Rasteder Musiktage Becomes New DCE Partner

Drum Corps Europe has teamed up with the Rasteder Musiktage. During the famous multi-day music and show event, the participants of the show contest will be judged according to the DCE Competition Manual.

The Rasteder Musiktage are well-known in Europe. Each year, over three thousand musicians from ten different countries travel to Germany in the first weekend of July. The discussions with the organisation about cooperation started after the European Championships in Kerkrade and the organisations have now reached an agreement. The DCE certified show contest will take place on Saturday 6th July, and the top three participants will then continue on to the open European Championships on Sunday.

Rastede welcomes the partnership. “Our event has always been open to a great variety of corps”, said President Torsten Wilters of Rasteder Musiktage. “The DCE certified show class is especially for bands from the drum corps scene.” Next year, the show bands can choose whether they want to be judged according to the DCE manual or not. “The idea is that the various bands get to know the different styles and can compare and learn from each other.”

DCE is also very pleased that the Rasteder Musiktage will become part of the European Music Games, the growing set of European competitions judged by the same manual. “The Rasteder Musiktage are a well-known event and are on the agenda for many corps,” said DCE Chairman Marcel Matthijsse. “This partnership is good for the corps and the business as a whole. For an increasing number of competitions, participants know how they will be judged and scores from various events can be compared.”

The Rasteder Musiktage will take place next year from the 5th until the 7th of July and also serve as qualifiers for the World Association of Marching Show Bands (WAMSB) in 2013 and 2014.