World-renowned drum, bugle corps coming to Brookings

Vanguard bugler

And the community is invited to watch its members practice, for free. Tickets for the Vanguard’s stadium shows usually range from $15 to $75.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, ” said Matt Power, BHHS music teacher who invited the Vanguard to practice in Brookings.

“They are legends in the ‘band world,’ and we hope they make Brookings a regular stop on their 31-state tour,” Power said.

The current Vanguard features 120 musicians who play marimbas, xylophone, timpani, various drums and brass instruments. The musicians are joined by a 30-member color guard who swirl flags and throw sabers.

The Vanguard has a support staff of nearly 200 people. There will be four coach buses, two tractor trailer trucks and a host of support vehicles parking in BHHS parking lots, Power said. The entire contingent will be sleeping and eating at the high school’s gym, he said.

Power is friends with the Vanguard’s executive director Jeff Fiedler and, when Power heard the group was looking for a place to rehearse, he invited them to Brookings.

“There was no question about accepting,” Fiedler said. “We’re looking forward to stopping for a few days and enjoying some cooler weather.”

The group will be in Stockton, Calif., this week and will perform at Stanford University Saturday during the Drums Corps International’s “Best of the West” show. The group will arrive in Brookings late Sunday, Fiedler said.

A standard day of practice is three, four-hour shifts, starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 10 p.m. In the morning they march. Afternoons they play. Evenings they march while playing, Fiedler said.

He suggested that people wanting to watch the Vanguard perform in Brookings come in the afternoon and evenings.

“In the morning, we will be focusing on technique. It will be like watching grass grow,” Fiedler said. “But once they hear the drums and brass, it will be much more interesting.”

This year’s repertoire, he said, is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning score “Ballet for Martha,” written by composer Aaron Copland for his friend and contemporary Martha Graham.