July 10, 2011 - Boilermaker Road Race Utica, NY

It takes dedication to run the Boilermaker and also for the volunteers that work the water stations and the music venues along the course. You have to be in place and ready to go very early in the morning because of all the road closures.

The Red Band was in place on the Parkway at Tilden Ave. at the end of the International Mile by 7:15am – well before the 1st wheelchair participants whizzed by to the tune of our “Marche Reale”. Because they pass us mostly one at a time at such a fast pace – playing The Royal Italian March for each racer gives them a great fanfare to encourage them in their quest.

Once the runners approach we play almost non-stop. They all respond with cheers and arms waving with some runners coming up to Arlene, our Director, for a high-five or a quick spin of the Tarantella. We play a selection of fast moving numbers to get them going – Polkas, Marches, and Italian songs such as Funiculi Funicula and the Tarantella.

We saved our best song for those runners at the end – the ones who need it the most to spur them on – a wonderful rendition of John Philip Sousa’s Washington Post March.

There was another display of dedication within our own Band – trumpeter John Piazza has had a minor medical problem that has prevented him from playing the trumpet. Loyal Mitchell has been helping to coach him with a Baritone Horn - the larger mouthpiece works as a musician’s physical therapy.

John has made great progress but his inability to resume the trumpet was a torture. It has not stopped him from performing with the Band. He carried the Banner in the Bell Parade and joined the percussion section for the Boilermaker. Not only dedication but versatile.

After the last runner came by and we were packing everything up – a photographer from the Utica OD captured us to post online at the ISpy at the International Mile photo gallery.

VIVA LA BANDA ROSSA!!
For more photos please click on the following link
Boilermaker Road Race

July 9, 2011 - NY Mills Bell Parade

Long before all the jobs moved overseas or down South – many jobs here were in the big mills of Utica and the surrounding mill towns like Clark Mills and New York Mills.

To celebrate their history, the town of New York Mills holds an annual Bell Festival. As quoted by OD Reporter Amanda Fries, “For the mill workers of yesteryear living in New York Mills, their lives were determined by a bell that was housed in a local factory. It provided a 6am wake-up call and a 9pm curfew call, Mayor John Bialek said.”

The Red Band led the Parade down Main Street and ended at Pulaski Park where the Bell is on display.

The mystery of the sparse spectators continues. The weather was great – a sunny, warm summer day – the event was well advertised – the rides and games were all setup – the parade time was the same as in previous years. Where are all the people?

It is eerie enough to warrant a conspiracy theory. In all our parades to date – Memorial Day, Dolgeville Violet Festival, Deerfield Field Days, 4th of July, and the Bell Parade – the crowds have been noticeably smaller. Maybe they’ve moved overseas or down South to get those jobs!

VIVA LA BANDA ROSSA!!

For more photos please click on New York Mills Bell Parade

July 4th, 2011 - Utica Parade

We made only one appearance this year on the Fourth of July – a 6pm Parade in Utica.

The Parade route was the same as last year- an easy walk from the staging area at Our Lady of Lourdes Church and ending at the tennis courts at the Parkway Recreation Center. The only problem is that the temperature gets very hot at that time of the day.

Once again we felt honored to be asked to play the Star Spangled Banner as the Parade approached the reviewing stand. We stopped to face the stage and received a salute from a Veteran in a World War II type Army uniform - he looked eerily like Gen. Eisenhower!

The parade moved at a much slower pace than usual – we were marching behind many, many politicians running for office and they were avidly schmoozing the crowd.

Speaking of crowds – this year the spectators seemed to be noticeably sparse. We can only speculate why – the newspaper reported that on the 4th every parking space in Sylvan Beach was taken. There was no room for any more cars. Looks like the Beach is the in-thing this year.

We would like to give a shout-out to some fellow marchers – the Laurens High School Band. They looked sharp and sounded great. A good job for a small school of 400 students – Bravo!

VIVA LA BANDA ROSSA!!

For photos please click on the following link
Utica July 4th Parade

June 27, 2011 - Utica Monday Night Concert

We gave our annual salute to Utica’s Italian Community at Utica Monday Night’s Heritage celebration at Chancellor Park.

We were blessed with great weather this year – many times it has rained during our performance.

We had a very good turnout in both musicians and audience. The Band was 34 members strong including 6 trombones, 3 tubas (rare for us to have that many), along with a bassoon, French horn and our usual instrumentation. It made for a very powerful band.

We really shined on our new signature piece “Reminisces of Verdi”. The majority of our Monday Night audience grew up in East Utica (the Italian section of Utica) listening to Opera all their lives and every few years the Professoressa, Arlene Iagnocco, will select a new Opera arrangement for their enjoyment. Needless to say, Verdi was very well received. Bravo/Kudos to the soloists, Al Galime and Donna DeRosa, for a job well done.

The concert also included Polkas, Marches, a Tango, Italian favorites, and a Jazzy-syncopated version of Darktown Strutters Ball - highlighting our Concert Master, Richard Pashley, on Clarinet. One hour on Bleecker Street went way too fast.

VIVA LA BANDA ROSSA!!

For more photos please click on the following link
Utica Monday Night

June 26, 2011 - Feast of Corpus Christ - St. Joseph & St. Patrick Church - Utica, NY

On Sunday, June 26, 2011, the Feast of Corpus Christi was celebrated at St. Joseph & St. Patrick Church on Columbia St. in Utica.

The Band gathered early for an impromptu rehearsal in the Parish kitchen to practice 3 new Religious songs at the request of the Church. They wanted us to play Holy God, We Praise thy Name, Tantem Ergo, and Onward Christian Soldiers.

We then proceeded to the front of the Church to greet the Priest and Congregation as they exited Mass. The Priest walked under a white canopy carrying the Monstrance which held the Blessed Sacrament.

He was escorted by Altar boys, one of them holding the Censer billowing a cloud of Frankincense.

The Procession was scheduled to walk around the block but we weren’t able to have a Police escort, so we had to Process on the sidewalk and not in the street as we usually do. This proved to be very hazardous – while our Baritone player was warning the drum line of a patch of broken sidewalk and not looking forward, she smashed into a bright yellow plastic sheathed guy-wire. Fortunately her and the horn were unscathed but because of the shock of walking into it – it made for a very hilarious scene.

The Procession ended in front of the brick and glass enclosed Shrine and the Statue of Blessed Marianne Cope.

We played Tantem Ergo followed by Benediction. This devout Rite dates from the 13th Century. Its purpose is to express faith in the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. “Corpus Christi” is Latin for “Body of Christ”.

This is the year we’ve been welcoming many new members to the band. We welcome a new trombone player, Rose Zaloom, to her 1st gig with us.

VIVA LA BANDA ROSSA!!
Please click on the following link for more photos
Feast of Corpus Christi

June 17, 2011 - Deerfield Field Days

The Red Band was honored once again by representing the Host Fire Department in their Field Day Parade on Friday evening. We were at the very front of the line of march to lead Deerfield down Trenton Road to parade into the Field Day grounds.

Raindrops started falling even before we played our first note. They never fell hard - although they remained steady even though we could see sunshine off in the distance from our view at the top of the road.
We received a nice reception from a family who every year holds up Olympic style cards with scores from 1 to 10. They gave us a “10” We always look forward to seeing them each year.

The crowd, as in all our gigs we’ve played this season, was noticeably smaller! Where has everyone gone?

Once we entered the grounds, we lined up in front of the stage to continue playing marches as all the Fire Departments came onto the field.

We had added more songs to our new march books and were able to play marches such as Washington Post, Manhattan Beach, and Semper Fi as the Units paraded by us.

Our Trumpeter, Karen Schotthoefer, was on Banner Duty this evening and stood between the Red Band and the Deerfield Color Guard to greet the marchers. She joined in with a snappy salute whenever they called out “Pre--sent—Arms!” and acknowledged each and every one of the local Volunteer Fire Departments. Great Job Guys and Gals”

VIVA LA BANDA ROSSA!!

For more photos please click on the following link
Deerfield Field Days

June 12, 2011 - St. Anthony Church Festival Procession - Utica, NY

According to the USA Today, this lousy weather we’ve been experiencing can be blamed on “La Nina” and it has stalled over East Utica with a vengeance.

We were able to play as they brought the Statue of St. Anthony out of the Church - then retreated under the tent just before the sky opened up for a real downpour.

Deacon Bill, aware of the weather predictions, decided it best to cancel the Grand Procession through the streets of East Utica and we would play under the tent to Honor the Saint.

We had lost a bit of Faith in the Powers of St. Anthony because in previous years the rain always stopped in time for the Procession.

Suddenly the rain stopped as the Mass ended but the Police escort had already been canceled - but we were able to walk the Saint to the end of the street and return and perform the Procession standing in front of the Church under clearing skies as the Congregation sat under the tent. St. Anthony does perform Miracles.

We had another welcome change this year. We now have an arrangement of “Hymn to Saint Anthony”. It’s a very pretty Hymn and was well received by everyone.

VIVA SAINT ANTHONY!!
VIVA LA BANDA ROSSA!!
For more photos please click on the following link
St. Anthony Procession

June 11, 2011 - St. Anthony Church Festival Concert - Utica, NY

Our concert for St. Anthony had one of the largest group of band members ever - 41 musicians- including 8 trumpets, 5 trombones, 3 tubas, and a brand new instrument for our band - a bassoon played by new member Sarah Hoffman. She even brought her mother, Kathy, to help us on trumpet.

Needless to say the sound was very full and strong but it didn’t keep the rain away. It started pouring and the audience all but melted away after our first set.

We almost lost the trombone, tuba, and drum section because they were sitting where water ran off the tent eave - down a wire, and it made for a constant stream of water right on top of them.

But the show must go on and we played the full two hour concert ending to a sparse crowd at 10:00.

VIVA LA BANDA ROSSA!!

For more photos please click on the following link

St. Anthony Concert