2009 DCA Scranton Report

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Rochester’s Empire Statesmen are still climbing on the score sheets, but their total of 83.850 was good for only fifth spot at the Parade of Champions in Scranton, Pennsylvania on August 1, in a contest featuring the top six from last year’s Drum Corps Associates (DCA) championships. Reading Buccaneers, scored 88.963 to maintain their undefeated string, with Connecticut Hurricanes jumping up to second with 86.863. Minnesota Brass traveled from the Midwest to finish third with 85.925. Hawthorne Caballeros were fourth, with 85.050. Harrison, New Jersey, Bushwackers were sixth, with 78.150.

Despite finishing in fifth place overall, Empire Statesmen tied Minnesota Brass for second place in the ensemble brass caption, placed third in the ensemble percussion and music composite captions and took fourth position in field percussion and field brass.

Empire Statesmen finished a full point higher than the previous week at Buglers Holiday in Jamestown, New York, where they took top scores in every caption for the second time this season. The Statesmen opened their season on July 4 by sweeping every caption to win the Vince Bruni Preview of Champions in Rochester.

DCA’s top corps from 2008 will have several more opportunities to jockey for position in August. The lineup for the March of Champions in Kingston, New York on August 8 includes four of last year’s top six: Empire Statesmen, Connecticut Hurricanes, Hawthorne Caballeros and Bushwackers. On August 15, Empire Statesmen, Reading Buccaneers and Syracuse Brigadiers will meet on the field during the Pageant of Drums in Cicero, New York.

After the DCA regular season contest schedule winds up on the final weekend of August, Empire Statesmen, for the fourth year in a row, will serve as the local host for the DCA weekend tournament to determine the 2009 champion. Events begin the Friday evening of Labor Day weekend, September 4, with individual and ensemble competitions and mini-corps contest in downtown Rochester, with free admission to all events and an old-fashioned outdoor drum corps street party.

The Statesmen are five-time DCA world champions and have also won four American Legion national titles, and the triple crown: the DCA and American Legion titles and the World Show Band championship in London, England in 1998. Empire Statesmen have finished in the top four during DCA championship tournaments for 21 consecutive years. In addition to winning five championships, the Statesmen have finished in second place six times; in third place six times and in fourth place four times. The World Drum Corps Hall of Fame chose the Empire Statesmen as the senior (all age) corps of the decade for the 1990s.

Formed in 1983, the Statesmen won the International Corps Associates (ICA) championship before joining the ranks of Drum Corps Associates (DCA) in 1986. ICA was founded by the late Vince Bruni of Rochester, who also founded the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame, to provide performance and competition opportunities for small drum and bugle corps.

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, Mexico and South America. The corps also sponsors the Empire Cadets marching band for city and area youngsters, as a community outreach program.

For more information about the Empire Statesmen organization, visit the website at: www.statesmen.org

Posted by on Saturday, August 8th, 2009. Filed under DCA News.