Animations are up for the 2007 marching season. Watch, Enjoy, Comment then contact me to have me write your 2008 marching band show.

October 30th, 2007

A very interesting weekend. 4 clients performed at 4 different events across the Midwest/Mideast region. All were subject to periodic mist and/or horrible field conditions which actually lead to one competition being forced into a stand-still.

Still, most went well. Silver Creek had a major jump from their last contest 2 weeks ago. They went from a 56.3 at the MSBA East Central Indiana contest on the 13th up to a 68.3 at the MSBA Madison Indiana contest this past weekend. They've worked very hard this year. I just hope they can keep the momentum going into Championships!

Hurricane High School apparently had bad field conditions for their first USSBA show. This forced the show into a stand-still. I currently have little information on how they performed.

Milton-Union also had an MSBA show but theirs was in Mason, OH. They have spent the last 3 weeks polishing, cleaning, adding and it paid off. Their last MSBA outing gave them a score of 36.9 but this past weekend, they stepped it up, performed well and walked off with a 67.9. Their show still has a ways to go to be performed cleanly but with their intensity and focus, I'm sure they are up for the task.

September 23rd, 2007.

Congrats to Silver Creek HS and Hurricane HS for placing 1st in the respective circuits and classes.

Silver Creek just finished their very challenging show this past week so this was the first true look at it from the judges. They have been competing for the past 3 weekends, progressively adding more to their show and progressively moving up in score and placement. They scored a respectable 59.55 in Indiana AA Invitational Class.

Hurricane HS has had their show done since early August but have had a lot to clean. Some very intricate moments and challenging music. They placed 1st and received the Grand Champion award at the Preston TOB contest with a score of 81.35 in Group 4.

I'm looking forward to working with these groups once again in October and adding the final touches to their shows.

August 5, 2007

The design season is just about over. It was a very lean season with letting a few clients go so I could free up time for Marion Cadets and also losing a couple clients due to budgetary issues. The design season has still led to a few milestones and a client list not only please with their product, but a few quite surprised at the level of detail and professionalism in their designs considering the overall cost of their shows and the minimal time I was given to design them.

I had a lot of great music to design to this season. I think the most challenging of which is Silver Creek HS's "I-Motion" show concept composed by Mark Higginbotham. I feel this show is my strongest of the season yet it was the most difficult to work through and compose visually. Many over-lapping phrases and not so typical time signatures throughout led me to many late night hair-pulling sessions, though I believe the end product was well worth it.

If the students at Silver Creek HS stay focused, learn their stuff then apply it in performance, they should do very well.

Silver Creek's music was a challenge but Bradford's design itself was quite an experience for me. If you've followed anything I've done over the past few years, you'll know about this little ensemble from Western Ohio.

This year they have been met with some very difficult challenges; a new director and a major drop in numbers. Usually a drop in numbers is expected but with Bradford, dropping from where they ended the season last year had the potential to totally ruin the program.

The new director knew of the challenges and met them head-on. As for my part, I took the particular style I had designed for them then threw it all out the window. How do you design for 6 Winds & 2 Guard? You throw all conventional ideas out and develop a new approach. This was an interesting show to design for and should be a fun show to perform and watch.

Speaking of Bradford, I had an opportunity to re-work an old show of theirs for another client of mine, Kent Island. I suppose "re-work" isn't a good word, more like, re-design.

It is against my policy to go back and re-do a show I've done in the past. I have had to do this only on 1 occasion where the re-use of a show was by a totally different client. In that case as was with this one, special circumstances played a major part in me doing the project.

For Kent Island's show, in some instances, I didn't even use the same Visual Phrase structure. I think their show would stand on it's own against the original and you may not even be able to tell some segments were even designed by the same person.

I wish them well and hope they're able to overcome the adversities that have plagued their ensemble in the past few years

My last 2 clients are Milton-Union HS from Ohio and Hurricane HS from West Virginia. Both groups are somewhat similar in their styles but very different in their approach.

Hurricane's concept is based off of John Meehan's music, "Pulse"; how the "Life Pulse" travels "Through Us", "Around Us" and is "Within Us" and ties us together as a band, an ensemble and as a family. It's an cool concept and hopefully a fun show as well.

Milton-Union's show is mostly original music by Tyler Long. The music titled "Illusions of Time and Space" mixes very modern music and a fairly well known orchestral piece. Chimes spread out all over the staging area play the part of our time keeper and conceptual thread; introducing each music segment as well as adding to the ambience as distant church bells as well as thematically as chimes of a clock.

Both shows should be a crowd pleaser and strong contender in their respective circuits.

March 28, 2007

The remaining staff, including the Percussion Caption Head, Coordinator, Brass Caption Head and Myself, are committed to this organization and plan on helping with the recruitment as well as  implementation of some new programs for the Marion Cadets prior to the 2008 DCI season.

If you are interested in marching in 2008 or would like to know more about the plans for the off-season, feel free to ask. There will be a meeting sometime in the near future to work out a direction and plan. I will try to update information here as it becomes available

Keep an eye and an ear out for the great things to come with this program.

Sincerely,
David A. Parsons
Marion Cadets Visual Caption Head
http://www.marioncadets.org/

March 16, 2007

Due to lack of members attending camps, and the restrictions that the drum corps activities have placed upon us, we feel it is in the best interest of the Marion Cadets Organization that we concentrate on next years season.  We, being the Marion Cadets, cannot stress enough that the organization is not giving up on fielding a corps.  We have been a part of the drum corps world for over 47 years, and we will strive to keep this tradition ongoing.  Our plans are to build a foundation and work from the ground up.  We will have a summer parade unit this year and continue building from there.  Some massive recruiting will take place during this spring and summer, plus we are in talks with a couple other drum corps to try to figure out ways of helping each other.  I do hope that the members that were a part of the Marion Cadets will return next year, and help do some recruiting to make this drum corps a huge success.  If there are any questions that you feel need answered, please feel free to contact us at MC1CADETS@aol.com.  I truly hope that everyone understands why we have decided to work towards next year.

October 30, 2006 -

Some congratulations are in order.

From Ohio, both Milton-Union and Bradford qualified for OMEA State Festival and both ended up with Div I's for the day. Now on to Mid-States. Milton-Union received their very first OMEA State Div I rating ever, and Bradford received their 2nd consecutive Div I rating. Good luck this coming Weekend!

Hurricane High School in West Virginia has had a very successful season as well. Grand Champions at most of their contests with one exception where they were runner-up Grand Champion. They will be off to TOB Chapters this weekend then TOB Championships next weekend. Good Luck!

Booneville, from Mississippi once again qualified for their State Championships with straight I's. Waiting to hear on how they placed at State. I'm sure they did well.

North Myrtle Beach placed 1st in class at the Mid-Atlantic Contest of Champions in Myrtle Beach SC. Congrats!

Time to catch up a bit with the website updates. I have been busy with work travel and with a stubborn illness so I haven't been able to keep up to date with this. I do have a lot to report though if I mentioned everything, this page would be much to long.

If you're a repeat visitor, you will notice this front page having an animation clip from one of my ensembles for this season. I did this because not everyone ventures into the animations link. I'm very proud of my work and hope to lure prospective clients in to see a little of it.

Also, have received a few comments that some of the pages are difficult to read due to the background image. I am working on a solution for 2007. Hopefully it will be in place by the end of December.

Lastly, have changed the Charges for Show Design and Instruction. The rate has been increased by $2 Per Marching Member and now I have a minimum charge. I hadn't increased my rates for 3 years. This adjustment was necessary to keep up with the growing costs of Computer upkeep.

September 7th, 2006 -

The "Design Season" is finally over. This season gave me some surprises, some challenges and a few milestones. Once again, delays due to incomplete scores or major number changes caused some major stress and headaches through July and August but I was still able to finish shows by the time they were needed.

I don't like doing business like this though. I really prefer to be able to follow a schedule and turn in shows when due but when Numbers change by 25% or parts to the musical scores are missing i.e.: Percussion scores or cuts and re-writes, these goals can't be achieved.

I've had issues like this in the past and I've instituted a 10% late charge. This hasn't worked because I rarely ever actually add it to the design bill.

Next season clients will pick their design blocks (1-3 weeks depending on ensemble size). If all of the information is not in by this time which the client chooses, I will either add the 10% or refer them to a different drill designer.

Also, if I do receive everything on time but for some reason am still not able to meet the deadline, I will discount the show the same 10%. I feel this is fair and responsible on my part.

This season also brought in some milestones. First off, this season brought my first 100+ page show along with 3 others in the 90 page range. The 100+ page show is more remarkable when you factor in that the ensemble, Bradford High School in Ohio, finished their show in August and the show itself is only 7'25" long. Usually tempos effect the total page amount but this show didn't have anything to extreme for too long. 2 other shows in the 90+ range contained more 180+ bpm measures.

Another positive is this year I had 5 new clients and from last reports, all shows are progressing well. We'll start seeing how well they're really going in the weeks to come, when they compete for the first times this season.

I have high expectations for all my ensembles especially my 3 Ohio groups (which oddly enough are all in the same Mid-states class) and the SC groups. One of which will be going to Lower State for the first time in a few years and the other will be working hard to live up to last years impressive season. Good luck to you all!

• Congrats to both Bradford High School (OH) and Newton High School (OH) for their excellent Mid-states prelims and finals performances! Newton, their first year in Mid-states competition, placed 7th in prelims then came back (After a grueling rehearsal/workout) with a strong performance in Finals moving up to 6th. Bradford, a band of only 12 winds, had a strong prelims performance placing 3rd then after detailing some technical issues, came back with an excellent finals performance, moving up a slot into 2nd place. Congrats!!!

• Also, a congratulations goes out to Booneville High School (MS) for a 1st place finish in the Mississippi Marching Band Championships. This band placed first last year in 2A competition then moved up into 3A continuing their tradition of excellence. Wow, good job!

• Lastly, a congrats to both my South Carolina bands for a much improved season. Myrtle Beach High School, after 2 weeks of major show adjustment (Due to 5 holes in the Winds!) came out with a strong SCBDA Lower State performance. They placed 6th qualifying them for finals. Just performing well was the goal, making finals was a major surprise though the staff knew they had it in 'em. They placed 12th in finals, moving up one slot over a band that was above them in Lower State. Aynor High School took a major leap forward in their show and their ability to perform. Last year placed last in Lower State (their first year competing in this event), this year had a strong performance and placed 9th, moving up considerably from the previous year and really not being too far out of that lucrative 6th place slot. Good job to both of you!!!

April 13, 2005

• Some good news to report. Tolland Winter Guard in CT placed 1st in their Regional A division in the Musical Arts Conference Finals. Karns Percussion Ensemble placed 3rd in their CIPA Championships. And a few groups I didn't work or write for though am closely associated, Karns Winter Guard in CIPA Placed 6th, Myrtle Beach Winter Guard placed 2nd in both CWEA and SCBDA Championship events in Regional A Class. Congrats to you all!

March 31, 2005

• Sending out a GOOD LUCK to Tolland Winter Guard. Their MAC championships are this weekend. Very nice group of students there with a continually improving ensemble. Looking forward to their results and working with them again next season

• Also, a GOOD LUCK going out to the 2 Winter ensembles @ Karns High School. Their Winter Guard and Percussion Ensemble have their CIPA Championships this weekend. I didn't work with the Guard but I hear they're doing outstanding in their class. Hope both of them do well!

• Lastly, contracts have been prepared and sent except for 3 which I'll be hand delivering. Still have an open slot for a smaller ensemble. I will keep that opening till it's filled, there will be no deadlines for accepting a new client.

March 04, 2005

• Would like to welcome my newest client into my design schedule for 2005. Newton High School from Pleasant Hill, Ohio. This is a very strong program with a long and impressive history. I'm looking forward to working with the very talented director, his band, and his top notch staff.

January 26, 2005

• Had a very productive weekend @ Karns HS working with their Drum line. The staging/drill is almost finished. Just a 1'30" left to do. I, and the rest of the staff, are looking forward to the rest of their season.

• Tolland Winterguard hits the competition floor this coming weekend. Apparently the Blizzard out East didn't effect any rehearsal time too severely. Good luck to you and your season as well!

End Of The Season (Oct 31)

• I have not been able to keep this section up to date for most of October. I have been on the road for most of this month so I haven't been able to type much. I will try to fill you all in within the next few paragraphs without going into too much detail.

• First off, I must congratulate Myrtle Beach H.S. on a very successful season. They didn't make it to the SCBDA State Finals. They placed 7th while the finals only took top 6. They still managed to march the heck out of their show while continually placing first in class and capturing many caption awards throughout the season. The 7th place finish is very admirable considering they were the first band to perform all day. Congrats to you!

• Next, continued compliments to Bradford. Having overcome the placement shock of the OMEA contests, they performed this past weekend at the Class A Championships for Mid-States Band Association (MSBA). Also going on relatively early in the day, and thankfully just after the rain decided to stop though still in the middle of the 30+ mph winds. They placed 4th in Prelims in a contest with 27 bands. A major feat especially since this was their first year in this circuit. YAY you!

• Troy also performed well this weekend. They made it to OMEA State Finals and had their Finals performance in Dayton's Welcome Stadium. It was a beautiful day, one day after the Gale force winds whipped through. They received a Div I, Superior rating. Congrats!

• I must mention Karns because they managed to do something that most of the staff, including me, didn't think they could do. They managed to perform, and survive, one of my most challenging shows. The end result wasn't as we all had hoped but we all know their final performance was far beyond what anyone could have imagined. A strong showing throughout the season and continual improvement to attempt to master such a workhorse of a show proves to me that Karns will soon be making a a name for itself in the marching world. Keep up the hard work and never give up!

• Last comments have to go to Booneville. This year brought on a new challenge for them... The first ever Mississippi State Marching Band Championships. I haven't seen the recaps but their director informed me that they are officially the first ever 2A Mississippi State Champion!  WOOHOO! Although this band has always been successful, they have still come a long way in the past 3 or 4 years. They have met and lived up to some major challenges along the way. I suppose the biggest challenge would be to finally start to understand my oddly unique way of designing a show. hehe. Hats off to all in the Booneville Blue Devils Band!

Week #4 (Oct 2)

• It was a pleasure to make it over to see both Bradford and Troy perform this weekend. The continued growth of the Bradford program has been quite a surprise to most people in the area. Competing in MSBA competition @ Fairborn HS, they scored a 57.5 in Class A giving them 1st place by 13.6 points. Swept all captions for A and came in 3rd for the A/AA combined scores. A big congrats to them!
  
  Troy, while I was with Bradford, came out with straight Div I's at their first contest of the day and placing 2nd to receive the "Reserve Champion" award. Managed to catch them later that evening @ Thomas Worthington HS. Though they only placed 5th in class, they did go up against some major powerhouses in the AA class. Again, a strong performance and another Div I ranking. YAY!
   

• I'm still waiting for actual recaps for Myrtle Beach this past weekend but I did receive word that they won their class with an 81.? and apparently swept captions as well. The overall placements put them 3rd, I believe. Still, a good start to a challenging season. I'll be there the next 2 weekends to help get them ready for Lower State. Congrats!
   

• Karns, after a decent showing at BOA-Murfreesboro, went to a local contest and came in a strong 2nd. It's a challenging show and, as the director tells me, is just starting to become comfortable to them. I'll be heading there on my way to Myrtle Beach and on my way back to get them ready for BOA-Atlanta. Their show is in good shape though, only some minor things to work out. Really looking forward to their upcoming performances. Congrats and good luck in the weeks to come!

Week #3 (Sept 25)

• Spent 3 days in Troy Ohio to get their show ready for their first contest which just so happened to be their home Invitational. Cleaned and fixed a lot. The show should be in good condition once they commit to the adjustments.
  
  They had 3 performances while I was there. Their Parent Preview, a football game then the Invitational. Good crowd response and very favorable judges comments. The show will do well in the weeks to come.
   

• This was also the Weekend for Karn's BOA Regional in Murfreesboro. I wasn't able to go and still waiting on general comments. Music and marching scores were a bit low but G.E. scores were quite good for this early. Will be working with them in the following weeks to get em ready for Atlanta.
   

• First weekend out for Watseka as well. They went to the Viking Invitational in Danville, my home town. This contest usually favors larger bands but Watseka still managed a 1st in class C/D, scoring 61.05, which was nearly 4.5 points above 2nd. Congrats to the whole group @ Watseka.

Week #2 (Sept 18)

• Another congratulation goes out to Bradford. An OMEA contest @ Ottawa-Glandorf High School. 1st place in Music, Marching Percussion and Auxiliary and a 1st in Class C and 3rd place Overall, with a 228.25 score.
  
  Good luck to all ensembles, whether mine or not!

Week #1 (Sept 11)

• Congrats to Bradford HS in Ohio. First weekend out - placing 1st, (MSBA Class A) in all captions! View recaps here... Piqua Recaps

    Wow, it was an odd season for me. A lot of design requests and so little time. With local storms, extended power outages and technical issues all around, it's been a stressful one to say the least!
    Now I'm winding down the Summer Design Season and have already begun to prepare 2 shows for the Winter.
    I don't think I designed one show that didn't have at least 60 pages. 2 have over 80. For some designers this isn't a big thing but most directors I've worked with, place limits or have music which doesn't seem to break down well into smaller phrases. Show length has a lot to do with the number of pages too but 3 shows are barely 7 minutes while the others are around the 8-8'30" mark.
    Although the design season has been rough logistically, I feel I've put out some of my best work to date.
    In Ohio, look for Bradford High School. They've been doing challenging shows but this year we've bumped it up a notch.
    In Tennessee, if you get a chance, catch Karns High School. Might be the most difficult opener I've ever done. I'll be heading there sometime within the next few weeks to clean and add some details. Should be an interesting show to watch.
    In South Carolina, watch for Myrtle Beach once again. Although the music and the visual product isn't that high power, in your face typical marching band product, the results of a more delicate book and intricate visual should do well for their style, especially when it comes time for Lower State.

•     Contracts have been sent out as of 12-Noon today. Although this is 3 days later than I had planned, it's still 1.5 months earlier than last season.
      The contract itself is not much different than in previous years other than now it's in 2 distinct parts. Part I contains the monetary details and design commitment and Part II contains the details of the Instrumentation. Since most band directors know they want to commit to me but usually don't know their instrumentation details till much later, I felt it was a good idea to give these 2 fragments totally different parts so one can be sent in independently from the other.
      I'm also putting more emphasis on a director's assigned "Due Date". This way I can plan my Summer design schedule a bit more efficiently.
      If you're an instructor or designer and you may be interested in seeing how I organize my contract, I will be willing to send you a PDF file of my current contract so you can see, use or adjust it for your own needs. Just let me know... E-mail Me!

Lots of catching up to do...

•     Contracts are ready and are set to be sent out on Friday the 12th. All the adjustments have been made. I do believe it's a more functional contract and allows a bit more flexibility.
•     The Schedule link is up and running though  my schedule hasn't been completely entered into the calendar section. You can still go there and see my schedule for the coming marching band season.
•     I have thinned out my client list a bit for this coming year. As I did last year, I will be attending 3-4 camps from the end of July through August. It becomes very difficult to fit in design clients during this time because I'm either driving or rehearsing continuously through this time period.
      I'm planning on only having 2 shows due in August instead of 3. Both are smaller bands. This should allow me to be able to concentrate more on teaching through that time period.
      I did however pick up another ensemble but this show will be due much earlier (Most likely mid-June) which will be well before my camp schedule starts.
•     The move which I had planned for this Summer will more than likely not happen unless I pick up a technician, or an additional real job, position near one of my existing ensembles in South Carolina or Ohio. This will actually allow me to spend more time with more of my ensembles other than concentrating on just 1 or 2.
      I do plan on traveling to more rehearsals out of the area this Fall. Possible trips would include rehearsals in Western Ohio, Eastern Tennessee and Southeastern South Carolina.

•     Re-write is finished for Rings Of Saturn. This wasn't a requested re-do... I just wasn't very happy with the original product. The show seems to be a bit more "Drilly" than I might have wanted to write but that's what I was hired to do.
•     Had an opportunity to hang out with 2 good friends over Thanksgiving, Wyatt White (Kokomo, IN) and George Cherry (Philly, PA). Was nice to sit down and talk about philosophies of the indoor activities. Tossed out ideas and commenting on others on a show George is working on now. I really do enjoy dissecting a plan and then trying to make it work on different levels. Came out with a nicely designed tarp for George's show for Methacton HS as well. Good luck to both of you this season!
•     Still looking for any regional indoor work. Designing now is probably out because of the late date but technical and advising assistance is never too late. Let me know if you need any help or input.

•     I have failed to mention that as of Mid-October I have been retained by Rings Of Saturn, an Independent Color Guard out of Tucson Arizona, as their drill designer for their 2004 Independent "A" guard. This is a fairly new organization but seems to be well on their way to make their mark consistently in WGI. Their web-site is http://www.ringsofsaturn.i8.com/ .
  
  Good luck this season!

•     A few months ago I decided that next Summer I was going to relocate to one of 2 general areas to pursue a more active instructor role in 2 or 3 music programs. Those areas are either the Coastal areas of South Carolina or Eastern Indiana/Western Ohio. For this move to take place I would need to gain 1 more ensemble in either area to make this work.
      I'm not planning on changing what I do with my other main clients. Those camps and such will remain intact but I need to play a larger role in the day to day rehearsals and planning.
      So, if you're a band director in 1 of these 2 general locations (Indiana/Ohio or the Carolinas) and are looking for a new designer and full-time marching/visual instructor, please let me know so we can discuss the possibilities.  Contact Information
   

•     Also, due to this change in plans for next season, I'm going to find my time to be even more important to me than ever before.
      I carried 7 clients this past season; I will only carry 5 this coming season. 2 will be "Full-Time" gigs the other 3 will either be designing only or design + camp. I may open things up for a 6th ensemble but they must be a smaller group of 50 winds or less.
      Because my time will be much more important to me this coming season, I'm now offering a flat designing rate of $20 per marching member. This rate will always be negotiable but there must be a solid reason for it to change. From listening to other designers, this rate is still on the middle to lower end of the scale. This rate may still go up depending on a clients needs and expectations.

•     An amazing thing happened for me this past weekend. Although I wasn't there to witness this, both my Jew Jersey groups placed 1st in their respective classes for the USSBA All States Championships in Allentown PA. I don't know how much this was because of the writing I gave them but it's still something that has never happened to me before. In fact, with this final week of competitions over, I can now say that this is the best design year I've ever had with Myrtle Beach, Booneville, Troy and now Burlington Township and Cherokee High Schools.    Wow!!!     Thanks for letting me be a part of your competitive seasons.

•     This seems to be a very good year for my away groups. I wanted to wait to put these up till the season was completely over but I think I'll just update this particular post till it's officially done.
  
      (11-02-03) I think the most surprising news of the season was Myrtle Beach HS placing 3rd with a score of 91.45 in 3A at Lower State in South Carolina. That qualified them to go to State where they placed 9th. Still, this was a major accomplishment for the school. I don't think anyone expected Myrtle Beach HS to be in Finals, let alone place 3rd to get there. The show was a big step forward for them in terms of show design and marching style. We gave them a more challenging show and they lived up to it. Congrats!
      (11-03-03) Myrtle Beach had their final contest this past weekend at the Loris Band Day. Not much was expected in placement because the peak of the season had past. They managed to come off with a Best Percussion, Best DM, Best Band and 1st in Class AA along with coming in 3rd for Guard. The Guard is much stronger than the 3rd place finish would allude to. They really are a top notch group. Wow, another good ending. Congrats once more!
  
      (11-02-03) Next is a band I had written for several years ago. I was honored when the new director asked me to write for them again. I just found out through the newsgroups that Burlington Township HS placed 1st in USSBA's New Jersey 1A class. They scored an 88.90, which if I remember correctly, is over 3 pts higher than they had ever scored. This band competed in their first show ever only 4 years ago... They sure have come a long way!
     
      (11-02-04) This is my third year on contract with Cherokee HS from NJ as well. Although I haven't kept in contact with the director there through the season, I have tried to keep up with their progress. That is one thing I like to do with all my groups. This past Sunday they also had their Group 5A USSBA New Jersey Championships. This band has also continued to improve over the past 3 years. They scored a 93.0 placing second in their class. Congrats on a great placement and excellent score!
     
      (11-02-03) Booneville HS has long been a strong musical force in Mississippi, this year was no exception. For the 2nd year in a row they placed 1st in 3A at the Dixie Marching Band Championships, winning the Small Class Sweepstakes Trophy. This year they also won Best Guard, Best Percussion and Best Band. This band is another that has been a joy to write for, not only because of the strong placements in their competitions but because they just seem to know what they're doing and when they don't, they ask.
  
      (11-02-03) Troy HS from Ohio is the last one I'll mention here for now. They went to their State OMEA competition last weekend. Had a short rehearsal before to clean up a few things then went on to Dayton's Welcome Stadium (what a nice name for a stadium). The weather was very nice, the performance was strong... They received Div I Scores from all 7 Judges and a Div I from both Guard Judges (they don't actually give overall scores or placements there). Something the band hadn't done in many years. Good Job!
     
      Congrats to all but I hope there will be more to come since the season isn't over yet for my 2 New Jersey Groups. Good luck to you guys!

•    Traveled to South Carolina one more time this season. Was another rewarding venture. Judged for the Mid-Atlantic Contest of Champions in Myrtle Beach along with attending a week of rehearsals for Myrtle Beach High School in preparation for their contest at Socastee High School and for their Lower State competition in route to South Carolina State Finals. Also had the opportunity to impress the director of Coastal Carolina University's new marching band. A good contact has been made.

•     A few more congratulations are due since it's been a while since my last update....
     
      Troy High School, from Ohio, has apparently continued to improve throughout the season though I haven't had the chance to see them lately. I will head out there this coming weekend to help in a rehearsal in prep for their OMEA state performance. They have continued to receive Div I ratings throughout the season.
      Booneville High School, from Mississippi has also continued to perform well. Their latest contest gave them 1st Percussions, 2nd Guard and 1st in Class along with 2nd Guard Overall and 2nd Band overall, coming in 2nd to a band over twice their size.
      Myrtle Beach continued winning Best Percussion and Best DM in class along with adding Best Guard in class and Best Guard overall at their last competition. I also received word last night that they placed 3rd in class at their Lower State competition which qualifies them for State. This is the first time in many years for Myrtle Beach to be at the State competition level. Congrats!
      I'm not really sure how things are going with my bands out in NJ. Last I heard Burlington Township's show was progressing well. Have not heard from Cherokee HS as of yet.

•     Congrats to Troy High School in OH, qualifying for OMEA State contest and also receiving High Music and Best Band Overall At Marion Local HS this past weekend.
      Another congratulation goes out toe Booneville HS in MS for taking Best Perc, Best Guard and Best Band in 3A Competition. The band had a score of 90.33
      And a final congrats goes out to the Percussion and Drum Major at Myrtle Beach HS for placing best in their class at the Hartsville Competition. Keep up the great work!

•     The design season ended some time ago and I must say that I'm pooped! Not only did I have 7 bands to write for, I also taught 4 camps while traveling nearly 4000 miles. All my camps were successful, unlike last season where holes (blanks) and an over-abundance of laziness filled the camp days.
      My first camp was with Watseka HS @ Eastern Illinois University. Last year the musical scores were late in being finished which only allowed me less than 3 days to get enough written for camp. This year they were the first show done and quite honestly, it was one of the most interesting and challenging shows I've ever written. Although I was only able to attend 3 days of their 5 day camp, I left there with them fully understanding 3/5th of the show and they left camp with all but the Closer drill left to learn. It was a great start to a very stressful camp season.
      Next I was off to Urbana Ohio for Bradford HS. I didn't do as much here because I came in the last day and a half. Was able to clean a few things and see their progress. Once again, gave them a bit more than they expected but they were able to have their whole show done by the end.
      Troy HS has been one of 2 main programs for me. The program is growing in knowledge and proficiency. This year's show is maybe a little less of a physical challenge for them but more of a mental one. Although they're playing a standard musical the emotion of each tune and the intensity which needs to be present will give them enough to bite into. Again, another successful camp with having all but the closer on the field. (Closer was artistically changed the last 2 days of camp so adjustments took time to do)
      The last camp I worked was the longest and the furthest. Myrtle Beach HS in SC is a new client of mine. They took on a relatively easy musical book but asked me to give it a bit of what I'm becoming famous for. It was a 2 week, 8 day camp. We were able to complete all but the last 3 moves (a sequence of exits) and had all but the last 15 sets playing and marching.

    Contracts are prepared and on their way. Actually only sent 4 out to those bands farthest away. The remaining 3 will be sent on May 2nd, 2003.

    This year looks to be one of the most challenging for me. Although I dropped 1 client, I gained 2. As it has in past years, June looks to be very thin in terms of work but late July and August will be very crammed. I hope to actually start and complete several shows that are due later in the Summer a month or so earlier so I'm not so swamped when my camps start on the 21st of July.
    Check back here frequently to keep updated in my design progress. May also include some first peek glimpses at some of my 2003 designs.

    I am starting work on finalizing contracts for this season. I am going about this a little differently this year. It seems I have to adjust things from year to year, this year being no exception though the changes are more for minor scheduling purposes than anything major. Most of the changes can be read at the bottom of this page under "Service Changes".
    To give everyone a fair opportunity to fit into the schedule, I will be sending all contracts out on the same day via UPS. I will schedule each show based on the return date of the contract AND the date in which each director requests their show. If I'm given enough lead time (2-3 weeks depending on band size) and don't have too many overlapping request dates, everything should go smoothly. If things don't go smoothly then priority will be placed on postmark dates. Sounds logical, aye?

    Confirmation came in yesterday about the addition of my 6th contract for the season. I would like to officially welcome Myrtle Beach High School on as a current Design and Instructional client. Plans are to attend a meeting there this Spring, design their show, teach basics & the show at their camp, then come back for 1 or 2 cleaning sessions. I'm very excited about this opportunity.

    Congrats go out to Clear Brook High School for continually improving their show over the season. Although they didn't make finals at the Lone Star WGI Regional, they were within a point, or so, of doing so. In their most recent contest, they scored nearly 14 points higher placing them within a point of first place. Good luck with the rest of your season.

    Design planning for the Spring and Summer is moving right along. I'm currently in the process of preparing packets for my current clients. These packets will contain detailed information about any service change (see above) and will most likely include a questionnaire regarding needs and expectations of each respective ensemble.

    I do have a sad bit of information to pass along. The Independent Guard out of Charleston Illinois has decided to fold for the season. Many varying circumstances forced the outcome. This ensemble truly had great potential for the season and future. I hope that all members got something out of the time they had in the group. It is a shame this had to happen so close to the end of their season.

    I'm in the process of updating all the Screenshots & Animation pages. By Friday the 14th, I hope to have all these updates completed.
    The updates include Screenshot segments from ALL my past shows and animation GIFs of those segments from the past 2 years and various earlier shows as well.
    Check back after Friday to see the completed updates!

    Due to the increasing amount of shows I have designed over the years, I have decided to limit the amount of "screenshots" and "animation clips" to 1 batch per show. I had tried to include specific visual and/or musical statements for each but my web-space and the bandwidth needed for viewing quickly gets eaten up.
    So, from now on in the Screenshots & Animations pages, you will see the years and shows listed on top then you can click to see more detailed information about that show and underneath that detailed information you will see a link to -screenshots-/-animations- which will take you to a page where you can view, from thumbnails, a particular segment (3-6 pages of actual drill) and also see a video clip of wither that same segment, or some other interesting segment, animated.
    I may also include live photos if they become available to me.

BRRRRRRR... It was a very cold day in Ohio. Stupid me, I decide to take off my coat during the Thursday rehearsal. Now I have the sniffles. But I think it was all worth it. On Friday, Troy High School took the marching field at 5:15 in Welcome Stadium @ Dayton University. They played and marched with dignity and pride and that earned them a Division I placement. One of only 3 given in that block! Congrats Troy Band! Pictures should soon be posted @ http://www.onthesquare.com/A55969/otshome.nsf/Schools-TroyBand2002OMEAFinals!OpenPage

I also wanted to mention something about Watseka High School since the Drum Major was a bit upset at me because I didn't have anything about them here. It was a rough season for them. Only having 19 winds, 4 of them 8th graders thrown in 2 weeks before the first competition. As an ensemble, they never gave up. The guard didn't have a designer, the section leader, Rowena wrote most, if not all of the work. She did an excellent job! On the 26th of October, at 7:28 in the morning, I finally started to see the band for which the show was designed. I think this ensemble has a strong future, They've survived some fairly difficult building years but I'm really looking forward to seeing the years to come, whether I'm a part of it or not. Good luck in all your future endeavors, Watseka!

Congratulations to Booneville HS (MS) for once again getting straight Superior ratings and for 1st Place in Guard and Band (Class 3A), High Guard in All classes and winning the Sweepstakes for Class 1A, 2A, 3A bands. Great job!!!

Also, congrats to Cherokee (NJ) for their Class 4A 1st place finish in USSBA's New Jersey State Championships. Looking forward to seeing your show finally and definitely looking forward to seeing your placements in the next few competitions, especially the final USSBA Championships on the 16th of Nov. Good luck!

Almost 2 months have passed since my last entry, many rehearsals and even a working vacation on which to report.

September was filled with many ups and downs. Had a very good all day rehearsal with Bradford HS in Ohio. Small ensemble but plays well. They have a good future if they continue to work hard.

Troy's Scrim had issues. I guess it was just too big but the end effect which we worked out prior to their Home Invitational was as effective, if not more so than the original plan. The end result of their Home Competition, although they weren't "placed", did garnish them a Division I which qualified them for OMEA Finals. Links to their site and pictures can be found @ http://www.troy.k12.oh.us/~ths/Music/Band/ . Congrats Trojans!

Took a working vacation to Myrtle Beach SC immediately after Troy's competition. This was a working Vacation in that I helped Myrtle Beach HS's band with their marching and added some visuals to enhance their show. Again, a small group but they play very well. Also attended their competition on Oct. 12th where they received 1st place Soloist, 2nd in their class and 4th overall. They received a Superior Division I placement and are looking forward to Lower State competition on the 19th. Good luck Seahawk Sound Marching Band of Myrtle Beach!

Congrats to Booneville as well, receiving straight Division I rankings in all captions at their state competition in Mississippi.

Well, the design season is about to end. This has been a much more enjoyable season than years past. Not really sure why though. Maybe because I've had more challenges, especially with the limited instrumentation of Watseka HS and the limited Guard numbers for Troy. I like a challenge.

I left Troy's camp with them having a more complete show. Not that the show was done... but we added touches that I usually don't add to my local ensembles, till well into the season. Body movements, Vocalizations - thanks to Peter Hussey's excellent percussion book, even a few touches I usually save till the last week or 2... all put in and ready to go.

Watseka had a multitude of challenges. The main one was not really getting the final numbers till 3 days before camp. It's a small ensemble so doesn't usually take me a lot of time to write but with the limited staging and possible backdrops, those take time to work out. Hopefully all will go well there as well.

Now on to the Rehearsal and Competition season!!!

I was informed several days ago that Michael Lacey, the Director for Burlington Township High School in New Jersey, died during a vacation a week ago. I'm not good with words when it comes to situations like these but I do know he will be greatly missed. He had taken his program very far in the past 3 years. I sincerely hope the program continues to expand on the Solid foundation he gave them.

Updates...

It has been a while since updating this page. I have been so busy with writing that I haven't even had the time to keep up with friends and family. I'm in the home stretch now though so all should be well shortly.

My Flu is getting better. This was not a good time to get sick. Trying to finish up 3 shows. Although 2 of those camps are over, they still had more than enough to learn for those camps.

All camps went well. Much better than expected considering the circumstances behind both.

I do believe I like teaching Marching Band more than writing the Drill so my focus this Winter and next Spring will be geared more toward that. I will probably reduce my design load to 4-5 bands, concentrating more on smaller ensembles though will keep all current contracts open. If you or someone you know is possibly looking for a Visual Caption Head, please get in contact with me. Even if it's for next year, it's never too soon to plan.

From Volume 16, Issue 2 May, 2002 Edition of WGI's Focus...

"Conquest (PA) (4th 89.65), performed "Ballet for Martha", with music from Copland's Appalachian Spring. Conquest's production resembled ballet more than marching percussion as the line handled a difficult drill with grace and poise. Performed on a beautiful set that was a mixture of maroon and beige, the music was at times animated, but always played with exceptional balance and sensitivity."

Enough said...  Conquest Percussion

And the design season begins...

• Things are shaping up to be a very challenging Summer. Some show music is still undecided but Contracts are expected in soon.
  
  If you're browsing this site looking for a Drill Writer, I'm fairly booked though I'd take on 1 or 2 smaller ensembles... (under 40 winds).
  
  If you're a larger ensemble, consider Kevin Kennedy. He's an experienced designer and would do your show justice... Email him directly or visit his work site @ http://www.prodrilldesign.com

• Another mini-update... The Screen Captures and Animations are now located on my other web-site (Angelfire) but linked through here. The regular link will get you to a redirect page.
  
  Animations have been altered a bit. I changed the format from AVI to m1v which is an mpg type format. You shouldn't have any problems viewing the files. I think the bandwidth is greater on the Angelfire site because I have up to 50mb of storage space.
  
  This additional storage space has made me decide to place some real show clips on the site as well. The only problem is that I don't have many videos from past shows. I will post either segments or complete shows as I get them. They will be located on the same Screen Captures and Animations pages.

• Streamlined the Screenshots and Animation pages into 1 page. I found that the flow of this site was a little too spread out. I will be attempting to simplify all these pages in the weeks to come. --->Click here to see the initial changes<---

• Contracts are signed and on their way. A bit more detailed than before... you know how I am about being wordy.

• Website issues.
  
  I'm not sure why Geocities keeps changing the format for their "POST" for the Inquiry form but I have edited and fixed it once more. Sorry for any inconvenience there.
  
  Also, the Animations pages aren't working as I had planned. They will remain online but if you have a problem viewing anything, let me know and I'll Email it out to you. They tend to be from 500K on up to 1.5meg or so.
   

• Design updates.
  
  My schedule for designing is fairly full now though I would still entertain the idea of offering my design and teaching services for 1 ensemble. I'm more interested in the teaching side because that's what I'm strongest doing. Check out The Design Package for pertinent info

• Burlington Township High School added to the Summer design schedule.

• I still have 1-2 slots open for small to medium size ensembles. Will entertain all possibilities but they must fit in my schedule. May through Early June is still open. First show due June 28th.

• WOW! Great Weekend for Conquest Percussion. 4th place Finalist at WGI-World in Dayton Ohio. Scores of 88.2 (prelims) and 89.65 (finals).
  
  YOU GUYS ROCK!

Ok, now onto a lighter note.

• Slots are quickly being filled for this Summer. This is looking to be a very challenging design season for me. I'm still looking for a local Instructor gig though. Anything between Peoria and Indy, down to Effingham and up to the Southern Suburbs of Chicago is all easily within range.

• Here is the list of firm and tentative commitments. This list represents the order for which I received a firm commitment from the ensembles. This order will be used to help determine design slots and priorities for the Spring/Summer design season.

1. Cherokee HS

2. Booneville HS

3. Watseka HS (+camp & instruction)

4. Troy HS (+camp)

5. <open>

6. <open>
   Tentative - Bradford, OH & Burlington Township, NJ

• Congrats to Conquest Percussion for being the WGI Mid-Atlantic Regional Independent Open Champions. I had the opportunity to work with them over this past weekend. A very fine ensemble with a top notch staff. Congrats to them and good luck on your way to WGI World.
• On that same note, I will be on Vis Staff for Conquest Percussion for the rest of the Winter season. It's nice to get back into the Winter programs considering my main ensemble decided to take the Season off.

• Potential Client Information Packets have been prepared and will be sent out tomorrow. These packets include most of the information provided via this website but also include some additional details. Those interested in receiving an Information Packet should fill out the Inquiry Form to let me know.

• Preliminary informational packets are finished and should be sent today. They contain some additional information about my work and a questionnaire. It was designed for repeat clients but will re-work it into a new client packet as well.
• I'm still looking for 1 or 2 smaller groups who need shows and maybe even a full-time marching instructor. I prefer local but will consider relocation for the marching season.

• A few minor issues on the site. Today my Geocities bandwidth was max'd out by allowing someone to access the animations of some of my shows. I have sent the AVI's to a different website though they can still be accessed through here.
• So, the AVI animations are back online but I've found that my screen capture program doesn't work in the 2 operating systems I have. That means I can't update my Animation files. If you know of any screen capture programs that will capture screen animation to AVI or even MPG, please let me know!

• E-mail and ISP issues...
          Some have tried to used my @Home address which is ok but my mail program decided to play games with me, changing some of the settings so that I couldn't get mail, from that account, properly. This has been resolved though it is always best to send to the Yahoo account. Locally, AT&T @ Home is switching over to InsightBB.com. This should only be a problem for about 12 hours on the 16th of Feb but if you're expecting to hear from me and you don't, please refer to the Contact Information link to get in touch. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
• Homepage revisions are in several trials at this point. I'm considering a single descriptive page with links to existing pages. Also, I will probably combine the Animation and Screen Shot page for easier and more logical navigation.

• Adjusted the "Charges" scale..

• 3 bands are tentatively scheduled for this coming marching season. I'm still hoping to pick up a competitive group that's local to work with throughout the Fall but as of now, all the groups are too far away for anything other than designing and camp attendance. 
• I've decided to re-do the entire web-site. This will be a lengthy process due to the fact that there is a lot of information listed here. I hope to have the new design up by February 2002.

• The laptop arrived. I'm placing all my previous designs and all my music/design software on it. The Video Out should be very useful for teaching and design work while on the road. We'll see... 
• I have also revamped the payment link a bit. It's been changed to reflect a more logical charge scale. Smaller groups take less designing time, larger groups take much more time so the scale is adjusted accordingly.

• Due to the increase of clients and to changing my focus more toward on site instruction, I have decided to increase my effectiveness to my Drill Design clients by investing in a Notebook Computer. I had several camps early in the season where I wasn't able to write which caused me to fall a bit behind on several projects. Although most shows were delivered on time, I don't want to run into this situation again.

The computer is a Compaq 705US with enough memory to run my Design, Word Processing and Music Editing programs. It also has a CD-RW/DVD combo drive along with Video out which should all help out. Those who know how I teach know the usefulness of these hardware items.

It will solely be used for work projects though I'm sure the entertainment value will come in handy during long camps and times when I need a diversion from the drill writing monotony.

• All my competing bands are finished. It was a good year though mixed with a few disappointments and unexpected surprises.
  
• Congrats to both Troy (Oh) and Booneville (Ms) for receiving Div I rankings in their state competitions. Both shows were a bit more challenging than the directors were expecting though in the end the band members were able to live up to the challenge.
  
• Would also like to congratulate Cherokee (NJ) and Georgetown Ridge Farm (Il) for achieving special goals including Georgetown for the first time Placing First in Class at Viking Invitational in Danville... Not only did they place first, they did it by a 3.3pt spread over bands they have never even come close to at that comp... and Cherokee for achieving their 2nd highest score ever in USSBA finals competition.

Congrats to all...