38th ANNUAL VIKINGLAND BAND FESTIVAL
Sunday, June 26, 2022 • 1:30 pm • Alexandria, MN • www.VikinglandBandFestival.com Field exhibition and awards ceremony at Alexandria Area High School, 4300 Pioneer Road, at 4:30 pm VikinglandBandFestival • #vbf2022
Music touches his heart & soul A GRAND MARSHAL STORY
GIVING BACK
GREG DEGIER Greg DeGier has volunteered 22 years of service to the Vikingland Band Festival committee and spent 23 years teaching music to students in the Alexandria area. He is this year’s Vikingland Band Festival grand marshal. Festival coordinator Rhonda Blaser said, “Greg is a respected and admired music educator, and he has played a big part in keeping the Vikingland Band Festival a top-notch event for Alexandria. We strive to recognize people who have made contributions to music, youth or the community, and Greg has impacted all three areas.”
MUSICAL BACKGROUND DeGier comes from a musical family and in fact, his love of playing the trumpet came from his older brother, Randy, who played trumpet in high school. His other brother, Jerry, was a percussionist and his sister, Cheryl, sang in choir. And his mom was a piano player. He said there was always music in his house. Playing the trumpet is something DeGier still does today. He is a member of the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra, has played with the Docs All Stars band, which is now Katie’s Swing Band and has also played at a handful of weddings. “If someone needs a trumpet player, they can call me up because I like doing it, I like playing,” he said.
DeGier said he moved to the Alexandria area in 1998 and was hired in the Alexandria School District 206 in the music department. He was the assistant marching band director for 16 years, while also being the music director for various high school jazz bands, pep bands and concert bands. Prior to retiring, he spent the last seven years at Discovery Middle School in Alexandria overseeing the band program, directing the jazz band and he organized the beginner summer band program. And even though he is retired as a school band director, it doesn’t mean he stopped working in the music industry. DeGier now works for Eckroth Music as a school service representative, which means he picks up instruments from schools that need repairs and then brings them back to them when they are fixed. “I like to keep busy and this is something that is fun and music-related,” said DeGier. “I was looking at giving back to the profession and I get to do that. I talk with band directors and sometimes they ask for my opinion on this or that and I can help them out. I can give back to the younger directors and the older directors can talk to someone who’s been in the business. I can sympathize with them.” He also said it is fun to go into the school to see all the kids running around and that he feels kind of like a grandpa to them. “I can go in and say hi to them and then walk out and leave everything there because I am not the teacher anymore,” he said.
people, like in a jazz band, concert band or even an orchestra, it’s about having a really good product. “When you have high-level musicians who are playing at a high level, that is the most fun,” he said. “You do the work, you work hard at practicing and accomplish that level, putting it all together, it’s something; but it also touches your heart and soul.”
do the work, they have to be there for their kids, they have to be supportive and helpful. For students, he said, they have to do the work even though it’s going to be hard. Students have to put the time into practicing if they want to be good. “You have to practice,” he said. “There’s no way around that.”
HONORED IT TAKES HARD WORK Over the years, DeGier has worked with many students. Several of them are very talented musicians who play professionally, he said. “We’re fortunate in Alexandria to have so much talent,” he said. “And it runs the gamut – choir, band, orchestra – and all different genres, jazz, rock and roll, whatever. It’s always fun to see the kids, the students, succeed.” But they don’t succeed without a lot of hard work. DeGier offered up some advice to both parents and students. For parents, he said, they have to back their children. They have to make them
DeGier said being chosen as this year’s grand marshal was such an honor. And he said it was so nice to have the Vikingland Band Festival getting back to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic. He was looking forward to the awards and all the bands coming to town to showcase their talents. “The Vikingland Band Festival is a big deal, not only for the town of Alexandria, but for all those bands that come here and participate,” he said. “I’ve been to some of those schools that participate and I’ve seen the trophies and how much they cherish those. So yes, it is a big deal and that is why we want it to keep going. It inspires kids and that inspires me.”
HEART AND SOUL So what is it about music for DeGier that has kept him playing for so long and kept him in the industry? He says there are many things, but that music really touches his heart and soul. He said it is something fun whether playing on your own or with a group of musicians. When playing with a group of
Contributed photo
Greg DeGier, right, with Tom Helder and Paul Schumacher. The three musicians made up the trumpet section for the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra.
Welcome to the 2022 Vikingland Band Festival!
Since 1985 we have said WELCOME to the wonderful band students and directors who march down the Vikingland Band Festival parade route.
After a virtual celebration in 2020 and a scaled-back event in 2021, we are thrilled to bring back the awards ceremony and other details that make this festival so special. Best
wishes as you continue to rebuild from the challenges of recent years. Mark your calendars for the 39th Vikingland Band Festival on Sunday, June 25, 2023!
2022 VIKINGLAND BAND FESTIVAL Color Guard Marine Corps League Runestone Detachment #1409 Grand Marshal Greg DeGier 1. Alexandria Marching Band-Host Band Director: Casey Skalbeck and Michelle Robertus Assistant Director: Derek Ziemer Color Guard: Kassie Gibbons and Ki Blaser Honor Guard: Emily Elliott Repertoire: Voyage 2. Richfield High School Marching Spartans Class AA Director: Chad Armbruster and Jeffrey Peterson Drumline: Ryan Larson and Nick Bruce Color Guard: Karly Allison Hornline: Alfredo Aguilar Ortiz and Peter Dysart Repertoire: Undercover 3. Cotter High School Marching Band Class A Director: Andy Meurer and Ian Schultz Drumline Instructor: Sam Wantock Color Guard Instructor: Jenna Rickoff Visual Tech: Paige Stanislawski Repertoire: Winter by Eric Rath 4. Fergus Falls High School Marching Band Class AA Director: Scott Kummrow Asst. Director: Josh McGowan Drumline: Kaele Peterson Color Guard: Ashley Sands Repertoire: Salute to the Armed Forces 5. River City Rhythm Drum and Bugle Corps Honor Unit Director: Mitchell Walstad Show Title: Road to Nowhere Musical Selections: Udacrep Akubrad by Avner Dorman, Puszta by Jan Van der Roost and Original Compositions by Ward Miller, Paul Weber and Craig Myers.
Parade Order
6. Two Rivers Marching Band Class AAA Director: Erik Christianson Drumline: Ian Ko Color Guard: Katie Hoflock Music: Steve Truan Drill: Owen Tucker Repertoire: Artworks
7. St. Michael-Albertville Marching Knights Class AAAA Director: Joshua VanVooren Drumline: Andy Abel Color Guard: Sarah Kulzer Hornline: Nick Flattum Repertoire: Rebellion 8. Dassel-Cokato Marching Chargers Class AA Director: Jake Pavia Drumline: Anson Hanna, Gus Wiitala and Carlos Mendiola Color Guard: Amanda McGruder Hornline: William Frickstad and Kylie Johnson Repertoire: Defying Gravity 9. 728 Cadets Marching Band Class AAAA Director/Drumline: Joe Jaeger Assistant Director/ Horn Line: Shannon Curtis Color Guard: Natalie Sterner Repertoire: Last Full Measure 10. Sauk Rapids-Rice High School Marching STORM Class AAA Director: Zach Sander Winds/Visual/Drill: Dallas St. Hilaire, Ben Brinkman and Nathan Sjogren Drumline: Andrew Wennekamp and Aaron Euteneuer Color Guard: Brianna Riehm, Shayden Tillett and Gavin Martin Repertoire: In the Hall of the Mountain King, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Danse Boheme, Toccata and Fugue in D minor, A Night on Bald Mountain and Dies Irae from Requiem
11. Sartell HS Marching Band Class AAA Director: Dave Lumley Asst Director: Lara Moline Drumline: Joseph Sicora Color Guard: Holli Sauerer Repertoire: From Darkness to Light
12. Milaca High School Marching Wolves Class AA Director: Andrew Nelson Drumline: Anthony Peterson Color Guard: Christine Nelson Repertoire: The Hammer of Thor • Nordic Thunder 13. Annandale Drumline Exhibition Director: Lee Peterson Repertoire: Street Cadences 14. Hibbing Marching Bluejackets Class AA Director: Matt Berg Color Guard: Lynda Larson Repertoire: Land of a Thousand Dances, Shut Up and Dance and Cupid Shuffle 15. Waconia High School Marching Band Class AAA Director: Nick Hansberry, Phil Snyder and Alli Wilmes Hornline: Carl Mathwig and Nick Buroker Drumline: Jake Esterberg Color Guard: Sue Snorek, Rachel Horner Bonkoungou, Sydney Kuykindall and Julia Sarcletti Repertoire: Once…(Battle for The Moors, Mad World, Once Upon a Dream and Pumpkin Pursuit)
16. Champlin Park Marching Rebels Class AAAA Director: Steve Johnson and Amanda Mastrian Music/Visual: Carly Mastrian, Grant Goulson, Nic Englin and Davis Bitterman Drumline: David Bradley and Jim Swanson Color Guard: Addie Guenther, Bailey Engberg and Emily Erickson Musical Arrangements: Steve Johnson, Amanda Mastrian and Jim Swanson Drill Design: Kara Metzger Repertoire: Joy by Frank Ticheli, I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie and Nessum Dorma from Turadot 17. KMS Marching Saints Class A Director: Pam Diem Assistant Director: Carly Fuhrman and Britta Diem Color Guard: Kristen Stivers Color Guard Choreography: Pedro Evenezer Repertoire: Grand Illusion and Renegade by Styx
Did You Know?
Alexandria is the only band to appear in every Vikingland Band Festival, but many bands have a long history performing in the festival. Through 2021, these bands have appeared at least 15 times – Alexandria (37), Fergus Falls (34), Waconia (33), Henry Sibley (32), Mankato Lancers (32), Winona Cotter (32), Bertha-Hewitt (31), Long Prairie (27), Park Center (27), St. Cloud All-City (24), Sauk Rapids (23), Litchfield (22), Osseo (18), Albany (20), Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (18), Champlin Park (17), New York Mills (17), Sartell (16) and Albert Lea (16).
2022 Festival Committee Members and Judges Committee Members
Judges
Chairman: Greg DeGier Head Judge/Music General Effect: Lane Powell Coordinator: Rhonda Blaser Color Guard: Tamara Schmidt Co-Founder: Ken Martinson Visual General Effect: Mike Reed Treasurer: Dan Haglin Marching Execution: Jon Mattheis High School Operations: Jennie Engle Music Execution: Joel Matuzak Street Operations: Dave Nelson Music Execution: Patrick Lyons Banners/Tabloid Distribution: Kim Nelson Judging Operations: Jeff Meland Parade Operations: Todd Blaser Alexandria Band Directors: Casey Skalbeck, Derek Ziemer, Michelle Robertus
Festival Sponsors PLATINUM SPONSORS
Aagard Alexandria Area Bowling Assoc./Garden Center Lanes Alomere Health
GOLD SPONSORS
Coldwell Banker Runestone Electric Association
Schmitt Music Stanbury Uniforms, Inc.
SILVER SPONSORS Alexandria Elks Lodge #1685 Alexandria Technical & Community College American Solutions for Business Central Lakes Orthodontics Eckroth Music Elden’s Fresh Foods First Western Bank & Trust
Glenwood State Bank ITW Heartland Juettner Motors Kvale Real Estate Marco Martinson Insurance Agency McDonald’s
MidMinnesota Federal Credit Union Steinbring Motorcoach, Inc. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #936 Viking Bank Viking Garage Door Widseth
Factory Home Center Gardonville Cooperative Telephone
Knights of Columbus #4718 Viking Garage Door
FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL
Alexandria Downtown Merchants Association Bell Bank
IN-KIND SPONSORS Alexandria Area Robotics Alexandria Golf Cars Alexandria Park Department Alexandria Police Department Alexandria Street Department Bell Bank
Better Homes & Garden Real Estate Bremer Bank City of Alexandria Databae Systems Douglas County Sheriff’s Posse Hilltop Lumber
HPS Rental KXRA Radio Marching.com Marine Corps League Runestone Detachment #1409 North Ambulance
North Star Academy US Bank West Central Sanitation Winning Edge Graphics