Two new corps to participate in 2013 DCI tour

Two newly formed Open Class corps, Coastal Surge and the Columbians, have been approved to participate in the 2013 Drum Corps International Tour.

Two newly formed Open Class corps, Coastal Surge and the Columbians, have been approved to participate in the 2013 Drum Corps International Tour. Before corps are allowed to participate as part of the annual DCI Summer Tour, an extensive evaluation of the organization’s business plan and strategy for future growth and self-sufficiency is conducted to assist corps in creating a strong foundation.

Coastal Surge Drum & Bugle Corps, led by Executive Director Matthew Shrewsbury, hails from Myrtle Beach - South Carolina, and launched from initial discussions about forming a corps in October 2012 to its first rehearsal camp this past February. The 51 members slated to perform with the corps during the summer of 2013 will be on the road for seven days total, allowing them to participate in three DCI Tour events in late June.

“Our time on the road is going to be short, but we hope that it will be a great learning experience for us and help us to grow, expand our tour in the coming years, and really operate as effectively and efficiently as possible,” Shrewsbury said.

Shrewsbury, who cited borrowing and purchasing equipment as one of the challenges of starting a drum corps from the ground up said, “We kept our membership dues around $450 this year so that anyone who wanted to participate could. We wanted to give them the best experience we could during our time together.”

The Columbians, from Pasco - Washington, held their first rehearsal in November. According to Director Matthew Newbury, the corps is named after the Tri-City Columbians Drum and Bugle Corps, a group founded in the 1930s that ceased to exist more than 35 years ago in the mid-1970s.

Newbury says that over the past 10 years, high school marching band programs in the Tri-City area have expanded, leading to growth of parent volunteer groups and committees which have come together to create support to get the Columbians started.

“The thing that you live and die for in drum corps is membership, and it’s been a great thing that we’ve had such a strong turnout", Newbury said. “So far this year we’ve had about 110 kids show up at one time or another to experience drum corps.” In order to recruit members, Newbury contacted local band directors and asked them to encourage students to join. The corps’ 2013 membership will be made up of approximately 65 performers, both local and nonlocal, who come from 12 different schools.