  We’ve put a $50 incentive on the table which of course helps.  But your real incentive should be what we can accomplish when we fill all these spots.  Your experience at every rehearsal and our collective performance will be so much better when we are full.

Take a moment right now.  Think of three people you can talk to–via text, phone or in person.  Contact them.  Let’s capitalize on the momentum, the positive vibe and the promise that this show has.  Let’s get (at least!) 48 horn players ready to march at our first camp.  I know we can do this.

It’s official!  For those of you who want to stay in hotels during the Alexandria weekend, we’ve secured some rooms . . . in the city of Alexandria.  Woot. Woot.  Last year those who stayed in hotels were a few miles away (I think our rooms were in North Dakota maybe?) but this year those of you who want will stay in town.

As a reminder, on our overnight trips the corps provides housing at a local school (gym floor).  If you wish to stay at hotel we will make the arrangements for that but you have to pay the cost of the room yourself.  We post information about housing arrangements a few weeks before each trip, so no action is required at this time.

Head Scratcher

So as you may have noticed, the Minnesota DCA show weekend hosted by MBI and the Govies has not yet been scheduled. For the last few years we’ve been able to have a show in the Twin Cities (either at South St. Paul or St. Thomas Academy) and then head down to St. Peter on Saturday. Well this year the HS football schedule for St. Thomas was late in being finalized and St. Peter has a home football game on the Saturday we would normally have the show. So we’re working with St. Thomas to see what their availability looks like and the Govies are working with St. Peter to explore other options down there. Suffice it to say . . . we’re working on it. You can count on being busy all of the weekends that are currently marked on the calendar, but the specifics of what will happen where and when are still not yet finalized. Stay tuned!