Empire Statesmen Win In Central Square, NY Contest
Rochester’s Empire Statesmen jumped more than two and half points on the score sheets, to win the Drums In the Square contest in Central Square, NY on July 14 with a score of 81.488. The Statesmen’s first win of the season follows a second place finish behind Hawthorne Caballeros in the Vince Bruni Preview of Champions in Rochester on July 7, and two third place finishes behind Reading Buccaneers and Hawthorne earlier in the season.
One of the early season highlights on the Drum Corps Associates (DCA) schedule takes place next weekend, when all three meet again in the Cavalcade of Champions in Lewisburg PA on July 21. The Cavalcade also features the Brigadiers and the Bushwackers of Harrison, NJ.
In Drums In The Square, Syracuse Brigadiers finished second with 79.950. Rochester Crusaders were third with 71.363 and the White Sabers of Dansville, NY finished fourth with 59.688.
In addition to competing in 11 Drum Corps Associates (DCA) contests this summer, the Empire Statesmen sponsored the 4th annual Vince Bruni Preview of Champions contest in Rochester, named in honor of the late founder of the Empire Statesmen, and will be the host corps on July 28 for the first Champions of Sound contest in Salem, Ohio, which is being organized by the Salem Chamber of Commerce. The Empire Statesmen were the featured performers in Salem’s bicentennial celebrations last summer, marching in the Grand Parade and performing on the field in an evening exhibition.
In addition to the Statesmen, the audience in Salem will enjoy the sounds of Minnesota Brass, Racine Kilties, Atlanta CorpsVets, and St. Peter Govenaires. The Erie Thunderbirds, six-time DCA mini-corps champions, and the Salem High School Band will perform in exhibition. Salem is located in the rolling hills of northeastern Ohio, about 65 miles from both Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
Ticket information about the Champions of Sound contest is available from the Salem Chamber of Commerce, at http://www.salemohiochamber.org/
For the second year in a row, the Statesmen will sponsor the Drum Corps Associates (DCA) world championship tournament on Labor Day weekend. The weekend schedule 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, also founded by the late Vince Bruni, the DCA Class A and Open Class preliminaries beginning at 2 pm and running through the evening of Saturday, August 1, the Alumni Classic 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 beginning at 5:30 pm.
Ten of the 42 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 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, 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
