If you’ve seen the Blue Knights this year, chances are you’ve seen Alberto Viñado, a Blue Knights marimba player from Dallas, TX. He’s been playing marimba for 11 years–since he was in 6th grade–and recently took some time off from school to work as a pit tech in the Dallas area. The Blue Knights front ensemble is regularly commended for the passionate performers in the front ensemble, and Alberto is no exception.
His first involvement in the activity came from a friend, who told him about an upcoming Blue Knights audition. Last minute (on the morning of the audition), Alberto decided to take a chance, and became a member of the 2011 Blue Knights. After that year, however, Alberto decided to take a hiatus from drum corps summers, due in part to the way 2011 affected him.
2015 is his second and final year with the Blue Knights. Naturally, a lot has changed in the years since 2011; the biggest change he’s seen is the total turnover of staff—the instructional staff is completely different than it was four years ago. It was the Knight’s moving 2014 show, “That One Second,” which drove him to come back to march his 
age-out with BK, and he hasn’t looked back.
He says this season is, “really, really good,” and it ties directly into his favorite part about the 2015 Blue Knights. “The front ensemble…” he says, “we all get along. We’re all friends.” It’s that kind of environment that makes the Blue Knights special, and it’s the bonds built along the way that make us truly great.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel Hanna is a native of Des Moines, Iowa and is currently pursuing degrees in Communication and in English at Truman State University, located in northeast Missouri.
Rachel has been a passionate supporter of music and the marching arts for many years; she performed in Truman’s Statesmen Color Guard in 2014, was on the founding executive board & design team of Amethyst Independent Winter Guard in 2015, and has been involved in various choirs throughout her life. She continues her involvement in Truman State’s music department through Sigma Alpha Iota, a national women’s music fraternity. She is excited to combine her professional communication interest with her love for the arts as a member of this brand new internship team.