[Magdalen] R.I.P. Dave Brubeck

[Cantor03 at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/7/2015 2:23:38 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
scottknitter at gmail.com writes:

At  Michigan State, when I marched in the Spartan Marching Band for one
season  >>>>>>
 
College bands in the USA have gotten so big it's positively unreal.
50 years ago percussion sections like this were limited to drum & 
bugle organizations.  As an ex-tuba player, the multiplicity of
Sousaphones is also remarkable.  In my high school band of
60 players, there were four snare drums and two bass drums,
and just two Sousaphones.  Despite my youth then, I'd be hard  pressed
to keep up with the gyrations necessary for college tuba players.
 
For my own Alma Mater, UW-Madison, the emphasis on appearance
rather than sound has resulted in an impressive dancing-like style,
but at the cost of the sound, which, because of the high step, is
limited to a series of truncated blasts during the brief moments the
players can hold the instruments over the lips.
 
The UW Marching Band plays one game a year at Lambeau Field
in Green Bay (Packers), and it is a sort of liturgy of common  Wisconsin
citizenship.
 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5m1Co5QpOE
 
 
 
David Strang.