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About Us
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Who We Are |
| The Optimists Alumni is a self-supporting
Drum & Bugle Corps based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We
are a non-competitive, all age corps and performing well is our
hobby, but not our life. Although many of our members
marched with drum corps during the 1960s and 1970s, we have members who vary in age from teenagers
through to the 70s. We enjoy entertaining others and we
strive to strike a balance between the demands of
performing excellence, on one hand, and our personal
lives and families on the other.
If you
have the time and an interest in sharing our dedication and enthusiasm,
please contact Brian Byrne, Recruiting Committee
Chairman, (416-488-7243; info at optimists-alumni.org)
to learn how to join. |
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Our Beginnings |
Optimists Alumni at G.A.S. 2004 |
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The 2004 G.A.S. show was being held
in Hamilton, Ontario, a mere 40 miles from Toronto. Over
a brew (or two) some former members of the Toronto
Optimists and the Seneca Optimists contemplated the
creation of an Alumni Corps that would perform once, at
G.A.S. 2004. With a lot of work they managed to borrow
instruments and gather together enough bodies to form the
nucleus of the corps. There were former Toronto Optimists,
former Seneca Optimists and representatives of many other corps! Having gathered the instruments and
bodies to play them, they needed to develop the talent
that had lain dormant for so many years (some members hadn't touched an instrument in over 50 years!). After a great deal of blood, sweat and
tears (and a few choice words) their work bore fruit. In
September 2003, at a Toronto Optimists – Seneca
Optimists alumni picnic, the Optimists Alumni Corps
first performed — to a very enthusiastic (and extremely
partisan) public.
Somehow that "one show" grew into a
second show, a third and more. The borrowed instruments
were replaced with a set of well-used horns and a new
set of custom-made drums was purchased. |
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Optimists Alumni
at Waterloo Band Festival. 2006
(photo by Peter McCusker)
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Today |
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Alumni Corps, May, 2007
Click on photo for a larger view |
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The Optimists Alumni Drum Corps is now in its
sixth year. While most of our members live within a
hundred miles of Toronto, there are those who
regularly commute from as far away as Ottawa. Our membership, which was once mostly
former Toronto or Seneca Optimists, has expanded to the
point where about half our members are non-Optimists
(but not pessimists!). Today, we have members who
represent more than 40 different drum corps, as well as a few
bands. We even have members who have never been in a band or
drum corps. And a new tradition is, perhaps, beginning as we
now have a few parents and their "kids" playing in the same corps!
Our performances have covered a variety of venues
including the Waterloo Band Festival, the Toronto St
Patrick’s Day parade, Toronto Argonaut football games, the 2006 MuchMusic awards
and the 2007 DCA Alumni Spectacular in Rochester. |
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Tomorrow |
| After so many years of not playing, it's safe to say
that we began as novices. We first struggled to learn to
play our instruments, then we focused on playing well.
We will continue, in the tradition of all drum corps
people, to have fun, to enjoy
the company of friends, to entertain others and, of course,
to strive for excellence. |
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If you want to play music,
have fun, and
are willing to be challenged,
come and join us!
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For information about joining
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