For many years, Govenaires — one of the country’s oldest actively-competing drum corps, founded in 1927 and based in St. Peter, Minnesota — expressed its holiday cheer through one of its hometown’s events.
Each year, St. Peter would host “The Big Turn On,” an event that landed after Thanksgiving and featured the official kickoff of the holiday season across Minnesota Avenue, a prominent St. Peter street.
“I believe this was the day after Thanksgiving,” said Jeffrey Peterson, Govenaires’ director of strategic planning and community partnerships. “And the Govenaires would do caroling and play holiday music around town and inside of businesses on the main drag.”
When the longtime holiday celebration faded into history, Govenaires still wanted an opportunity to continue their own winter traditions within their beloved hometown.
An annual “Caroling” tradition, which still exists today, was born. Each year, members of Govenaires bring the gift of music, and the joys of the holiday season, to local businesses at the turn of December. The tradition has, in more recent years, become focused specifically on assisted living facilities.
And in continuing the corps’ holiday tradition, Govenaires members took to four assisted living locations in the St. Peter area Saturday, December 9, for a day of festive music making.
“A lot of the (assisted living) residents are waiting for this,” Peterson said. “They're looking forward to it. When I make the initial contact with the folks that are in charge of the facilities, they're always so excited to hear from us. So, that's pretty awesome.”
Govenaires’ day of caroling began with rehearsals above Patrick’s on Third, a bar owned by longtime corps member and leader John Mayer, before embarking on the corps’ four-pronged tour of St. Peter.
All four of Govenaries’ assisted living facility appearances included a setlist of well-known Christmas carols — including “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” “Silent Night,” and more — featuring a combination of brass instruments and vocalists.
Residents were welcomed to sing along, and in many instances, that invitation was readily accepted.
“You get to see the people light up when this entire troop of people comes walking in,” Govenaires board of directors president Nick Proehl said. “And then you bust into the song and you see the smiles and you see them singing, and belting it out, because you've hit that one song that really digs down into their memory, and it just lights up their faces.”
As Govenaires logistics director Matthew Sanders mentioned, with an easily-playable set of arrangements, the caroling event provided an opportunity for anyone to get in on the fun.
“We keep the music simple on purpose in order to let anyone (perform),” he said. “Maybe they haven't picked up their instrument in years, but they can usually still come in and play with us.”
According to Mayer, the Govenaires’ continued involvement and engagement in their hometown community is a crucial component of the corps’ operation.
“When we need something from the city, when we need something from a corporation, when we need something that a city needs to provide, we don't have to explain who we are, because they know who we are,” Mayer said.
And even as the drum corps activity evolves — and the Govenaires evolve with it — the hope is to keep that hometown flavor intact.
Presently, the Minnesota corps’ relationship with its hometown has produced an array of local in-season and off-season events — including appearances during Memorial Day and Independence Day — which play a major role in connecting the people of St. Peter to the Govenaires’ mission and operation.
“We hope moving forward that we're able to weigh both of these things — to be excellent in front of our community, and also promote dedication to performance on the football field, too,” Peterson said.
And ultimately, Govenaries’ caroling experience was and is a shining example of the corps’ hometown roots, and the importance of giving back and spreading joy through music to a local community.
“We're going out in the community, and we're doing something that has a meaning, has a purpose,” Proehl said. “It's beyond drum corps; this is what it means to bring music into people's lives.”