Highland teen to perform with nationally ranked drum and bugle corps
Jessica Andrews of Highland, a senior at Highland High School, has been selected to perform as a member of the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps of Dubuque, Iowa. Approximately 350 young people auditioned for one of the 150 positions in the group.
The Colts were named “Iowa’s Ambassadors of Music” by the governor of Iowa and are an world-class, competitive drum and bugle corps. They performed in the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C.
Andrews will be a member of the color guard section in the Colts. Members are selected through a competitive audition process. Young people from as many as 25 states and overseas will have auditioned this year. This will be her first year with the Colts.
The Colts membership experience is an intensive, challenging and high achievement environment where life and leadership skills are taught. Members of the Colts are between the ages of 16 and 21 years old, and the average age is approximately 19.
The Colts travel and perform throughout the summer, beginning Memorial Day weekend, and concluding the second weekend of August. The group will be in session 70-plus days and perform more than 30 times for an audience estimated to number over 200,000 people while traveling through 22 states.
The Drum Corps International World Championship Finals will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., on Aug. 11-13, 2016. The Colts will compete in major shows in Dallas, San Antonio, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Allentown, Pa., among many other locations on the road to Indianapolis.
The group lives “on the road” the entire summer, sleeping and showering in school gymnasiums and eating meals prepared in a semi-turned kitchen truck staffed by volunteers.
The Colts travel with approximately 200 people, including 150 members. A teaching staff, a parent volunteer team and support people such as drivers and seamstresses accompany the members.
The group tours with four motor coaches, two semi trailer trucks, two vans, one supply truck, and a souvenir sales trailer.
One semi contains a full-service kitchen, complete with convection ovens, a walk in freezer/refrigerator, a stove and griddle top steamer tables, boilers, a three-compartment sink complete with hot running water.
More than 60,000 meals are prepared and served each summer, including four meals a day for the entire summer.
The Colts have ranked in the top 25 of all drum corps for the past 32 years, including top-12 international finalist status eight of the past 21 years. There are more than 40 competitive DCI corps in the country.
The Colts organization was founded in 1963 and is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. The operating budget for the group is over $950,000 per year, generated through performance fees, fundraising, an active parents group, membership fees and special projects.
The organization sponsors the Colts Drum & Bugle Corps, as well as a variety of other youth programs: Colt Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps, Colts Summer Band, PanrhythmiX and Pandemonium steel drum ensembles, and numerous community and school partnerships are also maintained.
Further information on the Colts can be found at www.colts.org.
Anyone age 22 and over may volunteer to help the Colts in any number of ways. Please contact the Colts for further information.
The Colts home show, Music On The March, is Thursday, July 14, 2016. Other Colts-sponsored shows include Celebration In Brass in Waukee, Iowa, on Sunday, July 17, 2016, and Brass Impact in the Kansas City metro area on Tuesday, July 12, 2016.
About Jessica Andrews
Family: She is the daughter of of Mark and Melissa (Andrews) Maschmeier of Highland.
Music and performing arts accomplishments: She has spent four years marching with the Highland Bulldogs Marching Band (color guard), performing in Highland High School Symphonic Band for four years, and this is her third season performing with McKendree University’s Avidity Independent Winter Guard. include four years marching with the Highland Bulldogs Marching Band (color guard), performing in Highland High School Symphonic Band for four years, and this is her third season performing with McKendree University’s Avidity Independent Winter Guard.
Other activities: She is a member of the Highland High School Color Guard, The National Honor Society, the National Spanish Honor Society and is the treasurer of the LEO Club with the local Lions Club.
Future plans: She plans to major in criminal justice/psychology at McKendree University.
This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 3:42 AM with the headline "Highland teen to perform with nationally ranked drum and bugle corps."