It was an exciting weekend for the 2020 Boston Crusaders at our first production camp of the season! Both the brass and percussion sections traveled to Tejeda Middle School in San Antonio, TX to begin work on the 2020 production. This weekend we welcomed back the returning brass members for their first camp of the year! We celebrated our best member retention rate in many years, all of which who were eager to meet the newly contracted members.

The preparation and energy from the brass and percussion throughout the weekend was outstanding. Their tenacity and dedication to pre-season training allowed the weekend to culminate with four minutes of 2020 show music which certainly did not disappoint. The 2020 show will be musically creative with the trademark Boston excitement featuring a new level of nuance, color, and exploration.

While the majority of camp focused on refining show music, the last round of auditions concluded this weekend. Tough, final decisions were made for the remaining spots in the brass and percussion sections. It is always exciting to award contracts that make the dream come true and equally tough to let a performer go. Now that the lines have been set, we are excited to congratulate the 2020 Boston Crusaders music cast!

On Saturday, the brass staff and members participated in a brass clinic for high school students. Over 80 local students and educators joined us for a wonderful day of music and marching technique led by our world class staff. While the students attended block led by Gino Cipriani, Jarrett Lipman, and Aaron Bailey in the BAC style, over 30 band directors and educators were present to observe our staff, ask questions, and share in the educational opportunity. At the conclusion of the clinic, the students joined the BACBrass section to perform a tuning sequence and encore chart for their family and friends. The students and educators left the weekend enriched and inspired, and we are excited to share the BAC experience with many more students in the future.

While the corps worked hard on show music, the administration and medical team worked tirelessly throughout the weekend to prepare the corps for tour. The full medical staff was on site to perform individual member assessments around functional movement, baseline concussion screening, and an emphasis on individual fitness goals. Thank you to the medical team, which included our medical doctor, physical therapist, registered nurse(s), military paramedic and interns, for all of the great work. Likewise, Jack Kaplan and the administration team executed a great weekend and continued to plan for spring and summer.

As always, it takes a team to make what we do possible. We are grateful for all of the volunteers and personnel on site who made our weekend smooth and efficient. From running shuttles, preparing food, and running errands, we are looking for volunteer help at our remaining Dallas and San Antonio camps. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact volunteer@bostoncrusaders.org!

The Boston Crusaders will meet again for a brass only camp February 21st-23rd at The Colony High School outside of Dallas, TX. The BACBrass will meet again March 27th-29th before percussion and color guard rejoin after their indoor seasons April 24th-26th at Claudia Taylor Johnson High School.

BAC Brass Clinic Participants with Brass Caption Head Gino Cipriani

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