What’s up everybody! My name is Guillermo Montecelo, but everyone at the Regiment simply knows me as G. 
I’m from Miami, FL and am currently going to school at Miami Dade College, majoring in Music Education and Performance. This is going to be my third summer with the Regiment, playing Euphonium and doing what I do best, cranking out the power and bringin’ down the thunder as a BUICK! 😉
The energy at the February camp was eeeeeeelectric! You better believe the Regiment is going to be gunning out of the gate sprinting. Mother Nature once again laid down a heavy helping of sleet and snow at this camp, as many members, including myself, roamed in late Friday night due to snow delays on flights and bad driving conditions on the roads. For some members, the conditions for travel were far too dangerous and as a result, were not able to attend this month’s camp, but for those of us that could, it was great to see we all made it safely. I heard from a few people later that night that unloading the equipment truck before camp in the freezing snow was an uplifting experience. Haha.
Numbers in the corps looked a little slim at the beginning of camp due to the snow delays, but throughout Friday night more people came and it started to beef up again. The hornline started the evening with our breathing fundamentals and brass pedagogy before splitting into sectionals to rehearse one of our encore pieces for this season, Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral. As the evening came to a close, the hornline came back together and rehearsed Elsa’s as a full hornline as well as a chillingly powerful explosion of power with the Canon/Firebird warm-up! I still get chills every time I have the honor to perform these pieces. Throughout Saturday, a lot of time was spent rehearsing the second movement of Juliet and encore pieces, New World Symphony and Ave Maria in individual sections. During this time as well, each section rotated through a visual/marching block, as always really digging into the Regiment marching technique. Can’t make Jamey Thompson’s drill look bad now can we? Gotta be immaculate with every step!
Sunday morning brought more great work on the second movement and all the encore pieces. I am still in complete awe at the amount of power this hornline has, and it’s only February! The last few hours of rehearsal on Sunday were spent in ensemble with the drumline and front ensemble. This always gets me really pumped! Hearing the power of the hornline with the precision and excitement of the percussion always gets my adrenaline going, and makes my Euphonium seem less heavy as a result. Haha. It’s great to see the percussionists having just as much fun as the hornline and really digging deep into their passion for the music. They are going to be an amazing addition to the Phamily. The attitude and drive throughout the entire Corps is awesome and sizzling with energy and excitement!
As camp ended, the school was cleaned up and left spotless, even better than when we found it. Everyone was sent on their way home and wished safe travels on the snowy roads. This camp was absolutely PHANominal and it makes me crazy psyched to start the summer and start wowing audiences all over the Country with the power and passion that is the Phantom Regiment! So far, things are looking great and I can not ask for a better age-out. SUTA!
-G
