March On! ...the history of the
Toronto Optimists Drum & Bugle Corps
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Marcel Smolinski
Corps: Toronto Optimists, Optimists Alumni
September 3, 1947 — January 16, 2025
My memory (which might be wrong) says that Marcel had no drum corps experience before joining the Toronto Optimists. He was, however, a friend of Optimists' members, Bill Hannah, Doug MacKenzie and others. In 1964, his first year with The Optimists, Marcel carried a flag. Not content with a flag, he spent time teaching himself to play Baritone, which he played until he aged out. After aging out, Marcel continued to help out the corps, especially its new members.
Marcel was a charter member of the Optimists Alumni, playing Baritone. He also donated the tops for the alumni corps' first "uniforms".
Here are a few comments from some of those who knew Marcel:
"He was a great corpsman in The Optimists and will be missed greatly."
"He is one of the most brilliant minds I have ever met. It was an honour to have known him."
"It was an honour and a priviledge to perform with Marcel in the early days of the Optimists Alumni Drum Corps."
"Another keystone in the Optimist legend, I met Marcel when I joined Opti in 1970, he had aged out but was just hanging out. I knew him by reputation, I was in awe at how the old guard helped us newbies, he was so friendly and helped me to assimilate."
"I remember riding on the back of Marcel's Honda Big Bear. I became the counter weight to facilitate Marcel's "wheelie" development."
Marcel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We Remember!