Placed across 20 acres of downtown Orlando 29 brass, 7 train horns, 4 conch shells and a solo Hawai’ian vocal, this “Opening Spectacle” was a declaration of musical joy and cultural harmony, filling the air between Orlando City Hall and the Dr. Phillips Center. This fanfare opened both mornings thanks to the FusionFest organizers, my operations manager Hector Perez Mundo and talent finders Benoit Glazer and Caroline Ramos who helped me organize the 46 musicians and crew to put it all together. FusionFestivals are an annual Orlando/Orange County celebration of Central Florida’s diverse cultures that happen every Thanksgiving weekend.
With the train horns set up the previous night, the 29 brass, 4 conch players and singers had only a cold Saturday morning 7:30 – 9:30 rehearsal. This clip was taken after the brass had learned the music and were getting used to the conductor being a flashing-light metronome.
