Brass Spectacular a winner for community and students

When music professor Dr. Doug Whitten began working at PSU five years ago, he brought with him a feast for the senses.

Due to Whitten’s diligence and year-round preparation, this summer marked the 5th year for the Brass Spectacular show at Carnie Smith Stadium. The dynamic field competition, part of the Drum Corps International Summer Music Games tour, featured seven professional drum and bugle corps from across the United States, all competing for a spot in the World Championship in August. About 3,000 people attended the July 23 competition at PSU.

For Whitten, who toured with two California corps during his teen and college years, organizing a show of this magnitude has served two purposes: providing entertainment to the local community (the nearest competitions are hours away), as well as recruitment for PSU

“I wanted our university to be associated with a high level event like this,” said Whitten, who typically breaks even on the $30,000 event. “I wanted the serious music student to think, ‘Wow, Pitt State supports this cool thing.’ I wanted us to be linked with that kind of perfection.”

With roughly 60 touring groups crisscrossing the nation each summer, it takes a dedicated musician to travel with a corp. Ranging in age from 14-21, members rehearse from late spring, beginning their tours in June and performing about 30 times during the summer months.

“They live on buses and sleep in gyms, rehearsing, performing and traveling constantly,” Whitten said. “It’s a level of dedication few people can understand. The precision is so far beyond what it possible with a school band. It’s like the NFL of bands.”

The show at PSU isn’t just a crowd pleaser – it’s a chance for students in the music program to be part of something other than routine performances. Whitten estimates that about 1/3 of the music majors at PSU were in attendance for this year’s show, many volunteering to serve as ushers or score runners. One PSU music major, sophomore Jason Lord, currently performs with the corps Memphis Sound.

With plans for next year’s show already in the works, Whitten hopes to expand the effort by involving the area convention and visitor’s bureau, as well as working with hotels, restaurants and businesses.

“It’s a lot of work, but we’ll keep doing it,” he said. “To get all those high school students in the stadium and show them what PSU can provide for them, that’s a great thing.”

For more information on Drum Corp International, go to www.dci.org.

---Pitt State---