Corps Names/Directors / Highlights / Narrated History
Corps Names, directors over the years:
1946 to 1968
- Cecil Kyle Legion Corps ('46)
- William Laidlaw Legion Corps
- Laidlaw Toreadors ('62)
- Directors: Dick Maki '62
- Larry Wogenson '63
- Frank Lozar '64
- Grain Belt Diamonds
- Director: Larry Wogenson '65
- Men of Laidlaw
- Director: Frank Lozar '66, 67, 68
1969 to 1979
- Brass, Inc.
- Directors: Dick Buelow '69, '70
- Jeff Burnham '71, '72, '74, '75
- Bill Germar '75
- Mike Palmquist '76, '78, '79
- Rick Stephenson '77
1980 to 2008
- Minnesota Brass, Inc.
- Directors: Ron Haselius '80, '81
- Charlie Pagenkoff '81, '82
- Ron Weitbrecht '82, '83
- Matt Mereno '84, '85, '86, '87
- Lee Portz '88
- Paul Chaffee '89, '90, '91
- Scotty Wild '92, '93, '94
- Gavin Burnham '95 � '01
- Ron Haselius '02, '03
- Brent Turner '04,'05,'06
- Ann Jones '07,'08, '09
Highlights of the Past 62 Years
- Early history of the corps was one of American Legion sponsorship and contests.
- Early competitions included basic drill and bugle calls played on one-piston horns.
- The corps was all male with the exception of young baton twirlers until 1969.
Narrated History
Brass, Inc. became a reality as a self-supporting non-profit in 1969. At this time, Brass became the first senior drum corps in the United States to welcome female marchers. The corps had to get special permission to march females --- with Kathy Altmann in the horn line and an all-female color guard.
Frank Lozar has been continuously in drum corps since 1946 with the exception of two years in the American Medical Corps. He joined the Laidlaw Post Corps in 1951. Legend has it that in 1970 he sang for 36 hours straight on the long bus trip to Portland, Oregon, without repeating a song!
Roger Grupp, Sam Jaeger and Bob Willey joined the baritone line in 1973. Tina Cavitt filled in for a missing flag member in 1973. For love-struck Roger and Tina . . .the rest is history!
In the late seventies and early eighties, the corps became more entertaining with its jazzy style and its growing size. The corps party traditions abounded with Tower of Power/Buckhorn Festival and toga parties. New members were attracted to the color guard from the Debutantes and the Rosettes. Horn players and drummers were attracted from the U of M band, the Mounties and the Rivermen corps.
The corps weathered a dire financial crisis in the early eighties and survived primarily because of the hard work, long hours and Visa credit cards of several loyal members of Brass --- some of whom are still active alumni of the current corps.
In 1990, Brass members wore black armbands with an '11' in a silent protest during their exhibition performance at the DCA championships in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The crowd and competitive senior corps seemed to agree that Brass had been robbed by this low placement. The corps was fined $1000 for its insolence. Since that time, MBI has moved up steadily in DCA placement and has been in the top ten for the last dozen years.
In 2006, the corps celebrated its sixtieth anniversary by swelling to its largest size to date with 102 marching members. Since that time, Brass has continued to grow and regularly fields corps of 110 plus.
The importance of Minnesota Brass to the musical performance and educational tapestry of the Midwest has been extended by alumni and a few current corps members in the popular Minne-Brass performance group. The talents of MBI members are now continually in demand for teaching in the school districts throughout Minnesota and performing in commercials and musical productions in Minnesota, Wisconsin and beyond.