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Wyoming Drum, Bugle Corps rehearses in Falcons Stadium
AUSTINTOWN
There was little shade for the Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps as it rehearsed in the hot sun at the Greenwood Chevrolet Falcon Stadium on Sunday.
Though the corps is based in Casper, Wyo., its director, Fred Morris, is a 1969 Austintown Fitch High School alumnus who played in the drum line for the school’s marching band. It’s been about 46 years since he stepped foot back in his school.
“This is like a homecoming for me,” he said, adding that old school friends, teachers and colleagues have come out to visit him.
The corps, made up of 150 members, arrived at Fitch at 7:30 a.m. from Allentown, Pa., in four charter buses along with two tractor trailers – one for storing instruments and the other that provides a kitchen. The group departed May 17 having trekked more than 16,000 miles this summer to participate in the Drum Corps International Summer Music Games tour.
“We’ve been all over the country,” Morris said.
The corps wrapped up its rehearsals late Sunday night heading off to the Dayton area. It plans to perform in Centerville, Ohio, tonight and will then compete in the DCI championship in Indianapolis on Thursday with the chance to perform before 40,000 people.
Founded in 1957, the corps represents Wyoming in numerous performance events during the year along with its summer tours. About 400 young adults, from age 16 to 21, audition in Wyoming. Most are from the West, but a few members have come from Canada and Japan.
Corps members were barely clothed during Sunday’s rehearsal but during its actual performances, members wear uniforms reminiscent of those worn by the 11th Ohio Cavalry stationed in Casper in the late 1800s.
“We’re a very patriotic corps,” Morris said.
Brad Gessner, Austintown Fitch’s band parent president, cited ties between the two bands.
“The Fitch band has always been patriotic,” he said.
The corps’ rehearsal at the stadium was also on short notice. Morris said they needed to find new lodging and contacted Gessner last week. Gessner was able to get school district approval for the corps to use the stadium.
“He’s bringing his kids back to his roots,” Gessner said. He encouraged Fitch’s marching band members to come out and watch the rehearsals.
The corps is made up of 80 brass players, 36 members in the color guard, 32 percussionists, one drum major and one backfield commander. Nearly each section rehearsed separately in the morning and afternoon before it practiced as one ensemble in the evening.
“It’s a little more chaotic,” said Robby Chapa, 20, of Sugarland, Texas, who is the corps’ baritone leader.
Chapa is in his third year with the corps and enjoys the family aspect of the group.
“It’s been a hell of a summer,” he said. “I enjoy giving up my summer for this.”
Aly Downs, 21, of Cheyenne, Wyo., is one of the captains for the corps’ color guard. She said she loves to twirl, dance and work the flag all day.
“I fell in love with the activity,” she said.
Downs, who is now in her eighth year with the corps, said she wondered why this was the first time it visited its director’s hometown. She added that the facilities and the people were great.
Chapa agreed.
“I think it’s cool knowing where Fred was running around,” he said.
Morris grew up on the West Side in Youngstown. He also marched in Warren Jr. Military Band and Jr. Drum Corps, in the snare line with a senior corps. After graduating from Youngstown State University in 1973 with a degree in accounting and data processing, Morris entered the steel business by working for U.S. Steel Corp. in Youngstown. The industry took him to all parts of the country, until he retired from the steel industry in 2013. He has lived in Casper the past 10 years.
“I’m still moving,” he said. “I just can’t stay still.”