Registration for DCI SoundSport Bristol is now open

Publish Date: 18 Dec 2014 - 4047 views

Following the announcement of the DCI SoundSport, Bristol, England on 21st March 2015, registration for the event is now open via the Drum Corps Europe website.

Following the announcement of the DCI SoundSport, Bristol, England on 21st March 2015, registration for the event is now open via the Drum Corps Europe website. The first group has already announced their participation: the Blue Barons Mini Corps from Glasgow.

DCE secretary Marco Janssen said “We’re delighted that the Blue Barons have chosen to participate in the SoundSport, Bristol show. It’s a long way from Glasgow to Bristol and we really appreciate the Barons travelling that distance to take part. It gives fans in southern England a marvellous opportunity to see this legendary Scottish corps and we would love to see other former corps use SoundSport as a way of reforming.”

The Barons last appeared in DCUK during the 1980s and were British Drum Corps Champions in 1985. Their show is titled ‘Quintessence’ and refers to the four building blocks of the physical universe: earth, water, air and fire. The intangible fifth element, or ‘quintessence’ salutes the intrinsic character of the Blue Barons era of drum corps.

The registration fee for SoundSport Bristol is just £30. Further information on the SoundSport, Bristol, England show is available from DCE by emailing soundsport@drumcorpseurope.org. The registration form and SoundSport Bristol Information Package are available on www.drumcorpseurope.org/soundsport. The registration will close on Sunday 25th January 2015.

The Blue Barons

Opening with themes from ‘Brigadoon’, first performed in DCUK Finals by the Glasgow Blue Barons Drum & Bugle Corps in 1983, the music heralds the re-emergence of the Barons from the mists of time. The second piece, ‘Rainmaker’ by Earl Klugh, is a funky tune that flows hard like the Falls of the River Clyde. The smooth opening phrases of ‘Canto del Viento’ breathes Air into the show which ascends to create its own indoor weather storm. Fans favourite ‘Que Lastima’, from the Barons 1985 DCUK Championship winning show, heats things up and adds a little Latin Fire.

A ‘Quintissential’ medley of Barons tunes then develops with themes including ‘Topaz’. The design team comprises: Ricky Tomanek; John Barclay; Elaine McArdle; Neil Lockie; and Iain MacMillan. The mini-corps’ Director Greg Small commented, “this show is sure to be popular with ‘older’ friends from the 1980s and Barons alumni, but the design team were open-minded to contemporary design principles and see mini-corps in the UK developing as a modern and artistically credible activity.

Plans are underway for the Blue Barons Mini Corps to travel and perform at two events in the spring of 2015. Firstly, the ‘DCI Soundsport’ event in Bristol, on 21 March, then two weeks later at the WGUK Championships, Stoke, on 4 April. One further date to be confirmed soon is for our ‘hame-show’, in Glasgow. Greg Small said, “Bristol is a significant journey for this group but we know that the warmth of the welcome from our friends in that drum corps city will make it a real fun event.”