Community Corner
Local Music Group is Ready to Compete Nationally
The Shenandoah Sound Drum and Bugle Corps will compete against other groups across the eastern seaboard after their field performance this Saturday at Brentsville District High School.
Shenandoah Sound Drum and Bugle Corps members are looking forward to showing off their skills at their “home show” next Saturday at Brentsville District High School before moving on to competitions across the country.
The Corps will play five songs from composer George Gershwin’s musical Crazy For You: “I’ve Got Rhythm,” “And They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” “Slap That Bass,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” and “Embraceable You.”
“We wanted a show that had very catchy lines this year, and some music that people really know, so we chose Gershwin,” said Lisa Eckstein, the Corps’ program coordinator and Director of the Bands at Manassas Park High School.
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The Corps is made up of approximately 35 members who practice at Manassas Park High School for up to 20 hours on the weekends, according to Corps director Sean Peck. Most are from Prince William County, but some come from surrounding counties, and one member travels from Fredrick, Md. to play.
Carrie Sullivan, a rising senior at Osbourn Park high school, member of All-District Band, All-State Band, and Macy’s Great American Marching Band and other local groups said the group feels like a second family.
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“Shenandoah Sound is one the best things I’ve done, it’s one of the funnest things I’ve done,” Carrie said. “I’ve made a lot of friends that I’ve kept throughout the years now.”
Sullivan wants to attend college at James Madison University and get a degree in music education then study performance as an undergraduate at another university.
Eric Poff, the Corps’ junior drum major and captain of the color guard, said she entered the group with little experience in the instrument she wanted to play and was instantly welcomed.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a pro or a beginner at an instrument like me, as long as you have a good attitude, they’re willing to take you in,” Poff said. “Everyone here has a phenomenal attitude and everyone works really hard.”
Poff first learned to play the mellophone and has since taken on color guard.
“I didn’t think tossing and twirling a flag was terribly difficult,” Poff said. “Then I was handed a flag and realized ‘wow, this is a lot more technical than I think it is.’”
The Corps have been practicing at Manassas Park on the weekends since they were led by Peck. They're hosted at the school by Eckstein, who shares instruments between the Corps and Manassas Park bands.
Peck is looking forward to seeing the band perform and compete.
“This is our fourth year of being out. It’s a difficult thing to assemble these folks and get better as an organization. We’re starting to move up the ranks of the DCA [Drum Corps Associates] Class A,” Peck said. “We haven’t won Class A, but we are each year improving our performance. We’re starting to get better players and performers.”
After the home show, the Corps will compete in the DCA South Florida tour from July 14-17, the DCA South Show in Woodstock, Ga. from Aug. 5-7, the DCA South Show in Douglasville, Ga. from Aug. 19 – 21, the DCA Big Sounds in Motion from Aug. 27 – 28 in Reading, Pa, and the DCA Finals beginning Sept. 3 in Rochester, NY.