Empire Statesmen 2007 Contest Schedule Covering Five States

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Rochester’s Empire Statesmen will start the 2007 contest season at the Cabs Beach Party on June 16, in the air-conditioned comfort of the Wildwood Convention Center on the Atlantic shore at the southern tip of New Jersey. Statesmen will then take their tribute to the music of Maynard Ferguson across five northeastern states before winding up at Fanfare 2007 in West Haven, Connecticut on the last weekend of August.

Fanfare 2007, sponsored by defending Drum Corps Associates (DCA) champion Reading Buccaneers on August 25, is the final regular-season contest before the world championship tournament takes place in Rochester, New York on Labor Day weekend.

There’ll be plenty of champions declared in 2007 long before the DCA finals are complete on Sunday, September 2. The Statesmen will compete in the Champions on Parade in Bridgeport, Connecticut on June 30; the Vince Bruni Preview of Champions in Rochester on July 7; the Cavalcade of Champions in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania on July 21; the Champions of Sound in Salem, Ohio on July 28 and the March of Champions in Kingston, New York on August 11.

Statesmen will also be in the race for the Drum Corps Grand Prix title in Central Square, New York on July 14; adding to the Sounds on the Susquehanna in Binghamton, New York on August 4; and keeping the beat at Drums Along The Waterfront in Buffalo, New York on the following day, Sunday August 5. On August 18, Statesmen will compete in the Pageant of Drums in Syracuse, New York.

In all these contests, audiences will be treated to a Statesmen-style tribute to Canadian-born Maynard Ferguson, one of last great trumpet players of the Big Band era. Noted for his exceptional power, endurance and high-note command, he often played the lead trumpet parts an octave or two above the band, electrifying band members and the audience.

He passed away in late August, 2006 at age 78, of kidney and liver failure.

For the second year in a row, the Statesmen are sponsoring the DCA world championship tournament on Labor Day weekend. The three-day schedule of events includes the popular Individual and Ensemble competition on Friday evening, August 31 in downtown Rochester; the 32nd annual banquet and induction ceremony of the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame, founded in 1976 by the late Vince Bruni; the DCA Class A and Open Class preliminaries the afternoon and evening of Saturday, August 1; the Alumni Spectacular field show exhibition starting at 10 am on Sunday, September 2 and the DCA finals on Sunday evening to choose the 2007 DCA world champions.

Ten of the 43 DCA championships from 1965 to 2006 have been held in Rochester: four from 1968 to 1971; four from 1973 to 1976; in 1996 and 2006. Ticket information about the 2007 championship weekend is available through the DCA website, at http://www.dcacorps.org/

The Empire Statesmen organization, founded by Vince Bruni in 1983, offers opportunities for involvement beyond participating as a performer or support staff volunteer in one of North America’s most popular drum and bugle corps. The Statesmen also operate the Empire Cadets marching band for area boys and girls as a community outreach program. Both groups regularly perform in winter concerts and other community events at no cost to organizers, to help support various school and community music programs.

The Empire Statesmen drum and bugle corps is a self-supporting independent group that represents the city of Rochester across the United States and Canada and as far abroad as Europe, the Caribbean and South America.

The organization kicked off a major capital fund raising campaign during the 2006 DCA tournament. Funds will be used to support the operations of the Empire Statesmen and Empire Cadets and other charitable and education activities.

For information, call (585) 266-2232 or visit the Empire Statesmen Web site at: www.statesmen.org

Posted by on Wednesday, April 18th, 2007. Filed under DCA News.