Music of Andrew F. Poor

A reflection on teaching the Spirit of Atlanta in 2017 2017 Spirit Brass Staff at DCI World Championships 1. I really do not like doing drum corps in Louisiana, but we found a way to get better anyway I think one of the things drum corps teaches us is how to push through barriers or walls. During the summer, you are constantly challenged to push yourself mentally and physically harder than most people have pushed themselves in their regular lives. Lousiana presents many challenges that test the strength of your will, including, extreme heat, high humidity, terrible facilities, and fields which resemble mud pits or fire ant city. These were some of the toughest days of the summer, but the drum corps got better and was an important turning point for the corps during the summer. The Nacy SEALs have 40% rule: you are only at your 40% physical capacity when your mind wants to give up. You have more strength and capacity then you realize and drum corps help remind us of t...

"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. "  —   George Bernhard Shaw "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." —   Frederick Douglas "There is nothing permanent except change." —   Heraclitus "Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have—and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up." — James Belasco and Ralph Stayer "The only easy day was yesterday." —  Navy SEAL motto Growing up as the son of an Air Force officer, I moved a lot as a young child. Matter of fact, I moved eight times before I was 15. At the time, it was often difficult to leave friends, start new schools, move to a new house, and learn new routines. As a young child, my only option was to accept these changes and make the most of every situation. The reality of change was an inevitability I knew all too well. Every ...

Why do we do this? I have been involved with the drum corps activity for over thirty years. I often meet people who know nothing about the activity and they always ask the same question, "What is drum corps?"  I will, occasionally, use the flippant statement, "Marching band on steroids!" I use this phrase because the statement is both descriptive and brief, and usually ends the discussion--often with a bewildered look from the person asking the question. While drum corps does share some similarities with marching band, this is a poor description . Actually, I think that the appeal of the activity has little to do with music or movement, which is one reason I believe high school bands should not try to emulate the activity.  I first wrote this blog after returning from a trip to watch my daughter, Kayla, performed with the 2015 Phantom Regiment. With many hours in the car on the way home from Rockford, this same question kept popping into my head. Here ...

SHOW DAY!  (Some corps have already had their first show...) This is addressed to the members of all corps, but most notably, my son, Addison, who is marching his first show soon. GO Addison! As we enter the competitive portion of the season, I would like to share some thoughts with you about this part of the activity. I have had the privilege of participating in the competition side of drum corps from all sides for many years. This is the panel from the last DCI Show I ever judged, 2008 Finals.  This was a great panel of great people, who had a tough job that night. INTRINSIC versus EXTRINSIC In all likelihood, you became a member of your corps to play/march in a legendary hornline/drumline/color guard, wear the uniform, enjoy the traditions we all love, play great music, entertain crowds or probably a host of several other personal reasons. In other words, your motivations were intrinsic and you have been able to naively feed those ...

Victorious Souls was commissioned by the congregation of the Madison United Methodist Church, Madison, Alabama, and their orchestra director, Sandy Weisner. The Madison UMC Church Orchestra premiered Victorious Souls in May of 2014. Victorious Souls was selected as a J.W. Pepper Editor's Choice in 2015. The goal of the commission was to write an uplifting and exciting work for young musicians. The title, and the idea behind the work, was a result of my fascination and inspiration by stories of survival and overcoming extreme difficulties. Personally speaking, the strength of the human spirit is a source of constant inspiration to me as both a person and as a composer. While not a religious theme, nor was there an intent to compose a sacred work, the inspiration for the work did resonate with the commissioning organization. The composition is an overture for young bands that uses a cyclical form: A-B-C-B-A. Beginning with a brief and bold fanfare, the piece quickly moves into t...

So I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Here are some life lessons I learned from 6 years of marching drum corps, 18 years judging and 8 years teaching , that have served me well in life. 1)  Work hard at everything you do and, when you think you can't go any further, you are wrong because you can. 2) Once you learn the true joy of quality repetition, you will never have a bad day. Stay in present-time! Always! 3) Sometimes, you work hard, do all of the right things and you still do not reach your goal, but quitting is the only way you truly lose. Be process-focused in a performance-focused medium and you will reach your goals. 4) It takes a village to achieve anything great; no one person knows it all or can do it all--trust me when I say, you do not want to see me teach color guard. 5) The strength of your will is directly related to the clarity of the goal--dream big and be relentless.   6) Discipline your mind and your body will foll...