Important Update!

Due to the uncertainty of the weather and concern for the safety of our members, our rehearsal scheduled for Saturday, December 14 has been cancelled.

Stay safe this weekend!

A call for wintry mix this weekend, you say?

Keep an eye out for updates we may have regarding cancellations for this Saturday's rehearsal!

Thunder Brigade's December Rehearsal!

Be sure to join us at our next Rehearsal on December 14, 2013 at 10 am! It will take place at The University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Click here for driving and parking information!

Everything you need to know for Thunder Brigade Open House – 11/30/13

What time does the open house start?
  The open house will start with registration at 10:00 a.m.

Where is the open house taking place?
  The open house is taking place at Laurel Boys & Girls Club, 701 Montgomery Street, Laurel, MD 20707.  Registration takes place in the gym.  As you face the building, the gym is on the right, up the stairs and through the door.

How much does the open house cost?
  1.  There is a $25.00 fee for the open house experience to cover costs for the day.  We can accept payment via cash, check, money order, or credit card.

  2.  For musicians, there is an additional music packet fee of $30.00 at the door ($25.00 if you download in advance from the website).  This music fee covers the costs of all music throughout the entire 2013-2014 season of Thunder Brigade.

What do I need to bring with me?

  All applicants should bring the following:
  1.  Brown bag lunch (Thunder will not be providing lunch)
  2.  Water bottle/Jug
  3.  Music Stand
  4.  Appropriate attire
  5.  Music Packet (if downloaded in advance)
  6.  Pencil and Pen

Additionally, applicants for the following sections will need to bring the following:
   
  Brass:
  1.  If you have your own instrument we recommend you bring it.  Thunder Brigade will make instruments available, but quantities will be limited.  The best way to insure you play all day is to bring your own horn.  Please note – Thunder Brigade will not be providing trumpets for the open house.

  Percussion:
  1.  If you have your own instrument we recommend you bring it.  Thunder Brigade will make instruments available, but quantities will be limited. 

  2.  Implements – sticks and mallets.  Thunder will have some bass drum mallets and keyboard mallets available, but again – quantities are limited.  If you have your own mallets, you should bring them.  Please note – Thunder Brigade will not be providing sticks for tenors and snares at the open house.

  Color Guard:
  1.  Thunder Brigade will provide flags/poles for the open house experience, however, quantities will be limited.  Any applicant with access to their own flags/poles should bring them with them to insure maximum time on the equipment at the open house.  Anybody interested in spinning weapon (saber/rifle) will need to bring their own, as Thunder will not be providing such for the open house experience. 

What is on the agenda for the open house?

  For Brass & Battery:
  1.  General Technique & musical exercises
  2.  Corps/Parade Tune – to be passed out at the open house

  For Front Ensemble/Pit:
  1.  General Technique & musical exercises
  2.  Pit Tune/Chart (included in musical packet)

  For Color Guard
  1.  General Technique – spin/dance/etc.

What is the schedule for Saturday?

10:00    Registration Opens
10:30    Opening Remarks
10:45    Sub Sectionals
12:15    Lunch (Brown Bag please!  Not much time to go out for food)
12:45    Sectionals
3:00      Full Brass/Percussion Sectionals (Pit moves to gym)
3:45      Stage/Move for Ensemble
4:00      Ensemble/Show & Tell
4:45      Closing Remarks
5:00      Facility Cleanup
6:00      Done/Out

If I have any other questions, whom do I contact?
  All questions can be directed to Reginald Alignay, 240-441-3775, reggie@thunderbrigade.org

Thunder Brigade is pleased to announce additions to its brass and visual teams!

Stephen Wales - Trumpet Tech
Pedro Paz - Mellophone Tech
Kevin Rouse - Baritone Tech
Ryan Lowrie - Tuba Tech
Joe Dacey - Visual Tech
Michael Boursiquot - Visual Tech

http://thunderbrigade.org/DrumCorps_Updates.html

Thunder Brigade is pleased to announce Sara McDougall as Color Guard Caption Head!

Sara McDougall is from Eldersburg, MD and has been involved with music performance since she was first given the opportunity to join chorus in 3rd grade! She sang all through elementary, middle, and high school; continuing afterwards with groups such as the Carroll Community Choir and the Maryland Choral Society. It was in high school that Sara discovered colorguard; performing with the Liberty High School “Lion’s Pride” Marching Band as well as the indoor colorguard. She continued on after school developing her skills as a performer with organizations such as the Westshoremen Drum & Bugle Corps, the Westshoremen Senior Winterguard, and THE Guard Independent Senior Guard … including five incredible seasons spent performing with the Reading Buccaneers Drum & Bugle Corps.

Sara has teched/written/taught for and consulted with several high school programs in the Frederick and Carroll county areas. Most recently, she was given the opportunity to return to her alma mater and has held the colorguard designer/instructor position for the Liberty High School “Lion’s Pride” Marching Band since the fall of 2009.

 In “real life”, Sara is a replenishment analyst in the merchandising department at Music & Arts. Music & Arts has served students, teachers, and families through retail stores and school representatives since 1952. Based in Frederick, MD, the company specializes in instrument rentals, music lessons and band and orchestra instrument sales. Music & Arts currently has 120 retail stores in 22 different states.

 A Maryland girl through and through, Sara is excited to throw her experience and energy behind the effort to establish a local drum corps presence here in the Delmarva region!

Thunder Brigade is pleased to announce additions to its design and visual team!

Mark Lortz - Program Coordinator
Glen Brumbach - Program Consultant
Amber Abbott - Visual Caption Head

http://thunderbrigade.org/DrumCorps_Updates.html

Be sure to check out Thunder Brigade's FAQ section for information on our inaugural season!

http://www.thunderbrigade.org/DrumCorps_About.html

Thunder Brigade is pleased to announce our percussion staff for the 2014 season.

http://thunderbrigade.org/DrumCorps_Staff_Percussion.html

We are currently recruiting members for all sections. Anybody interested in joining Thunder Brigade can download a packet from our website.

http://thunderbrigade.org/DrumCorps_Join.html

Our first Open House will be on November 30, 2013 at the Laurel Boys & Girls Club in Laurel, Maryland. Hope to see you there!

Audition Packets and Information are now online for Thunder Brigade!

Please follow the links below in order to download the materials.  The fee per packet is $25.00.  Thunder Brigade's first open house rehearsal will take place on November 30, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. at the Laurel Boys and Girls Club.  We look forward to seeing you there!

http://thunderbrigade.org/DrumCorps_Join.html

Thunder Brigade is pleased to announce John Miliauskas as Visual Designer/Program Consultant.

Mr. John J. Miliauskas III is the Associate Director of Bands at Towson University (Towson, MD), where he directs the marching band, pep band, and concert band. John received his Masters of Music in Music Education with a performance option in conducting from West Chester University in May 2004. In addition to his work at Towson University, John is an active adjudicator, clinician, conductor, and drill designer.

Prior to his position at Towson University, John was a band director in the West Shore School District (Lewisberry, PA) from 1988 until 2002. He was the Director of Bands at Crossroads Middle School (Lewisberry, PA) from its opening in 1993 until 2002. John’s lifetime of experiences in instrumental music began with his father who was the band director at Lake-Lehman High School (Lehman, PA) for thirty-three years.

John has gained many accomplishments as a drill designer over the past 25 years. He has written drill for numerous successful marching bands, drum and bugle corps, and indoor ensembles ranging in size from twenty to over 300 total members. These drills have varied from basic and intermediate to advanced level programs that have been recognized nationally with high acclaim. He has also taught various design and instructional summer clinics for band directors, drum majors, student musicians, and drill designers through Vivace Productions, United Music Enterprises, the George Parks Drum Major Academy, and the Caribbean island of Jamaica’s Cultural Development Commission. A brother of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and an honorary member of both Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, John is a member of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA). He resides in Glen Rock, PA with his wife, Sarah, and two daughters, Ava, age 5, and Ella, 3.

Thunder Brigade is proud to announce a new director for the 2014 season!

Sophie Levin: Director of Finance

Sophie Levin is a graduate of Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Illinois.  She is currently a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she is pursuing a degree in Criminology and Chinese.  Sophie began her marching career in middle school, where she marched with Northbrook Junior High in the local Memorial Day Parade.  She then went on to attend a school-sponsored band camp and participate in her high school marching band.  She became the section leader of the clarinet section at Glenbrook North.  Sophie continues to march at Maryland, and is the office assistant for the Mighty Sound of Maryland.  In addition to marching band, Sophie participates in a concert band and the university pep band.

Thunder Brigade is proud to announce its musical caption heads for the 2014 season!

A.J. Snapp: Brass Caption Head
A.J. graduated from East Stroudsburg South High School in 2006 and went on to major in music education at West Chester University. After graduating in 2010, he began marching with the Reading Buccaneers Drum & Bugle Corps (2010-2013). He spent three seasons on the tuba, two as tuba section leader, and one season on the baritone. He has arranged for more than a dozen marching bands including Central Bucks South High School, Upper Dublin High School and the College of the Holy Cross. A.J. is currently the director of bands and orchestras at DuVal High School in Lanham, Maryland.

Trevor Santora: Percussion Caption Head
Trevor Santora comes to Thunder Brigade with a vast amount of experience and knowledge from all levels of the marching activity as this is his 20th year in the sport.

He is a native of Salisbury, Maryland where he attended Wicomico High School. After 6 years of the Jr/Sr High marching program, he went on to perform with several world class ensembles including the World Champion Reading Buccaneers Drum & Bugle Corps, United Percussion, Jersey Surf, Lehigh Valley Knights and the Baltimore Marching Ravens.

Trevor's teaching experience includes many high school programs on the east coast including Parkside High School, James M Bennett High School and Wicomico High School in Salisbury, Maryland; Bensalem High School in Bensalem, Pennsylvania; Middle-Township High School in Cape May Courthouse, New Jersey; and Smyrna High School in Smyrna, Delaware. He also taught The Windsor Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps, The Caballeros Drum & Bugle Corps and Chesapeake Percussion.

Trevor currently lives on the Eastern Shore with his wife, Pamela, and works for a mechanical contracting firm.

Open House Auditions

Thunder Brigade is pleased to announce that it will hold an Open House Audition on November 30, 2013!

Any and all interested applicants are encouraged to come! The open house will take place in Laurel, Maryland. In the coming weeks, we will be posting information on our rehearsal facilities, caption heads, educational staff, fees and more!

For all interested in attending the Open House, please click on the "Join" section of the website and submit an interest form. You will receive a confirmation e-mail and audition materials will be sent to your attention in September.

In the meanwhile, please do your best to go attend a drum corps show (or two) this summer to support the activity!

What is Thunder Brigade?

Thunder Brigade Drum and Bugle Corps is a non-profit, performance education based, competitive ensemble serving the Mid-Atlantic region.  We are dedicated to providing our members with exciting and distinctive performance experiences.  Based in Laurel, MD, Thunder will be a member of Drum Corps Associates (DCA) and will compete at the 2014 DCA World Championships in Rochester, NY.  Additionally, this group will perform in several other settings including, sporting events, parades, exhibitions, concerts, and field shows.

Managed by Mighty Sound Productions, Inc., Thunder Brigade is an organization driven by excellence in performance and has some of the most talented arrangers and educators in the drum corps activity.  The program was organized in 2012, as an all age drum corps to offer performance opportunities to all interested drum corps performers from the Mid-Atlantic Region (Maryland, Washington, D.C., northern Virginia, West Virginia and south central Pennsylvania).  Thunder encourages participation by performers who have aspirations of marching in DCI (Drum Corps International), former members of DCI corps and other DCA programs that still yearn for the excitement of highly competitive performance experience on a drum corps field.

As an all-age corps, Thunder Brigade will rehearse on one Saturday and two Sundays per month during the winter season (December to March) and on select weekends throughout the spring and summer months with July and August being the most active for competitions and performances. Thunder’s rehearsal/performance schedule is designed for our members and staff to maintain family, work and school commitments while still being involved in a world-class competitive organization. Competitive success in the drum corps activity requires many hours of dedicated practice at home and ensemble rehearsal.  The feeling of accomplishment at the end of the season along with the creation of lifelong friendships and memories will be worth the time and effort.

Funded solely by membership and community support, tremendous effort and participation is necessary to create and operate a world-class competitive drum and bugle corps. Thunder Brigade wishes to thank all supporters who have offered us their encouragement and resources.  We look forward to meeting all members at our Open House to build a championship organization that will proudly represent the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Thunder Brigade Values

We appreciate our people…

by attracting the best people as members, staff, and supporters, and caring for them as they are the most important components of our organization.

Honesty…

by treating or members, staff, and supporters in a fair and honest manner.  By remaining transparent, all members and staff will be completely informed every step of the way throughout the entire experience.

We contribute to our community…

we are high energy entertainers and represent our regional community as a class organization and support other civic minded programs with our efforts.

Welcome to Thunder Brigade!

Be sure to visit the website regularly! We'll be posting new and exciting updates every week!