February 2019 brought the Boston Crusaders to The Colony High School, just outside of Dallas for the first of two Texas production camps. The Colony High School was an amazing host. In anticipation of the delivery of our 2019 Yamaha brass instruments, one of our 53 foot equipment trailers arrived early in the week. We receive great support from all of the folks at Yamaha and look forward to the arrival of the new percussion equipment at move-ins.

A credit to their strong musicianship, over the course of the weekend the brass and percussion learned a substantial amount of new material. With 50% of the 2019 music book complete, Gino Cipriani and his team has the brass section extremely motivated. The focus of the Sunday morning music ensemble was to work through the first 3 minutes of show material for designers Ryan George, Keith Potter, and Colin McNutt.

The visual team continued working on movement and marching under the watchful eye of Aaron Bailey. To assist with the physical demands of the visual program, Dr. Vivien Tucker and Jackie Stine, PT continued where we left off in January, working through individual health and physical assessments. The BAC medical team is taking shape for the summer. Dr. Vivien Tucker will do a substantial amount of time on the road, both move-in and tour. We have a range of professionals, nurses, physical therapists, and athletic trainers who will keep our members healthy on and off the field.

We are fortunate to have great partners and sponsors who go the extra mile for our members. Several representatives from the Band Shoppe traveled to Dallas for the weekend to personally handle the measurements and fittings for the percussion and brass. With this personal attention and the level of detail going into the design and execution, you can expect a great new look from the 2019 Boston Crusaders. Vic Firth delivered hearing protection for our percussion section and staff. These high quality ear inserts allow the members and staff to hear the music at a safe level with great clarity and richness, without muffling. Thank you Vic Firth and Band Shoppe for taking such great care of the BAC!

We had local Boston supporters travel to Dallas for the camp and it was great to have such a warm welcome and support from our Dallas family, friends and alumni. We return to The Colony on St. Patrick’s Day weekend for a brass only production camp, as WGI percussion season will be in full swing. The percussion and guard will be onsite at Lakewood Ranch, FL for the final production camp April 26-28.