Drumcorps.org.uk: Year in review 2009

Jubal won the DCE European Championships, The Kidsgrove Scouts became DCUK Champions and announced their plans to tour DCA in 2010. The Blue Devils gained the DCI title after an undefeated season. This, and many other headlines, appeared on the DCE news site drumcorps.org.uk. DCE will take you back to the highlights of 2009.


JANUARY

The visual ingenious presented by both the other corps at the Drum Corps Japan Championships could not match the size and cleanliness of the Yokohama Scouts. With their show titled 'The Velocity', the Scouts combined both a well written drill with a solid music book on all ends to give them their fourth championships Division I title and first in three years.

Mayflower announed that they will return to the WGI arena in 2010. The guard will once again perform in the Independent World Class, competing against the world's elite colour guards. Mayflower last appeared in WGI competition in 2005.

Two French musicians join The Senators Drum & Bugle Corps for the 2009 season. David Lemant and Benoit Sueur will both march in the drumline of the DCE 2007 and 2008 European Champions.

Drum Corps Europe has appointed Bruce Vrancken as the new DCE Adjudication Manager. Bruce will coordinate all judging matters as part of the DCE management team.

As the first African American president in the history of the United States, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the President of the United States, the Cadets were there. One of a hundred or so performing groups selected from 1,800 applications, the Cadets (including the German mello player Philipp Schüssler) proved to be the class of the event.

Drum Corps Europe hold their European drum corps symposium in London. Board members from corps, instructors, designers and people from several organisations met to discuss plans for the future.

Following a unanimous vote of the Drum Corps International World Class member corps on Saturday, Jan. 24, the Cascades were approved to compete as a World Class corps on the 2009 Drum Corps International Tour.


FEBRUARY

Since 2001, a rule has been in place that any ties for first place would be resolved at all shows based on the placement of the corps within individual captions (ordinals). The membership voted to eliminate this rule. Now, if there is a tie for first place at any DCI contest, both corps will be awarded first place.

Following the initial registration process in early January, all corps that indicated they wished to be part of DCUK in 2009 have now confirmed their membership. 18 corps have registered for the competition.

After many years away The Pacemakers will return to DCUK in their 30th anniversary year. As the only founder corps who competed at the first ever DCUK final, they are pleased to be able to help celebrate this historic milestone.

The well-known Italian hip-hop group Gemelli Diversi from Milan has invited Besana Marching Band to join them for a performance during the Italian Song Festival. The festival is be broadcasted on Italy's main TV channel RAI1.

Drum Corps Europe has added a new section to its website: DCE My News. It is a collection of the latest drum corps headlines from many sources, all brought together on one page. Visitors can decide which headlines they want to see.

With a lot of help from member organisations and from bands, The British Federation of Youth Marching Band Organisations has just published an impressive 20 page full colour magazine. The magazine has features by international percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and Cultural Olympiad Supremo Bill Morris.


MARCH

Co-founder of the all-age drum corps organising body Drum Corps Associates, Dr. Almo J. Sebastianelli, passed away on Wednesday, February 25th, at the age of 93. Sebastianelli served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and later in the United States Air Force.

8th of March 2009 was an historical day in British drum corps as one of the original member corps of DCUK and the 1st DCUK Champions, the Dagenham Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps, came back together to form their Alumni Corps as a tribute to their late corps director John Johnson (one of the founders of DCUK) and as part DCUK's 30th anniversary celebrations in 2009.

The DCA World Championships will be staying in Drum Corps Friendly Rochester, New York for at least two more years. The 2009 championship completes a record setting four year run in Rochester. Inquiries and bids were received from a number of different areas.

The Blue Devils are saddened by the passing of Antonio (Tony) Odello Sr. on March 17th. Tony was 89 years of age. Tony and his wife Ann were the founders of The Blue Devils in 1957.

19 corps have registered for the Drum Corps Netherlands competition. The line-up includes a new corps and two corps returning to the competition after several years.

Seven members of Kidsgrove Scouts' drum line completed the Stafford Half Marathon to raise funds for the corps. The runners were Stuart Hancock, Steve Hunt, James Moore, Hayden Burns, Richard Boughtflower, Jamie Clare and Paul Lowton.


APRIL

Percussion Unlimited, Göteborg and Shooting Stars are the new champions of Indoor Percussion Europe. The indoor percussion association held its second championships in Roeselare - Belgium, and units from Belgium, The Netherlands, France and Sweden entered the competition.

The drum corps activity was well represented at the WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio this past weekend as the Santa Clara Vanguard Winter Guard completed an undefeated season to win its first World Championship title. The Vanguard won the Independent World division with a score of 97.100, besting its fellow California competitor Corona Winter Guard by more than a point.

Drum Corps Europe held a judges training session in Ireland. DCE Director of Education Bob Thomas was very pleased with the turn out and participation of all the attendees.

Drum Corps Europe has announced that it has launched the DCE Media Store. This online store offers video and audio files of DCE corps performances for use on portable video and audio devices. Prices are only 1.99 euros for an audio file and 2.99 euros for a video file. The profit will be shared with the corps.


MAY

The sale of tickets for the DCE Championships 2009 started on May 1st at midnight. Within a few hours all 500 tickets in the middle section of the stand were sold out.

The Inbhear Mor Marchers from Arklow - Ireland announce that they will embark on a 12 day tour of the USA and Canada in August. This is the band's first ever visit to the USA and Canada, and they will perform at upcoming Drum Corps Associates show in Toms River - New Jersey, and Norwich - New York.

Junt Minalai, a staff member from Thailand travelled to Europe to join the DCE Judges College in Dadizele - Belgium. He wants to use his knowledge about the DCE judging system to develop the drum corps and marching band activity in his own country.

Millennium Drum & Bugle Corps have new uniforms. The new look of the Italian DCE finalist was presented to people of their hometown Verdello during a preview performance.


JUNE

Two DCI corps members were recently awarded $1,000 scholarships from the international nonprofit organisation, Dutch in DCI. Established by former drum corps members in 2006, Dutch in DCI seeks to provide opportunities for Dutch students to participate in Drum Corps International corps.

The Kidsgrove Scouts Drum & Bugle corps will tour and compete in the Drum Corps Associates World Championships (DCA) in 2010. This decision allows Kidsgrove Scouts to continue to develop and match the demands of the Drum Corps activity in the UK and Europe whilst providing the organisation with a new and exciting challenge.

The Madison Scouts made a donation to Marching Music France. The French music organisation is pleased with the donation. Madison Scouts gave 40 uniforms (pants and coats) to MMF. These uniforms will be worn this summer by members of the first national MMF summer camp.

Despite heavy rain and lightning before the show, the Drum Corps International competitive season opener on Friday, June 19 in Rockford - Illinois, entertained parents and drum corps fans with a standstill concert.

The Glassmen volunteer bus was involved in an accident with a tractor trailer coming out of a service plaza. The bus driver was the only one to sustain injuries, but as a precautionary measure three volunteers were also taken to be checked out.


JULY

The Field Band Foundation announced that the National Championships for field bands will take place in Johannesburg - South Africa on 2nd and 3rd October. This year the event has moved to a new venue: the Athletic Stadium in Johannesburg.

The 30th DCUK Championships will return to Field Mill stadium in Mansfield. Due to unprecedented interest shown in this year's event, the original venue and home of last years championships (Northwich Victoria) was deemed too small to offer the anticipated numbers of fans and competitors the quality drum corps experience they expect.

The Clonmel Bluehawks have topped the first DCE certified show in Ireland. The event was a joint venture of the Irish Marching Band Association (IMBA) and Drum Corps United Kingdom. IMBA used judges from Drum Corps Europe and DCE's judging panel.

Juliana Drum & Bugle Corps scored 1241 points at the World Music Contest in Kerkrade. Wiith this score, the corps from Middelburg beat Beatrix from Hilversum and Jubal from Dordrecht.


AUGUST

Europe has a new indoor percussion unit: European X. The new unit is initiated by the American indoor percussion ensemble (and 2008/2009 WGI World Champions) Rhythm X and a group of Dutch instructors.

With thousands of alumni, supporters and fans cheering them on, the Holy Name Cadets celebrated their 75th anniversary season. Alumni and supporters by the hundreds cheered the corps on during their 75th anniversary weekend celebrations.

A familiar face will finally return to the coveted top 12 of drum corps elite. After a 23 year absence from those ranks, the Troopers of Casper - Wyoming overtook the Colts by a slim margin of .30 points taking 12th place in the Semi Finals competition.

With a score of 99.05, just a tenth of a point shy of the all-time record, the Blue Devils from Concord - California are Drum Corps International's 2009 World Class World Champions after completing an entirely undefeated season. Their success mirrored that of their Open Class counterparts, Blue Devils B, who earned the gold medal in the Open Class Finals competition earlier in the day after their own perfect season.

If you want to find out how the European Drum Corps relate to each other there is now a special European score page. It features the scores from the contests which have been DCE certified so far in 2009.

The Dagenham Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps Alumni have officially announced that they will travel to Kerkrade on the 26th September to perform in exhibition at the Drum Corps European Championships.

A federal court has accepted the Nashua Spartans Drum & Bugle Corps' bankruptcy plan to pay debts and reorganize. The corps has not performed this year, as the organisation owed more than $200,000 to creditors â?? an amount that did not include a lapsed $849,000 mortgage on the outfit's longtime home.


SEPTEMBER

The DCE website is extended with a news page in the Italian language. By adding an Italian page, DCE is now supporting five languages for its news, namely English, Dutch, German, French and Italian.

The Dutch top show band Marum has announced that the band will change into a drum & bugle corps in the next few years. Marum has plans to compete in the DCE European Championships in 2010.

It is now possible to follow the latest drum corps news on your iPhone. Drum Corps Europe has developed an 'app' with the news in English, Dutch, German, French and Italian. The beta version of the DCE News Service app is released.

Jubal are the new Dutch Open Class champions. The corps stripped the reigning champions Beatrix of their throne and claimed almost all captions with only High Auxiliary going to Hilversum. Jong Jubal were also successful and became Cadet Class champions whilst newcomer Con Spirito triumphed in the A-Class.

For the fifth time in a row the Reading Buccaneers were able to scoop up the Open Class title at the Drum Corps Associates Championships in Rochester New York. For the Buccaneers this was a record score.

The regional tv and radio station L1 in the province of Limburg - The Netherlands becomes a media partner of Drum Corps Europe. TV and radio commercials of the DCE European Championships will be aired on L1 radio and L1 television.

The Kidsgrove Scouts have become the British Drum Corps Champions in Mansfield. The corps won the DCUK Open Class, including all captions, with a difference of nearly two points over the Senators, increasing the lead they had on their nearest rivals from the Eastleigh show two weeks ago. The Staffordshire Knights are the A-Class Champions, and 6th Hove B won the Junior Class.

Jubal are the new European champions. The corps won the DCE Open Class, with a difference of nearly one point ahead of the Kidsgrove Scouts. The Senators ended in third place. Jong Jubal have won the Cadet Class Finals, with Jong Beatrix in second place.


OCTOBER

Southern Aurora have announced their 2010 show 'Invaders'. Chaos, a struggle for freedom and the ecstasy of victory. Southern Aurora will explore humanity's fight for freedom. Aurora will return to competition after a year's absence and are really excited at the prospects for 2010.

The live webcast of the DCE European Championships 2009 has been watched by thousands of people. There was a lot of interest in the internet broadcast, especially from the United States.

WinterGuard United Kingdom (WGUK) and Indoor Percussion Europe (IPE) have announced that for 2010 they will be working in partnership to bring two indoor percussion events to the UK including the IPE European Championships which will be held in Crawley, West Sussex on Sunday 4th April.

Jubal from Dordrecht is the proud owner of the Jubal Music Centre. Having rented for 14 years, they have now completed the purchase of the property. An extensive renovation is to follow.

A new podcast about drum corps has been launched. The first episode of the 'Drum Corps Interests Podcast' was released by podcaster John Bonham, and it contains last month's interview with Steve Vickers from Drum Corps World. In this first episode, among other things, Vickers talks about the difference between drum corps in Europe and the USA.

Showband Marum from Marum - The Netherlands plans to travel to Asia within the next two years. The show band wants to look beyond Europe, and is also considering performing in other continents.

Concord alumni, staff and supporters in large numbers gathered together at Davy's Sporting Club in Sheffield to mark the 25th anniversary of Concord Drum and Bugle Corps.

The Wölper Löwen from Neustadt am Rübenberghe did not enter any drum corps contests this year to allow them to focus on their theatre show. The premiere was earlier this month, and they have since performed the show two times. The show has been very well received by the public.


NOVEMBER

For many years it has been the wish of our staff and members of the Jubal drumline to participate in the indoor percussion circuit during the winter months. Jubal will have its own indoor percussion unit, carrying the name of 'Jubal Indoor Percussion'.

Ton Stam, an alumni member of Beatrix Drum & Bugle Corps, has been elected as a board member for the Madison Scouts. He has been appointed to a one year term at the 2009 annual meeting last week.

Visitors are very pleased with the progress of the European DCE Championships in Kerkrade, as shown by a public survey. This was completed by over 200 people, who assess the European Championship with a grade of 8.7 out of 10.

The Blue Lions Drum & Bugle Corps is history. A few years ago, the French corps converted from drumline to a drum & bugle corps, but this step did not generate the expected success. The corps has ceased operations.

In its November edition, Drum Corps World devotes much attention to Drum Corps Europe. The magazine opens with a comprehensive review and pictures of the DCE European Championships in Kerkrade.

Sunday 22nd November saw the launch of the Black Knights Brass Theatre project, and what better place than to launch than at the auditions for a nationally televised talent show? The members of the group which consists of 11 brass and 1 percussionist, travelled to the Business Design Centre in Islington for the preliminary auditions for Britain's Got Talent.

The Company Performance Ensemble is a brand new marching arts organisation based in Barnsley. They are excited by the strength of the staff and design being assembled, in addition they have a strong management team who will make sure that goals and aspirations are delivered from day one.


DECEMBER

Online registration for the IPE contests and the IPE European Championships is now officially closed. Indoor Percussion Europe is very proud to present 35 performances at four competition events including 15 units at the IPE European Championships in Crawley.

Drum Corps International has acknowledged the acoustic problems at the DCI Championships this summer in the new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. After the Championships, fans discussed the sound quality of the stadium. DCI will now look into how the acoustics can be improved.

Drum Corps United Kingdom have annopunced that for the 2010 season they will be adding one extra date to their contest schedule. The season will consist of three UK contests and the championships event.

Drum Corps Europe has received many applications from corps wishing to participate in the DCE European Championships in 2010. Interest in participating is higher than previous years.

Three members of the two-time WGI World Champion Rhythm X from Columbus, Ohio (US) have performed with Top Secret Drum Corps (Basel - Switzerlande) from 2008. Jared Thomas, Matt Raynor and Ted Leith began their marching careers in the US.

After considerable discussion among its board of trustees over the course of the past three months, the Capital Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps has announced that it will not be participating in the 2010 Drum Corps International Tour.

Amplified percussion has now been accepted by DCE and its Certified Partners. After the past 'test year', neither organisation can see any issue with giving the green light.