Exhibition at Van Detta puts area drum and bugle corps in the local spotlight
A drum and bugle corp exhibition at Van Detta Stadium on Saturday night provided enthusiasts for the genre to see a variety of ensembles to perform, said Shannon Mellander, a music teacher and one of the organizers.
"There's not a lot of places to go and see some of this competitive drum corps up in New York, even though there used to be a long time ago," Mellander said. "So it's kind of nice to have something a little bit centrally located in Western New York where people can get a glimpse. They don't have to watch a video."
The event was also a fundraiser for Batavia High School's Winterguard.
Participating were:
- St. Joseph's of Batavia Brass Ensemble
- Brig Juice
- The Hamburg Kingsman
- The Mighty St. Joe's Drum and Bugle Corp of Le Roy (featured in the accompanying photos)
- The White Sabres
The White Sabres is an all-ages summer program that competes regionally and includes several Batavia students.
It was their preview performance of their 2023 program, "Invasions," which is a homage to iconic science fiction films such as War of the Worlds, Signs, and Independence Day.
The group next takes the show on the road, with performances in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and downstate, culminating a finals competition in Rochester at the Rochester Community Sports Complex on Labor Day Weekend.
"(The exhibition) is really exciting for us to be able to have this in our hometown, in Batavia, because there are a lot of people from this area involved in all of these groups, alumni groups, in the White Sabres," Mellander said. "There are people from Rochester, there's kids that come from Binghamton and from Buffalo and Jamestown. I like that we're able to feature them, and everybody can come and see them since all of the competitions are out of town."
Photos by Howard Owens.
