From a Glassmen press release: The Glassmen wrapped up their first orientation/audition camp for the 2004 season over Thanksgiving weekend in Toledo, Ohio, and what a weekend it was! Members traveled from over 20 U.S. states, Canada and England to participate in the three-day camp.

Glassmen executive director Brian Hickman addresses some of the auditionees during the camp. Photo by Emily Tannert.
While most of Friday evening was spent on fundamentals, Saturday brought much more music and routines to learn. All their hard work paid off, as the members had an opportunity Sunday afternoon to play a "show-n-tell" for alumni, family and staff before the end of the camp. An exceptionally loud horn line, flanked by rotating drum lines and color guard routines, brought the crowd to its feet, marking the end a very successful weekend -- and the beginning of what is sure to be an amazing season. New this year is an additional color guard audition day, to be held on Saturday, Dec. 13, in Houston, Texas, in response to an overwhelming increase in guard applicants from the Southwest. Male and female flag, rifle, sabre and dance applicants are all invited. Staff on site in Texas will include caption head Tim Newburn, and designer/instructor Kristen Whiting, currently enrolled at the Alvin Ailey Dance School in New York City. T he extra audition will enable the staff to not only evaluate more prospective members for the guard, but also to spend more time with the applicants, as the color guard typically meets only at the November and December Toledo camps before they break for the winter guard season. The guard then reconvenes in late April after WGI Championships to finish auditions and set the membership for the season. Applicants from all sections are strongly encouraged to return for the second Toledo camp in December, so the instructors can track their progress over the intervening weeks. This allows the staff ample time to ascertain the abilities of each member, finally setting the brass and percussion sections of the corps in January. New applications for all instruments and sections will still be accepted at the second audition/rehearsal camp in Toledo from December 19-21. Additional information about the Houston color guard audition day on Dec. 13 can be found on the glassmen.org or by calling the offices at 419.698.9775.