GEORGE HILGER

Class of 2021

CADET / TEACHER / ROLE MODEL

Cadet Years: Garfield Cadet Plebes – Brass/Baritone (1968-1970)

Garfield Cadets – Brass/Baritone (1971-1979)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HIS CADET STORY:

George embodied the highest ideals of what being a Cadet is all about.  His personal pursuit of excellence, a high level of discipline, a strong desire to help make those around you better, and a deep love for the organization.  George internalized the history of the Corps and led by example.

 

George, and his brother Paul, both joined the Cadet Plebes in 1968 when George was ten (10) and Paul was eight (8).

 

George and Paul aspired to be in “the Big Corps”, and in 1971, George moved up and Paul followed a year later.  George took his responsibilities with the Corps very seriously.  His brother Paul remembers how fastidious he was in making sure his baritone gleamed before every show, cleaning it inside and out, and when he wore the uniform, nothing was out of place.

 

With his muscular build and commanding presence, he had a way of challenging those around him to be their best in a positive way that was both motivating and compelling.  Paul recalls a situation where George would walk up to one of the younger baritone players who might not have been giving their full attention to their drill alignment within a formation and would exclaim, “NOT GOOD ENOUGH, ROOKIE!  NOW DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY PUSHUPS!!”.  But George would also do the twenty pushups right along with that rookie, both with huge smiles on their faces.  Before every competition, George would walk up to nearly every corps member and make sure they were “PSYCHED!”.  His enthusiasm was infectious.

 

George’s leadership was built on the foundation of his mastery of the baritone.  He was a superb Cadet soloist for several years, and also competed in the DCI Individual competition (winning the individual baritone award in 1976).  This mastery was done on a valve/rotary instrument, not on the three-valve instruments of today.  In fact, George chose to play a Bill Watrous number for his 1977 individual performance – a jazz trombonist known for his technical virtuosity.  George chased that challenge with a vengeance.  Eventually he was able to play runs in a range that most people would simply admire, and all with a full velvety tone (that his brother Paul also emulated).  George wasn’t a “natural” trombone player, but he worked effortlessly to perfect his performance.

 

After George aged out of the Cadets, he graduated from college, became a music educator, but always relished his involvement with The Corps.  For those that didn’t know, George was asked to be our co-Drum Major in 1977 with Greg Cinzio but declined the offer because he wanted to become a Performance Major in College and wanted to continue playing the baritone.

 

To take a quote from Brass Instructor Frank Dorritie, “I taught George Hilger from Plebe to age-out . . . and he taught me.”

 

Additional Honors:

1976 DCI Individual Winner - Baritone