Published: July 13, 2006 11:27 am      

Magic comes to Medina

Florida-based drum corps spent night, rehearsed at Middle School before heading to Buffalo for performance

Talk about discipline. They wake up at 7 a.m. and work until midnight. They generally have a performance or competition daily. For three months, they sleep in school gymnasiums in a different city each night. And they love it.

The Magic Drum and Bugle Corps is made up of 135 members, ages 14 to 21, who audition each winter to become part of the elite performing group.

“They fly in from all over the world,” Tim Hoffman, brass staff, said.

The corps made an overnight stop in Medina on Tuesday, where they camped out at the Wise Middle School gym. Up early on Wednesday, the torrential rain kept them from rehearsing outside, so they marched in place and practiced indoors.

Several members of the Medina Mustangs Marching Band, along with their director, watched as the group went through their rehearsal drills, occasionally stopping to do push-ups and exercises. It looked more like an army boot-camp than a band at some points, but the members can’t get enough.

Shane Cheatle, color guard staff, has participated in color guard since he was in high school. After “aging out” of drum corps at age 21, he came back to the Magic to teach.

“Once you do it, it’s in your blood,” Cheatle said.

For the brass and drums, November auditions marks the start of weekend rehearsal camps, held once a month in Orlando until May, when the group moves into a Florida school to rehearse full-time. They travel until the middle of August, when they will compete in the finals.

“One thing a lot of kids don’t understand is how gratifying hard work is,” Cheatle said. “These kids know what hard work is and they love it.”

So why do the members choose to trade a relaxing summer for one of 16 hour days, grueling rehearsals and constant travel?

“When you wake up every morning doing something you love, there’s nothing better,” Cheatle said.

The camaraderie and bond shared by the members makes the long days worth it.

“It’s like a family,” Cheatle said. “You see these people 24 hours a day.”

Drum major Matthew Rummels, a 20-year-old Texan, has been with the group for a few years and agrees there is nothing else he would rather do over the summer.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Rummels said. “It’s nice to be in a situation in the world where you can get out of it exactly what you put into it.”

Rummels said the corps teaches members life lessons about time management, responsibility and relationships.

“You build life-long friendships that will last forever,” he said.

It’s hard to imagine being content with months of sleeping on inflatable beds, but the satisfaction and excitement was evident in the members.

“It just becomes a way of life,” Cheatle said. “But it’s not for everybody.”

Color Guard Captain Abigail Malloy, 17, said she will continue to perform with the corps until she reaches the age limit. She said she does it out of a passion for performing, and can think of nothing else she’d rather be doing.

“If I get to do it for three months every day, then that’s awesome,” she said.

Medina Marching Band Director Scott Ballard said the school generally hosts a drum corps overnight each year, and observes and learns from them.

“It’s important to see people at a different level,” Ballard said.

Rachael Huwyler and Brittany Snyder, former Mustangs Marching Band members who graduated this year, came to the school to watch the Magic. Snyder said she thinks a group like the corps would be really “rewarding” to be part of, but “way too time consuming.” Still, the girls said watching what they do is “amazing.”

The Magic loaded up their four buses, two semis, box truck, van and souvenir stand and headed to Buffalo on Wednesday for a performance, before heading to Michigan Wednesday night.

Contact Holly Weber at (585) 798-1400, Ext. 2225.