Brassmen

The Brassmen drum and bugle corps was formed in 1969 through the St. Joseph's Patron Cadets and originally sponsored by the St. Rita's Roman Catholic church of Brooklyn.

In 1968, St, Joseph's, with their growth and success came increased financial demands. Even as their fame grew, the local supporting church couldn’t completely comprehend what this drum corps thing really was, and as the expense of uniforms, equipment and travel escalated, the church could no longer afford to sustain sponsorship. St. Joseph Patron Cadets needed a new sponsor at the end of the 1968 season and St. Rita’s Roman Catholic church was willing to take over the responsibility.

Father Dominick Schiraldi, a graduate of the Mt. Carmel Cadets, had a small parade corps there; Tom Costa and Carmen Cluna were the instructors. Father Schiraldi had been yearning for a competition corps and now his dream became an overnight reality. Father Schiraldi was a “doer”. He immediately established a weekly bingo game to help support the corps. Cluna called in an Evans Uniform company representative and handed him sketches of the new corps logo and a newly designed uniform, which he ultimately reproduced flawlessly. The old instruments were stored in the basement for the use of the trainer corps. Within a month after their arrival, the corps was furbished with brand new horns and drums.

In 1969, St. Rita’s Brassmen burst upon the competitive scene with all the finesse of a buffalo at a cocktail party! They toured the Midwest with great success and made the finals at the World Open championships, placing 7th after which they were hailed in Drum Corps News as a “Cinderella corps”. The1970 season saw the corps improve to a 6^th place finish at the World Open, as well as their first appearance at the prestigious CYO Nationals, finishing 6^th as well while returning to the VFW Nationals, missing out of a finals’ spot, placing 13^th.

In 1971, Carmen Cluna introduced theatrics and themes to the corps‘ shows.  “Woodstock, with the “Attack on the Old Glory”! Here Cluna pulled out all of the stops and added a riot scene, corps members breaking ranks and running on the field as the riot scene progressed, immediately following the attack there was riot with tear gas (a bright orange color) let loose onto the field, with the use of tear gas masks (worn by the defenders of the flag). Brassmen, as trend setters, were a “radical” corps as they rose to prominence with the dynamic combination of instruction by Hy Dreitzer on brass and Eric Periloux on percussion. That year, the corps made their only appearance at the US Open championships, placing 6^th and added a  12^th place finish at the CYO Nationals.

In 1972, there was West Side Story, with the knife fight as Cluna used the diverse make-up of the corps to present a compelling interracial romance. The corps once again enjoyed great success as they finished as bridesmaid at the World Open championships and a 5^th place finish at the CYO Nationals. In the fall of 1972, the Bishop chose to elevate Father Schiraldi to the rank of Pastor and in so doing he transferred our Moderator to a non-existent parish in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn. 

In October 1972, the group incorporated as an independent corps and staged “The Perils of Pauline” complete with buzz saw, villain and hero and the audiences went wild. They went on to a 2^nd place finish at the 1973 World Open championships, closing out a competitive history that made its’ mark in the activity. By 1974, the junior drum corps movement was being ruled by DCI and this led to the eventual demise of the organization.

From their inception, a standard of perfection and difficulty in the drum corps realm was established and would be remembered forever. 

Members (12)