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Band Celebrates 6th Year in St. Paddy Parade!
Seventeen volunteers strong, the Mississippi Swing Brass Band Celebrated its 6th Year in the St. Paddy Parade!Thousands of people lined the streets as floats and marchers made their way along the parade route! For the 29th year revelers screamed for beads and waved to passing floats during the annual street party.The parade reached its maximum capacity for floats, which is 50. Last year's parade attracted about 60,000 people and brought $6.5 million into the metro area, according to the Jackson Convention and Visitor's Bureau. The band won the Otha Turner Marching Award in 2008, 2009, & 2010. This year's winner was Amir Gwirtzmann.
This year's volunteers included -
Trumpet: David Schommer, Jeff Reiter, Jeff Carter, Anne Berthold, Cal Horlings Tuba: Philemon Nelson E-flat Horn: Trey Bennett Percussion: Bryce Upshaw, Brian Upshaw, Bobby McClellan, and Dustin Nugent. Bead Girl / Security: Becky McClellan and Taylor Volz . |
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The Mississippi Swing Brass Band
Wins Otha Turner Award for 3rd Consecutive Year! A record 29 volunteers participated in this year's band! This year's repertoire included a rousing rendition of the New Orleans contemporary brass band classic Do Whatcha Wanna! The homegrown phenomenon now in its 28th year draws a crowd that's been estimated between 50,000 and 60,000 and generates an economic impact of $6.8 million for Jackson.The 2010 edition rolled with the theme "It Ain't Easy Bein' Green," and boasted a 30-foot-tall inflatable Kermit the Frog as its grand marshal.The unique event often toasts Mississippi endeavors (state native and Muppets creator Jim Henson this year) and also serves as a fun public venue for political wit and outrageous costuming.As parade founder Malcolm White says, "It has a sense of place. And it has a sense of humor."
- The Clarion Ledger
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What started out as a one man band in 2005 grew to a record 29 volunteers in 2010 and Winner of The Otha Turner Marching Award for the third year in a row - The Mississippi Swing Brass Band! brings a robust, local musical flavor to the ever popular Mal's St. Paddy's Day Parade. A spinoff of Mississippi Swing! and the Mississippi Community Symphonic Band, the group plays New Orleans old school brass band favorites like When the Saints Go Marching In, Second Line, and Down by the Riverside as well as contemporary brass band classics like Do Whatcha Wanna. Click on the podcast link at the bottom of the page to see the video clip when they won the Otha Turner Marching Band Award at Hal and Mals in 2008. When you get to the site - click on the Parade Awards video. Scroll to the 3 minute 30 sec spot in the video - that's when the award was given. In 2009, the Mississippi Swing Brass Band! was invited to lead the Red Hat Parade at the new Renaissance, in Ridgeland.
An all professional version of the brass band is available upon request. For more information, contact Bandleader David Schommer at 601-951-9091... |
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Trumpets: David Schommer, Anne Berthold, Luke Ratcliff, Jeff Carter, Cal Horlings Trombones: Mike Weidick, Jay Bennett, Bill Lumpkin, Don Kilborne, Todd Taylor Tuba: Fred Bailey, Tellis Moaton, Matthew Bear E-Flat Horn: Trey Bennett Drums/Percussion: Shuan Stamps, Eddie Newton, Bryce Upshaw, Brian Upshaw, Bobby McClellan, Elizabeth Koskie, Chris "The King" Blount, Revanth Sanne Sax: Maurice Hillman Banjo: Ron Welch Washboard: Greg Mitchell Bead Girl / Security: Becky McClellan, Mary Mitchell, Taylor Volz Photographer: Jamie Volz |
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Hal and Mal's St. Paddy's Day Parade!
Mississippi Swing Brass Band!- Winner of the 2008, 2009 & 2010 Otha Turner Marching Award. 
In 2005, seeing no local brass bands in the parade...David Schommer grabbed his horn and jumped in! It just so happened that one of Mississippi Swing!'s musicians was in the crowd with his camera. Since that first improptu performance, the band has grown to as many as 28 volunteers for the parade. 
Hamming it up with buddy Steve Suter of Bonerama. 
(2008) 
(2008) 
David Schommer, Bandleader (2008) 
Just a few of the 20 local musicians performing in 2008! 
2005...The first year! 
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"Your Mississippi Swing! Brass Band just made our Red Hat Parade the best ever. Thank you very much for marching and playing in the parade. The band has been a missing element, and I hope you will make this an annual event. Ya'll are wonderful!" Charla Jordan, Queen (2009)
"Thank you so much for participating in the Red Hat Parade. You guys added such class! You are an awesome band!"
Diane Vanlandingham (2009)
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Ridgeland Welcomes Red Hat Society Members
Erin JonesWJTV, Jackson Published: March 24, 2009 Red Hatters from around the Southeast will flock to Ridgeland March 27th – 29th to enjoy a Red Hot Red Hat Weekend. Festivities include a High Tea, three performances of HATS! The Musical, and a Red Hat Parade with Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee serving as Grand Marshal. Attendees will also participate in Fashion in Bloom; a fashion show with a health and fitness expo at Northpark Mall. “We’re thrilled to host a Red Hat Weekend in Ridgeland,” said Rochelle Hicks, Deputy Director of the Ridgeland Tourism Commission. “We hope to make this an annual event.” The weekend’s events center on HATS! The Musical, which tells the story of MaryAnne, a woman unhappy about turning 50 until she meets several remarkable red hatted women. They teach her about fun and friendship after age 50 and about forgetting things that simply don’t matter. Members of the Center Players Community Theatre will perform the musical directed by Robby Scucchi. “We literally cannot wait for you to experience this production! It is going to serve as a vastly-entertaining inspiration and encouragement to everyone who is anywhere near mid-life to believe in life’s possibilities and in themselves!” says Scucchi. “The women all have stories to tell — some are joyful and some are sad. And so, gradually, MaryAnne starts to realize that there’s much to look forward to in the years ahead. The performances are in real time, with MaryAnne telling us that she can still be forty-nine for a little more than an hour. As things wind to a close, she turns fifty, just in time for the finale in which she faces the ticking clock with a newly acquired sense of adventure.” RED HOT RED HAT WEEKEND, MARCH 27th – 29th Friday, March 27, 2009 Red Hat High Tea from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Embassy Suites Tickets are $22.50 HATS! The Musical at 7:30 p.m. at Ridgeland High School Presented by the Center Players Community Theatre Tickets are $20/adult or $15/Red Hat Member Saturday, March 28, 2009 Fashion in Bloom from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at Northpark Mall Fitness & Health Expo - 9:00 a.m. Fashion Show - 10:00 a.m. Two $250 Simon gift cards donated by Northpark Mall to be drawn after the fashion show. Spring Flowerscapes by Green Oak Nursery Red Hat Parade at 2:00 p.m. at Renaissance at Colony Park Featuring Mayor Gene McGee as Grand Marshal and the Mississippi Swing! Brass Band. HATS! The Musical at 7:30 p.m. at Ridgeland High School Presented by the Center Players Community Theatre Tickets are $20/adult or $15/Red Hat Member Sunday, March 29, 2009 HATS! The Musical at 2:30 p.m. at Ridgeland High School Presented by the Center Players Community Theatre Tickets are $20/adult or $15/Red Hat Member |
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