Rich Yelinek knows his way around the horn. After his initial training on soprano with the Coachmen (’79-’80), he spent the following 35 years performing and soloing with the CT Hurricanes, earning the respect of comrades and competitors alike. In itself, that kind of commitment suggests Hall of Fame consideration but there’s more…a lot more.
It’s notable that, driven by both passion and stamina, he played concurrently over that period with the CT Alumni, Legends, and the all-star alumni corps, Park City Pride, …and that’s just the performing part.
As a brass instructor he worked with the Marksmen (’89-’91, ’04-’09, also serving as their Vice-President), the Silver Knights (’99-’01), the CT Hurricanes (’10-’16) and the Enfield Centurions (’13-’17), and taught both brass and drill to future drum corps recruits at Shelton and Stamford High Schools.
At home in both G and Bb, in his “spare time” Rich developed his own line of mouthpieces, became an expert repair specialist, and spearheaded the effort to establish a new DCA corps, the Revolution. He holds membership in the Hurricanes Hall of Fame and the Buglers Hall of Fame.
