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Drum and bugle corps show a living lesson for GRCHS marchers

TGIF

June 22, 2012|By Rachel Parsons Gilliam | The Winchester Sun
  • The Colts Drum and Bugle Corps is based in Dubuque, Iowa, and will stop in Winchester during its summer tour. Clark County band director Chris Yoo said he hopes his students will learn both practice and performance skills from the professional group. The band, which features about 150 members ranging in age from 16 to 21, will perform a free show at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at George Rogers Clark High School. Musicians audition for the corps in December and rehearse once a month until beginning the summer tour in June.
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Band students at George Rogers Clark High School are always encouraged to strive for greatness.

The best way to become the best, director Chris Yoo said, is to learn from the best.

This weekend, the community is invited to watch the best in action at a free performance by the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps from Dubuque, Iowa.

“I’d like my students to kind of model how they do things, performance based and rehearsal based,” Yoo said. “I think it will be a very good experience for them to watch how they practice, and the effort they put into fixing something.”

The Colts will perform at GRC Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

Admission is free.

According to the organization’s website, the professional drum corps consists of 150 members ages 16-21. Rehearsals and auditions begin in December, then the group tours from Memorial Day until the middle of August.

“They’re starting their competition season, touring around the nation and competing in different contests. They’re traveling through the area, and were looking for a place to practice,” Yoo said.

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GRC has hosted similar organizations in the past, but Yoo said the Colts will be the first professional drum corps to perform in Winchester in several years.

“I think it will be good for our kids to see a group that’s doing essentially the same thing they’re doing, at the highest level. It’s definitely a great opportunity for our kids,” Yoo said.

The Colts Drum and Bugle Corps has consistently placed in the Top 12 at Drum Corps International competitions, the highest level of competition for marching bands. Each June, the corps embarks on the “Cornfield Tour,” traveling to different schools to rehearse and perform exhibitions. The Winchester exhibition is the first performance outside of the Dubuque area during the 2012 season.

For more information on the Colts or Drum Corps International, visit www.colts.org.

Contact Rachel Parsons Gilliam at rparsons@winchestersun.com, or follow her on Twitter, @ParsonsRachel.

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