January 2013

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The 2nd annual NIU Concert Band Festival, presented by the NIU Huskie Marching Band and the Phantom Regiment, is a little more than a month away (March 1 & 2). With some great clinicians and a wonderful concert hall, this is a great educational experience for both middle school and high school concert bands.

Held in a non-competitive, festival setting, clinicians include Major Bryan Miller (Air National Guard Band of the Midwest), Steve Squires (Roosevelt University) and Dr. Thomas Bough (Northern Illinois University).

Each band comes away with a studio quality recording of the concert, a well as recordings of clinicians’ commentary and the live clinic held after each performance.

As an added bonus, the NIU Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Ronnie Wooten will perform for all of the participants.

For more information, click here.

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We are deeply saddened by the passing of Helen Haddad. Helen was the wife of Phantom Regiment founder Alex Haddad, as well as mother of two daughters who marched in the corps. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Haddad family.

Memorial service for Helen will be on Saturday, January 19 at Noon at Fitzgerald Funeral Home on Mulford Road in Rockford. For more information – read it here.

Dr. Dan, one of the founding members, shares his thoughts about Helen Haddad…

Helen was the wife of Alex Haddad and the mother of two daughters in the corps. Helen was like a second mother to so many of us. She was kind and compassionate and loving to her entire family which included so many of us in the early Phantom Regiment. Her home was always a place where we always felt welcomed. She opened her home and her heart to us and was comforting to so many of us members when we felt down. Her smile was infectious and charming. Her soft spoken nature however never got in the way of taking great care of us in the corps.

I remember many times simply showing up at her home without an invitation only to be welcomed by Helen with food, games (ping-pong, especially) and we would listen to 78 rpm records of drum corps and listen to Alex tell stories about his time in the VFW and before. Helen was our corps mom and did every task a support person could possibly do. We all loved her very much and the example she gave us as a great staff member to her children .
   – Dan Richardson (Danny)

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The quiet winter is about to get a little louder…brass & percussion camp is this weekend! Camp will be at Jacobs High School in Algonquin.

For location, directions and schedule – see www.regiment.org/camp.

A special shout out to our friends at the Pioneer Drum & Bugle Corps! They’ve loaned us a bus over the years for us to use during the winter months, and this weekend, they’re bringing down a temporary replacement bus and driver for us to use! Thanks a ton to director Roman Blenski and the Pioneer! (The cold winter froze up the starter on the bus we have in town and there’s not enough time to get it repaired).

MEMBERS – by now you should have received the many emails from corps director, Dan Farrell, regarding the bus to camp plan which is different from our camps in Rockford.

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We already knew we had the best supporters in the world…but it was proven once again. We were able to meet our fundraising goal for our year end campaign…thank you!

On December 27 our executive director posted a letter stating that with 4 days to go, we were $8,100 short of our goal for the year.

Our phans and supporters came through to help us meet our goal! We raised $8,900 in those few days. We can’t thank all those that donated enough!

Thank you!

PS If you missed the letter or would still like to donate – read here.

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The Phantom Regiment is pleased to announce the 2013 program:

For more information as well as the musical selections, click on the graphic above.

read more

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Lance LaDuke
Clinician

Lance LaDuke is internationally known as a performer, writer, speaker and educator. In addition to his duties on trombone and euphonium (and singer/court jester) in Boston Brass, Lance teaches at Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon Universities. Prior to joining Boston Brass, he served as principal solo euphonium with the River City Brass Band, the only full time professional brass band in the country. Lance has written for countless organizations, including sketches for radio, stage and themed attractions. He studied comedy improv and was a member of several improv troupes and regularly steps in front of audiences around the country in a number of character and comic roles.

A graduate of Michigan State University, Lance received a bachelor s degree in Music Education, with a cognate in English. After graduate study at the University of Akron (euphonium performance) and George Mason University (instrumental conducting), Lance joined the United States Air Force Band in Washington D.C. While there, he performed for two presidents, countless dignitaries and heads of state and in hundreds of protocol functions, ceremonies, and public relations tours. He maintained a Top Secret security clearance, played for well over a million people from the White House to Red Square, and can be seen (with a magnifying glass) in the movie A Clear and Present Danger.

Lance has also performed with many of the top professional brass groups in the country, including the Brass Band of Battle Creek and the Nothing But Valves brass quartet. He has taught and/or given master classes at some of the world s finest universities and conservatories, including Juilliard, the Royal Academy of Music in London and Yong Siew Toh in Singapore. He has appeared on over thirty recordings, has produced nine others and has toured extensively throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. His performances have been seen and heard on numerous television and radio programs.

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Kelly Mitchell
Clinician

Kelly Mitchell’s love for the performing arts began at the age of six when she began figure skating, and was a competitive figure skater for ten years. In middle school she discovered her passion for color guard, and has been passionately involved in the “Sport of the Arts” ever since.

A proud alumna of the Phantom Regiment Color Guard from 2007-2011, Kelly was captain of the Phantom Regiment Color Guard in 2011. She has also performed in the Pride of Missouri State Winter Guard (Springfield, MO), Capella Winter Guard (Nashville TN) and is currently performing with the WGI Defending World Champion ONYX Color Guard (Dayton, OH), for whom she has performed for the last three years, serving as captain for the past two years.

Kelly also enjoys modeling and was recently featured as a model in the 2013 Band Shoppe catalog.

Kelly lives in St. Louis, MO and is the movement/equipment choreographer and instructor for several guards in the area, including O Fallon Township HS.

Currently a dancer at the Center of Creative Arts in downtown St. Louis, MO, Kelly is excited to announce her recent acceptance to Columbia College Chicago as a dance major for the 2013 fall semester, where she will continue to explore her love for dance, movement, expression, and performance.

Kelly enjoys being surrounded by a team of individuals with a passion and dedication for what they do. Inspiring others and the student s she teaches to always be their personal best every day, is the most fulfilling feeling in the world to her.

Kelly is proud to have had privilege of being a member and now alumna of this incredible organization, the Phantom Regiment. She is honored and excited to be helping to instruct the 2013 Phantom Regiment Color Guard Educational Camp.

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Levi Brandenburg
Color Guard Instructor

Levi Brandenburg is a 2010 graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor s of Science in Computer Graphics Technology.

Levi began his color guard career during his freshman year at Scottsburg High School, in Scottsburg, IN. After high school, Levi performed with the Hypnotix Winterguard in 2006, the Onyx World Winterguard in 2007, 2008, 2010 and was a performer with the Phantom Regiment Color Guard in 2007, and 2008 (his age-out year).

Levi has helped out with several different programs. He currently lives in Nashville, TN where he teaches the Father Ryan High School guard, is one of two directors for the Franklin High School guard, and is starting his third year as caption head for the Music City Drum Corps Color Guard.

When not teaching color guard, Levi is an actor, painter and an account manager with an advertising firm in Nashville, TN.