Tony Sawyer, Elon Director of Bands, spent spring break working with the Besana Marching Band in Besana, Italy.
The project began when he was contacted by the band to be a part of its design team and help write music for its 2010 competition season. Once the project was started, Sawyer was asked to travel to Italy to help with the teaching, interpretation and implementation of the music. He plans to travel back to Italy this summer to continue finalizing the show just before competitions.
During the visit, Sawyer was invited to bring the Elon band to Besana for an International Music Festival held every summer. Groundwork was done on possible visits by both the Elon band to Italy and the Besana band to the United States in the coming years.
The Besana Marching Band is one of only ten marching bands in Italy. It competes in the Drum Corps Europe International competition circuit each season. Besana is just north of Milan in Brianza.