Junior Fife and Drum Camp

 You might be wondering why we haven’t posted since the 4^th of July. It is not because we haven’t been doing anything. We have taken a 2000 mile trip out to Connecticut for the Jr. Fife and Drum Camp and the Deep River Ancient Muster. I will split the trip into two posts, this one on the camp and the next one on the muster.

This was John and Thomas’s first time at camp, and was my sixth. This was also my fifth time as an advanced/ensemble fifer. Camp started on Tuesday (the 12^th) with about 100 or so fifers and drummers. From Tuesday to Friday we worked on the show we were to perform on Friday night at the Deep River Tattoo. The music that we learned had been played by the New York Regimentals Fife and Drum Band in the mid-1900s and was composed by their leader, John McDonagh (who also made the fifes we play). The Regimentals were very influential in the fife and drum community and helped the resurgence of it in the last 50 years. On Thursday we had three former members of the Regimentals come out to camp and talk about their experiences playing fife and drum, McDonagh, fife and drum today, ect… For example, they told how their weekly practices consisted of two hour sectionals, three hours playing as a group, and then jamming into the wee hours of the morning.

On Tuesday night we all went to the Company of Fifers and Drummers Museum where there was a concert by Col. John Chester F&DC and the Grand Republic F&DC, both of which had good performances. On Wednesday, like all the days at camp, we basically practiced all day, except for meals, and when we did get a break we usually started jamming. That night, some of us (6 or so) played Irish music on piano, bodrahn, and various whistles and flutes. We then ended up doing some English Country Dance (about 8 of us), although it was but a type of thing to come on Thursday night. On Thursday, in addition to music and marching, the Regimental members came, and that evening we had a band come and perform a mix of music from Scotland, Nova Scotia, Appalachia, and the South. This was mainly to show how the songs we play on fife and drum sound when played on instruments other than fife and drum. While we had the band there, I called another impromptu country dance, this time filling the room with dancers. As a side note, this was the fourth state I had danced in in two weeks and the third where I had called the dance (the four being Colorado, California, Missouri, and Connecticut). Needless to say, we had lots of fun at camp.

On Friday we did our final practices and were picked up at 2:00 pm. That evening we performed at Deep River. Here are some videos of it (Thomas was in the second row and I was in the back left corner of the fifes, and John was in the second row on the far left of the drums):

So in summery, we had a great time hearing or playing fife and drum from 9:00-10:00, meeting and making friends, improving our skills, encouraging and helping other fifers and drummers, learning history, and honoring our past by playing it.

-Peter Bringe

 Memor!