Drumcorps.org.uk: Year in review 2011

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!


JANUARY

Winterguard United Kingdom has announced details of the show entries for the 2011 season. All shows are very well subscribed this year with the number of performing units up by one on 2010 at 39, representing 22 different organisations. The competition counts 7 Open Class, 8 A Class, 13 Junior Class, 7 Cadet Class and 4 indoor percussion units, including four new organisations to the activity: two colour guards - South West Academy (Cadet Class) from Bristol and Winter Festival (Junior Class) from Ireland and two Indoor Percussion -  Nexus from Bedfordshire and The Company from Barnsley.

A cracking display of fireworks in front of the JMC corps home started off Jubal's Centenary year of 2011 in spectacular fashion. About one hundred Jubal members came to the corps home on New Year's Eve for a big celebration. At midnight, the Jubal members were treated to a spectacular display of fireworks which incorporated the number '100'. It was the official start of the jubilee year for the corps from Dordrecht - The Netherlands. Lots of festivities will be taking place in Dordrecht, such as a reunion, a reception, CD and DVD productions, a tattoo, an exhibition and a final 'Grand Gala'.

Twelve percussion members from The Company performed in the Grand Opening of 'Dancing on Ice 2011' on ITV 1. It was not their first TV appearance. Last year, the percussin players also supported singer star and TV 'Strictly Come Dancing' judge Alesha Dixon at 'This Morning' on ITV and also at the 'Help for Heroes' event featured live on BBC 1. More than nine million people watched the show.

The 2011 Winterguard United Kingdom season got off to a great start at Filton College in Bristol with 26 guards and a full stand at the Pegasus sponsored contest. Northern Academy took first blood in Open Class, Southern Knights in A Class, SPICE in Junior Class and Anchormen Cadets in Cadet Class.


FEBRUARY

After five years and over 7,500 stories posted, Drum Corps Planet has 'retired' their old content management system and has introduced a new version of the news section. Some of the features of this new system are a new layout and format, a new navigation system, and more photos and images. More changes are on their way, like Facebook integration, full-text searches for all content, and a mobile version of the website.

Drum Corps Germany no longer exists. In a special members' meeting, the decision was made to disband the German drum corps association. No new board members have been found for DCG. It has been known for some time that the current board members of Drum Corps Germany would not be able to continue their job. The organisation searched for new board members, but failed to find people willing to be in charge of DCG. No new organisation will replace the current one.
 
The indoor drum line of The Senators from Eastleigh won the International Marching Percussion Class held in Doornik, Belgium at the first contest of Indoor Percussion Europe. The Brits beat the competition by twelve points. The Senators are back. Not as a drum & bugle corps, but as a very convincing indoor percussion unit. The group had little difficulty in winning the International Marching Percussion Class. They scored 72.83 points. The battle for second place was tough. DrumSpirit won silver (60.83), closely followed by Unik Star (59.50) and European X (59.17).
 
 
MARCH

The 'drum corps virus' continues to spread in France. After the success of the junior corps Kadoudal Drum & Bugle Corps, known for their participation at the DCE Championships 2010, a new group of enthusiasts rises to the challenge. The corps will be called Mozaic Drum & Bugle Corps, and has attracted several international instructors. Instructors have been found, mainly from Belgium. They all have international experience, including DCI, WGI, CGN, DCE, DCN and DCUK. The corps director is Cédric Paques.
 
The Senators and The Company became European Champions at the IPE European Championships in the Belgian town of Tournai. Both achieved a monster score of over 90 points in their class. The big surprise of the day was GOT Motion, who came third in the International Marching Percussion Class. Most participants entered the International Percussion Class. The Senators scored 92.50 points, winning gold. The performance of DrumSpirit was worth silver (82.33). The Swedish GOT Motion did excellent business in Tournai. The unit from Göteborg came fourth in the Prelims and moved up a place in the finals (78.00). This was at the expense of European X, who came fourth in Finals (74.50), followed by Unik Star (72.33), Percussion Unlimited (68.33) and DNG (49.50). The Company achieved the highest score of the day in the Concert Percussion Class: 93.25.

Beatrix' winter guard from Hilversum became the first champions in the CGN World Class. Sensation from Amersfoort topped the Open Class at the Color Guard Netherlands Championships. In the packed Indoor Sports Centre in Eindhoven, first prize in the World Class was for Hilversum. The difference with the runner up was over sixteen points. This is the first year that there have been guards competing in the CGN World Class.  The winner in the Open Class was Sensation from Amersfoort. There were more champions to congratulate: CMH Menaldum (A Class), N-Motion (AA Class), Jong Impact (Prep Class) The Pride Junior (Junior Class) and The Pride Cadets (Cadet Class) were all strongest in their class.


APRIL

A capacity audience of over 1,000 people saw five new WGUK Champions crowned at Ponds Forge International Centre at the 32nd British Winterguard Championships which incorporated the 4th British Indoor Percussion Championships. The Open Class Finals saw Mayflower hold onto the Gold medal spot for the 2nd year in a row to be crowned UK Champions with a score of 91.00 with Northern Academy coming in a very closed 2nd place (90.80) and Kidsgrove Scouts taking the Bronze (87.40). In the Cadet Class Championships Anchormen Cadets were victorious as Champions with a score of 87.90 with the Silver Medal going to South West Academy (87.40) and the Bronze Medal winners were Southern Knights Rugrats (85.80). The Indoor Percussion Championships featured three units in competition with the Senators taking top spot with a score of 88.17. The previous three years winners, Vintage, came in second (76.33) and Nexus in 3rd (56.83) The Junior Class Play Offs placed last years Champions, Southern Knights back in the top spot scoring 91.80 with SPICE in 2nd (86.40) and Mayflower 3rd (85.90) For the A Class Play Offs, Southern Knights scored 91.70 putting them in Gold Medal position for the 3rd year in row with Mayflower taking Silver (86.80) and Avengers the Bronze (84.70)

Bill Cook, businessman, philanthropist and founder of the Star of Indiana Drum & Bugle Corps, died at the age of 80. Cook, with a grant from his company Cook Group Incorporated, founded Star of Indiana in 1984. Under his leadership the corps quickly rose to competitive success, winning the Drum Corps International World Championship in 1991. After the 1993 DCI season, Star of Indiana morphed into the stage shows 'Brass Theatre' and the Tony award-winning 'Blast!'.


MAY

Barely one day after the beginning of the ticket sales, Section A for the DCE European Championships is already sold out. Tickets have never gone so fast.  DCE has expanded Section A this year, but still the coveted centre section was sold out in no time. Besides many individual drum corps fans, several corps also secured seats for their fans. More than 1,100 tickets were sold on the first day. "An absolute record", said Hans Wansink, Financial Manager of DCE. "We are very pleased that so many people want to be there in September. The corps deserve a large and enthusiastic audience."
 
The DCE Judges College for 2011 takes place. "Judges and trainees are traveling from Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Belgium and Italy to participate in the training event", says DCE Adjudication manager Douglas Caldwell.  "I am really excited of the prospect of  30 judges/trainees attending the college" comments Bob Thomas, DCE Director of Education. "There is a very full agenda to complete in a very short time, which will be very challenging, but I hope very educational and  enjoyable" he continues. Over the weekend, 'certification' and 're-certification' tests will be undertaken by all judges and trainees.
 
Jubal and Johan Friso have taken the lead in the first DCN contest of the year. The DCN season started with a bang in front of a full grandstand in Arnemuiden. The 100 year-old Jubal outdid all other title candidates in the well-attended Premier Class. In the Junior Class, Johan Friso beat their competitors, Confetti. Jubal achieved a score of 65.75 at the DCN contest, staying almost four points ahead of the competition. Beatrix seems to be recovering for the first time in almost a year, reaching second place (61.85). Defending champions Juliana had to settle for third place (60.70), although the difference between second and third place was minimal, just over one point.
 
 
JUNE

A new Facebook page will keep track of which British drum corps members are performing and have performed in the United States. Over 200 of those who have performed in the US are already documented on the page, for both DCI and DCA. The most popular corps for British members to join are The Cadets (36 members), Crossmen (31), Boston Crusaders (29) and Madison Scouts (27). According to the list, one of the first Brits joined American corps in 1980, two joined the (then) Garfield Cadets and one went to the Boston Crusaders.
 
Trinity Music Academy is a Drum & Bugle Corps based in the UK. It officially launches in September 2011, being the first new drum corps in Essex for many years. In fact, drum & bugle corps in Essex are more or less extinct. Once known for having some of the best drum & bugle corps in the country - Mayflower from Billericay, Blue Eagles from Basildon and of course the Dagenham Crusaders. You could not go from town to town in Essex back in the 80's without bumping into a marching band, the Hadleigh Marching Militaire, Southend Blue Jackets, Wickford Show Band as well as the top drum and bugle corps.
 
Jubal Drum & Bugle Corps continues to lead the Premier Class of the Drum Corps Netherlands competition. However, its lead on the competition has reduced.  Five corps were present in the Premier Class in Huizen. Jubal scored 69.30 points, a 3.6 point increase compared to the contest in Arnemuiden one month ago. Juliana managed to up their score by eight points within the same period and reached 68.70 points. The Starriders made their first contest appearance of the year and scored 55.55. Jong Holland and Tambourijnen also made their debut and scored 51.80 and 40.55 points respectively.
 
 
JULY

It was perfect weather to kick off the 2011 DCUK season as twelve corps attended the Centro Drum Corps Contest held at South Kesteven Sports Stadium in Grantham - Lincolnshire sponsored by The Company. The Kidsgrove Scouts topped the Open Class. There was a warm welcome to two news corps for 2011, The 6th and Nexus, and a return to DCUK for Phantom Knights as the packed stand was superbly entertained all afternoon by the three Junior Class corps and nine Open Class corps with Concord AllStars taking 1st place in the Junior Class and Kidsgrove Scouts starting 2011 as they finished 2010 winning 1st place in the Open Class.

The Devils from Witzenhausen - Germany will not perform a show this year. After internal deliberation, the German corps saw no alternative but to take a year-long 'time out' from show performances, partly because of high costs. The Devils will be celebrating their 20th anniversary and preparations are in full swing. However, the costs of the celebration are high, so the corps has had to make some tough decisions. The Devils will only do commercial performances in 2011, in order to raise enough money for the anniversary. Participation in contests and DCE Championships will not be possible this year.
 
In complete contrast to two weeks earlier, the weather really was not kind at the second DCUK contest of the 2011 season with most corps having to contend with driving rain at the Poynton Commodores sponsored contest held at Victoria Park in Warrington. The Kidsgrove Scouts won both classes. The contest saw Clonmel Bluehawks travel across from Ireland, Revolution Show Corps compete in the first DCUK contest, Cheshire Cadets make their last performance before they re-brand and Kidsgrove Scouts take first place in both the Junior and Open Class.

On Sunday 17th July 2011, Cheshire Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps performed in exhibition for the very last time at DCUK Warrington. The corps will move on as The Horizon Corps. "We dedicated today's final performance to past amd present members, we put on a fantastic performance today and hopefully it made everyone proud who is associated with the corps", said Corps Director Gary Wells on Sunday. "Now is the time to look to a new horizon for the second half of the season with a new name: The Horizon Corps. Hopefully, we can move forward and compete at DCUK Leicester, DCUK Finals and DCE Finals in September."
 
Jubal has entered two Drum Corps International, and participates in the International Class (which has the same judging system as the Open Class). The first scores are in for the Dutch. At the first show Jubal entered on Tuesday (Ocean Springs - Mississippi), the corps scored 68.25. At the next show, in Gadsden - Alabama, the score was a little lower: 64.90. Two days later Jubal saw its scores shoot up in Atlanta. The corps increased its score by nearly seven points: from 64.90 to 71.80 points.
 
 
AUGUST

There is a new book on the market about the experiences of a drum corps member and instructor from 1950 to 2010. The book was written by Jack Meehan, entitled 'Space Music'. It is available from Amazon. Meehan's book contains detailed descriptions of what he has experienced in the past 60 years in drum corps. The story begins in 1950 when, aged eight, he first hears the sound of an outdoor brass ensemble. The following chapters of the 264-page book, the drum corps veteran talks about his time with The Kingsmen, Skyliners, Troopers, 27th Lancers, Santa Clara Vanguard and of course the Blue Devils, where he worked as an instructor for many years.
 
The DCI World Championship Open Class Finals in Michigan City was the first time all Open Class corps performed together, since the Prelims show the day before was rained out. Blue Devils B are the new DCI Open Class Champions.  The two international corps did well: Yokohama Scouts ended in 8th place (85.35), and also Jubal made it into the top 12 (80.20).  Best General Effect and Best Percussion were won by Blue Devils B, with Oregon Crusaders being awarded Best Brass and Best Visual Performance, and Spartans taking Best Color Guard.
 
For the tenth time in the organisation's history, the Cadets can again call themselves World Champions. The corps proved that 'Between Angels and Demons' lies a corps with unparalleled talent and dedication, earning a score of 98.35 and the 2011 World Championship title. "It was the best performance I've ever seen in Finals, by far, in 29 years," said Cadets director George Hopkins. "If you can get the audience to stand up for two minutes at the end, I don't know what else you can do." The 77-year old corps also earned two caption awards, which are determined by averaging the scores in each area from the Prelims, Semifinals, and Finals; Best General Effect Award and the Best Visual Performance Award went to the Cadets.

Four French musicians and guard members have joined the UK based Black Knights Drum & Bugle Corps for the 2011 season. Melanie Leleu is part of the the color guard section, and Jerome Capoen joined the front ensemble since the beginning of the season. David Lemant marches in the snare line, while Ludovic Sueur is part of the tenor line. These members will remain active members of the French Unik Star, as Unik Star is a winter drumline, while The Black Knights focus on the summer season.
 

SEPTEMBER

Rochester - New York became stomping ground of the land of 10,000 Lakes as two Minnesota corps, Minnesota Brass and the Govenaires, became Open and A Class Champions at the all-age Drum Corps Associates World Championships. Taking first place by just three tenths of a point at the Prelims, Minnesota Brass made history at Rochester Rhinos stadium, snapping an unprecedented six-year winning streak of the Reading Buccaneers. The corps from St. Paul, Minnesota widened that lead the next day at the Finals competition, ultimately tackling the East Coast juggernaut, 98.35 to 97.45.
 
Ten corps (2 Junior Class and 8 Open Class) attended the final contest of the 2011 DCUK season prior to the British Championships. The venue was Saffron Lane Athletics Stadium in Leicester and the event was sponsored by Kidsgrove Scouts who took top honours in both the Open and Junior Classes. This was a close fought contest with a few corps swapping places from the Warrington contest held on 17th July and less than 3 points now splitting the top 3 in Open Class.
 
The Starriders from Bad Münder became the German drum corps champions. They won the German Open Premier Class at the Weserbergland Stadium in Hameln. The percussion caption, however, was won by Rastede Showband. Since the contest in Huizen - The Netherlands, the Starriders had increased their score by ten points (score 65.00). Showband Rastede came in second place, with 58.55 points, and had the strongest percussion section. Fidele Vogelsanger from Gevelsberg ended in third place (34.80 points).
 
Drum Corps Netherlands decided to call off the DCN Finals halfway through the evening due to severe weather conditions. Thunderstorms and a huge downpour put a â??â??premature end to the Dutch Drum Corps Championship of 2011. The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute issued a weather warning in the course of the evening.  Around 9.45pm, it became clear that, due to persistent thunderstorms and a bad field, it was impossible to proceed.  The scores of the corps which have performed have been announced (without ranking): Fidele Vogelsanger 41.35, Die Tambourijnen 45.20, Con Spirito 59.35, Jong-Holland 61.15 and Starriders 70.65. The evening was concluded in style with a big concert from the Jubal Alumni Corps, standing right in front of the grandstand. Despite the unfortunate circumstances they treated spectators to great drum corps sounds.
 
On Saturday 10th September 2011, eight bands from across Ireland ascended on Tallaght Municipal Stadium in Dublin for the 2011 IMBA Championships. Following a season of three well attended successful IMBA shows, this years finals was set to be a great event. There was expectation, excitement, tension and yet a fun atmosphere on the field as almost 500 of Irelands talented young performers assembled together for the awards ceremony.  I&E Clonmel BlueHawks are the 2011 Premier Class Champions Ravens Marching ShowBand are the 2011 Junior Class Champions.
 
The Kidsgrove Scouts prolonged their Drum Corps United Kingdom Open Class title. The corps from Stoke-on-Trent ended in first place, three tens ahead of The Company from Barnsley, scoring 80.25 points. The Company did win three captions: brass, percussion and visual. Colour guard and effect went to the Kidsgrove Scouts. The Company scored 79.95. A solid third place went to the Black Knights. Other corps in the Open Class included The 6th (70.25), Poynton Commodores (65.80), Staffordshire Knights (64.10), Spirit of Coventry (59.95), Revolution Corps (53.40) and Phantom Knights (50.85). The A Class title went to Revolution Corps (54.40), with the Phantom Knights in 2nd place (51.45). Kidsgrove also did well in the Junior Class, where the Kidsgrove Scouts Juniors comfortably came first with 56.30.
 
The Company are the new DCE 2011 European Champions. They were crowned in front of a packed stand at the DCE European Championships in Kerkrade - The Netherlands. The Kidsgrove Scouts came in second place. Four UK corps made it into the Premier Class Finals, with the Black Knights in 5th place and The 6th in 8th place. In the Junior Class, Johan Friso from  Middelburg - The Netherlands took top honours. For Ravens from Athlone - Ireland it was their first DCE Championships and they did very well with a 5th place in the Junior Class.
 
 
OCTOBER

Brian Yothers becomes the new Adjudication Manager for Drum Corps Europe.  Brian (48) was born in Pennsylvania, but has lived in Europe since 1989. After more than ten years in Brussels, he moved to Leiden in 2000, which is his current home. Brian has a lot of experience in the 'marching arts' world. He has been a DCE Colour Guard judge for three years now, and also acts as a judge for WGUK and CGN. In addition, he has worked for WGI and Drum Corps Germany. His marching experience included the Threshold Color Guard, Westshoreman Senior Drum & Bugle Corps and Reading Buccanneers Senior Drum & Bugle Corps. His day job is Program Manager at Cisco. Brian takes on the tasks of Douglas Caldwell, who took on the heavy responsibility during the overly busy DCE judging community for the past two seasons.
 
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 welcome we had from everyone across the pond was awesome and the crowd reaction to our performances were priceless, unforgettable experiences. With DCA moving their finals venue to Annapolis and new corps entering the DCA circuit, our return is just too exciting to put down into words."
 
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. The plans are already realistic as the juniors are rehearsing in their own right. To add to the current staff Spirit of Coventry need a front line instructor and a guard instructor. As well as these roles the corps is looking for a Visual Caption Head, to help take the corps to the next level.

Nexus Drum & Bugle Corps from Sandy have succeeded in finding their truck back, which was stolen. All instruments were still inside the truck. The truck was found by Cambridgeshire Police on Monday 31st of October after being stolen the previous Thursday from a locked compound in Bedford, containing over £50,000 worth of new frontline pit equipment.  Corps Directors John and Andy of Nexus, visited the truck and had a chance to view the instruments in the back of the truck for the first time to check for damage. They reported that the instruments mainly unscathed, save for a few knocks and bumps from the incident. However, the same cannot be said for the truck, which has sustained damage.
 

NOVEMBER

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. With the new show 'The British Way' Heartliner immerses itself in the modern British pop genre. The corps will make its appearance in a whole new uniform. About 100 people attended the corps' open day, so the board and staff and faith in what is to come for 2012.

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. Not only does the magazine feature a seven page report by Drum Corps World reporter Hans Kloppert, but over twenty photographs (by Hans Kloppert and François Deschacht) make sure that the readers of Drum Corps World can't possibly overlook the European Drum Corps Championships. The DCE Championships are also on the cover of the Drum Corps World magazine.
 
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. Following the recent Membership Meeting the Board of Drum Corps United Kingdom has been giving serious consideration regarding how to structure the competitive element of the organisation for the 2012 season and beyond.


DECEMBER

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. After one hundred years of music and evolution, the Mosson Marching Band goes back to its origins. The corps was born in 1910 as a brass band, with brass and percussion instruments. It then changed into a traditional band and in recent years it took the shape of a marching band. As of now, the corps will continue as a drum & bugle corps.
 
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. Following SDCA's first succesful Midwest season, the organisation doubled in terms of participating groups during the following year, and currently there are nearly 40 corps involved. Smaller drum corps throughout the US and Canada continue to look to the SDCA to expand into their regions.
 
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. Andy said "I went up to Kidsgrove for the first practice and was really impressed with what they were doing. Rob Swindells offered me a spot on tuba and I decided it was too good an opportunity to turn down. It means I've got to do a lot of work both on my playing and my general fitness, but if I can march a full season, including the DCA tour, at the age of 49, I'll be pretty pleased with myself."

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. Last year in Hilversum, corps first started to experiment with amplification. During the 'City of Angels' show, the corps was supported by a voice-over, samples and a synthesizer. In 2012, the amplification will be applied to the entire front ensemble.