For the first time, the all-male Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps will showcase a female brass player in its 2018 show.
Megan Hutera, a music education major at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, will play the flugelhorn in Madison Scouts’ 2018 show, “Heart and Soul.”
The design team thought a female featured soloist would add tremendously to the show, says Chris Komnick, Madison Scouts executive director. Dozens of students submitted video interviews and auditioned on various instruments, with the staff ultimately selecting Hutera as a flugelhorn soloist.
“She has some really strong skillsets around the flugelhorn, and we really liked that sound,” Komnick says. “It was exactly what we were looking for in the production.”
Along with her musical skills, Komnick says that Hutera has the personality to handle the pressures that come with being the first female brass player in a historically all-male corps. “There’s going to be a lot of pressure from the public … that will develop over the course of the summer,” Komnick says. “So it’s got to be someone who’s not really concerning themselves with that, who is focused on delivering a great performance.”
Even though Hutera will only perform the solo in the show, she has been playing trumpet and working on the moves during practices, so that she gets the full member experience, Komnick says.
Previously in its 80-year history, the Madison Scouts has featured female performers in color guard or character roles less than a handful of times.
