With the beginning of the school year Wade Fiedler, a senior at Kosciusko High School, took his place in Big Red Band with plenty of practice to his credit.
He spent two and one-half months of the summer as a member of the Music City Drum and Bugle Corps traveling to 10 states, taking part in 14 shows and two parades. The tour ended at the Drum Corps International (DCI) open class competition in Indianapolis with the Music City band claiming sixth place.
Music City Youth in the Arts, the parent organization for the drum and bugle corps, was created in 2008 by music educators in the Nashville area. Through the years, the Music City corps has grown from an inaugural corps of 47 members to the 150 who just returned from the DCI competition.
Fielder’s claim of a position in the band came with a website application and tryouts in Franklin, Tenn. Although he plays trombone in the Big Red Band, he played baritone in the corps. Practice at home and two weeks training in Nashville where instructions were given in technique and performance in a uniform group prepared him for participation.
Big Red Band Director Jesse Yates said he is very proud of Fiedler who has been in the band since sixth grade. “I am glad to have had a part in his training,” said Yates.
“Coronation” was the theme of the 14 British regal shows presented by the corps band.
Yates was able to stream live on screens in the Big Red Band hall the world champion competition in Indianapolis. He said it was exciting for the band members to see Fiedler perform. His parents, Pat and Carol Fiedler, and other relatives were also invited to the school to watch the competition.
The group traveled across 10 states on chartered buses. Fiedler said being chosen for the band was an honor, traveling and getting to know many of the band members was enjoyable. He established a friendship with his seatmate on the bus who was from Murfreesboro, Tenn. There were no roommates as overnight accommodations were spent on the floor of gymnasiums and other large facilities.
The Music City Drum and Bugle Corps is sponsored by Music City Youth in the Arts, a non-profit musical organization. As such, it has a board of directors, director and staff assigned to carry out the mission of the organization.
