Once again, the DCE European Championships will be held in the now well-known Parkstad Limburg Stadium in Kerkrade. It will be the fifth time that the stadium is the scene of Europe's largest drum corps event.
We have not seen The Senators as a drum & bugle corps for a few years, but the club from Eastleigh is active in winter. This year, they will even bring two units to the floor.
What happened in 2011? Year in Review 2011 highlights the top stories from the DCE news page, grouped per month. Drum Corps Europe wishes everyone a great 2012!
On Saturday the 21st of January, European drum corps organisations will meet up in Belgium. The annual meeting is intended to discuss European competition and cooperation and to take a look ahead at the coming year.
The DCE European Championships DVDs are ready! It is the first time that the DVD has been available this fast. Those who ordered the DVD early will have received it already, or can expect it to arrive any day now (the copies were sent last weekend).
Over the years Indoor Percussion Europe has run the I&E Competition during their Kick-Off event. For the first time, IPE will hold the Individuals & Ensembles competition during the IPE European Championships in Tournai - Belgium on Sunday 8th April.
Beatrix Drum & Bugle Corps from Hilversum will be investing significantly in the amplification of its front ensemble in the coming year. The entire front ensemble of the corps will be amplified.
Andy Hewlett is planning a very different role in Drum Corps in 2012. The DCE announcer is hoping to be back on the field, marching tuba with Kidsgrove Scouts.
Kadoudal Drum & Bugle Corps has announced its new show production entitled 'One Night in Paris". The design team has chosen a more artistic and romantic show telling the story of a group of friends having a night in Paris.
Joke Schauvlieghe, who is the Flemish Minister of environment, nature and culture was an invite to the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban South Africa. On this occasion she also visited the Alexandra Field Band in the township Alexandra in Johannesburg.
The DCE European Championships will have another exceptionally strong corps line-up in 2012. There were far more entries than available spots, and nine corps have received a wildcard. The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France and Ireland will be represented at the European Championships.
The performance of DrumSpirit Percussion Ensemble at the Flemish Show Championships contest in October has sparked the interest of new players. Even two American drummers have now registered as members of DrumSpirit.
Registration for the 2012 Drum Corps United Kingdom season has now been open for one week and so far 13 corps have registered to take part, including a new name.
DCE will stop organising the European drum corps symposium. Attendance at the event, however useful, was disappointing in the past few years. DCE hopes to be able to reach more corps through the congresses of the national partner organisations.
The Small Drum Corps Association (SDCA) is leaping ahead. What was supposed to be a drum corps circuit designed to provide a venue suited for a few smaller drum corps in the Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin area has surprisingly developed into a way to fulfill a need that has existed for many years.
The Mosson Marching Band has changed its name into Mosson Drum & Bugle Corps, becoming the third Italian drum & bugle corps after Millennium and Besana changing their names earlier.
Beatrix member Danielle Bernaert will be joining the winter guard of Santa Clara Vanguard for five months this winter. She left for the United States last Sunday.
Following on from the successful 2011 season which saw the Beeches Performance Ensemble crowned BYBA Division 2 National Champions, the corps presents 'Into Your Soul'. The new show is a journey of self discovery into our inner selves.
Juliana Drum & Bugle Corps from Middelburg - The Netherlands has announced its new show. "Metamorphosis: From Anger to Love" is about the most basic human emotions: love and hatred.
Founded in 1972, Drum Corps International will celebrate its 40th anniversary season throughout the coming months, and particularly during the competitive season next summer.
The registration period for the 2012 DCE European Championships is approaching its deadline. Corps wanting to enter the European Championships can register until next Wednesday.
DCUK will restore the A Class in 2012. At the Membership Meeting, the DCUK Board were asked to consider a revised structure to allow corps who are not currently able to compete at the 'top end' of the activity a pathway to enable their units to 'feel' this challenging and flourishing environment.
Drum Corps United Kingdom has made their initial announcement regarding contest dates for the 2012 season. For the past three years DCUK have held three shows during the summer plus the British Drum Corps Championships and at the Membership Meeting held in October it was suggested by Corps that another contest in the 2012 calendar would be welcomed.
The deadline to register for IPE 2012 has been extended from 15th November 2011 to 1st January 2012. One of the reasons to extend the registration date is that the venue for the French Regional still hasn't been confirmed.
The 2012 show of The Company Performance Ensemble will tell a story that has been around since the 17th century. Retold and performed in their own way, The Company intends to bring an age old fairytale to the drum corps field. 'Red Riding Hood' will allow the corps to explore the tale's highs and lows in a way they believe will put their own twist on the classic fable.
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With the 2012 season fast approaching the WGUK judges will shortly be holding their annual training day. The training is being held in Milton Keynes and will be facilitated by Adam Sage from the USA.
A new online drum corps magazine has launched in Germany: Drum Corps Online. The Webmaster of the magazine is Carsten Achilles, who used to be the Webmaster of the popular 'Drum Corps in Deutschland'.
The DCE European Championships are the cover story of the November issue of the American drum corps magazine. Drum Corps Europe is pleased with the attention by Drum Corps World.
Nexus Drum & Bugle Corps from Sandy have succeeded in finding their truck back, which was stolen last week. All instruments were still inside the truck.
The Heartliner corps from Ludwigshafen - Germany will be back in the European competition next year. The corps has announced a new show as well as a new uniform.
Today, registration for the DCE European Championships 2012 has started. Corps will be able to register during November. The participants list will be published mid-December.
This year, the DCE European Championships DVDs will probably be ready earlier than usual. We are aiming to send them out as early as the end of November or the beginning of December.
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The equipment truck of Nexus Drum & Bugle Corps was stolen from a locked yard in Bedford sometime Thursday night. The truck was loaded with all their front line equipment as well as other bits and pieces.
Spirit of Coventry's plans are under way for the 2012 season. Their plans for 2012 involve fielding a senior and a junior corps for the first time in the history of Spirit.
New Dutch indoor drum lineâ?¨ â?¨The Netherlands will soon have a new indoor drum line. The new group is an initiative by Confetti, Winterguard Pure from Goes and Juliana from Middelburg.
The Unik Star Juniors from Hellemmes - France will enter the competition of Indoor Percussion Europe. It will be the first compeition for the Juniors since they were founded three years ago.
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In 2012 Beatrix Drum & Bugle Corps from Hilversum - The Netherlands will take you to a construction site in the early years of the city of New York. The city is full of scaffolding and the foundations of the city that never sleeps are created.
The current DCUK champions Kidsgrove Scouts will return to the USA in 2012 to compete in the DCA World Championships. "After such a wonderful time in 2010 there have been many messages from people in the US who are very much looking forward to seeing the corps return", says corps director Rob Swindells.
The Matrix Indoor Percussion Ensemble will be traveling to Europe in 2012. The Matrix ensemble, under the direction of Rob Ferguson, has been in existence for 12 years and continues to be a highly competitive group in the WGI circuit, and will travel to Europe for the second time in their existence.
"The Field Band Foundation (SA) organized its national championships on Friday October 7th and Saturday 8th. Two representatives of the Flemish marching music organisation Vlamo were part of the judging team (Best Show Design and Creative Excellence).
The Company's 2012 venture into indoor percussion will see the European champions perform a show entitled 'Drop'. "Sit back, don't lean over the edge as we musically and visually change aspects in a downward direction, watch us descend from one level to another - we are prepared to go to a new low for this."
Brian Yothers becomes the new Adjudication Manager for Drum Corps Europe. He succeeds Douglas Caldwell as a member of the management team and is responsible for organising the judging community.
This year moving to The Blue Shed contemporary performance space on Brightside Lane, Sheffield, Concord will present 'Volo di Fantasia' on Friday 11th November (7.30 pm) and Saturday 12th November (2.30 pm matinee and 7.30 pm). The Blue Shed is an exciting new facility that will allow Concord Youth music to greatly extend the scope and content of their unique form of entertainment.
The internet broadcast of the DCE European Championships attracted a large number of viewers. The link for the webcast was clicked 7,000 times, an increase of approximately 70% compared to last year.
Beatrix Drum & Bugle Corps from Hilversum - The Netherlands will not be going to the United States next summer. Due to reasons including changes in the staff team, the administration of the corps believes it would not be sensible to allow the planned tour to go ahead.