Former Waukee Drummer Selected to Perform with The Colts Drum and Bugle Corps

Submitted by George Orwall, Executive Director of the Colts Drum & Bugle Corp

Brad Page of Clive has been selected to perform as a member of the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps of Dubuque. Approximately 350 young people auditioned for one of the 150 positions in the group.

Page is the son of Wayne and Janyce Page of Clive and is a student at Iowa State University. He is currently a member of the Iowa State University drumline.

The Colts are named “Iowa’s Ambassadors of Music” by the Governor of Iowa and are an elite nationally ranked World-Class competitive drum and bugle corps, and they performed in the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington DC.

Page will be a member of the percussion section in the Colts playing tenor drums. Members are selected through a competitive audition process. Young people from as many as 25 states and overseas will have auditioned this year.

This is Page's first year with the Colts. Previous accomplishments in music and the performing arts include playing in the Iowa State Jazz Bands and drumline as well as performing with the Waukee Warrior Regiment, Waukee Jazz I and the Waukee Concert Bands. Page was also a drummer at the Waukee United Methodist Church.

Page is currently working on funding his trip for the summer. Each member is asked to contribute up to $2,800. Page has already raised about half of this amount. If you’d like to contribute, you can contact him at sponsorbradpage@gmail.com and a sponsorship form will be sent out which can be completed and sent directly to The Colts. 100% of the contribution will go directly to Page's account.

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 days and perform over 30 times for an audience estimated to number over 200,000 people while traveling through 22 states.

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 staff and support people such as drivers and seamstresses accompany the members.

The Colts organization was founded in 1963 and is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. The operating budget for the group is over $850,000 per year, generated through performance fees, fund raising, and active parents group, membership fees and special projects.

The Drum Corps International Finals will be held at the new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. Aug. 11-13, 2012.  The Colts will compete in major shows in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Allentown, Penn. among many other locations on the road to Indianapolis.

Further information on the Colts can be found at www.colts.org, or obtained by calling (563) 582-4872, or sending an email to greg@colts.org. The Executive Director of the Colts is Greg Orwoll.

The Colts will be performing at a Colts-sponsored show, Celebration in Brass, on Tuesday, July 10^th at the Waukee High School Stadium. Tickets go on sale April 1^st.