The Trumbull High School Golden Eagle Marching Band has teamed up with Marriott to bring WGI color guard and percussion units incredible discounts on luxury accomodations at the Trumbull Marriott Merritt Parkway.

“Through the silent darkness of night, the soulful search for freedom has lit our path.”

Performing on a black and green floor adorned with images of soldiers, battlefields, and patriotic symbolism ranging from WWII to Vietnam, the young ladies of Trumbull High School will pull you through the oculars of night vision goggles; portraying the tribulations of battle accompanied by Sinéad O’Connors haunting rendition of “Silent Night.”

The Trumbull High School Color Guard performs under the direction of Raymond Rhodes. Ray served as director of Trumbull from 1994 to 2007, and following a two-year hiatus to pursue his career as the Director of Human Resources for a global trade-show company based out of Norwalk, CT., he has returned in full-force for the winter of 2010 and is delighted to be back, “I think back on my humble beginnings here at Trumbull, and I am so grateful for how we have evolved as educators and performers over the years. The support we’ve received from our community, our school faculty and our parent organization has been overwhelming! I am so proud that we have assembled a truly dynamic team of designers and technicians for this season, and our students are flourishing as a result.”

John Lemire has returned as Show Designer for his 9th year with the unit, and is excited to work the phenomenal collaborative team that has been assembled. John, along with two new additions to the Trumbull family, Philip Traini and Jim Zulick, are all responsible for the movement and equipment choreography for the unit, “I have worked closely with Jim and Philip at Alter Ego over the past two season, and their talent and ambition for this activity and the performing arts in general is inspiring and an invaluable asset to the program.”

Philip's drum corps experience began with the Cadets, with whom he marched from 2000-2004, serving as color guard captain in ‘04. He has also marched with various Independent World Winter Guards, including St. Ann's and Blessed Sacrament. Philip worked with the Cheshire High School Color Guard and Winter Guard from 2001-2009 and has taught many other groups including Newtown High School, Shelton High School, Salem Blue, St John's of Beverly, The Light Brigade, The Boston Crusaders, The CT Hurricanes Drum Corps, where he is the color guard caption head, and is currently an Equipment Designer for Alter Ego Independent World.

Jim's drum corps experience began with the Cadets, with whom he marched from 2001-2005, serving as color guard captain in ’04 and drum major of the corps in ‘05. He has also marched with various Independent Winter Guards including Alter Ego, St. John’s of Beverly, and Blessed Sacrament. Jim worked with the Cheshire High School Color Guard and Winter Guard from 2005-2009 and has also taught Bethel High School, The CT Hurricanes Drum Corps, where he is the Visual Caption Head, and is currently a Movement and Equipment Designer for Alter Ego Independent World.

Megan Rexroat and Tom Dargon will head up the Technical Team at Trumbull this winter. Megan graduated from Trumbull High School in 2004 and returned to teach in the Fall of 2006. She has marched with many DCA corps along the east coast and her intense, motivational approach with the performers makes her a vital asset to the organization. Tom Dargon graduated from Trumbull in 2006 and returned to teach in the Fall of 2008. Tom has also marched with various DCA corps along the east coast and with the 2008 WGI Independent Open Gold Medalist, Alter Ego. Most recently Tom performed with the 2009 DCI Silver Medalist Carolina Crown. Both Tom and Megan are proud to be back teaching where their marching careers began!

2010 will mark Trumbull High School’s 4th season in the Scholastic World Class, and the unit will be fielding their biggest competitive unit to date with nearly 30 talented young ladies. You can catch Trumbull competing locally in the Musical Arts Conference Circuit and also in the WGI Trumbull Regional, Salem Regional, South Brunswick Regional, and WGI World Championships.

For more information about the unit, please log on to their website at: www.trumbullcolorguard.org

See the article on the WGI website at http://www.wgi.org/news/01262010-Trumbull-HS-is-quot%3BIn-Darknessquot%3B.html