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DCPI Times Kickoff Season 23


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DCPI Times Season 23 Kickoff!

Well its that time again! Another exciting DCPI Season kicks off around the country and once again DCPI Times will be there to keep you updated on all the action! Before the first shows, DCPI Times went to a few corps camps and this is what we are pleased to report back:

TEXAS ZEPHYRS

First off to the Open Class Texas Zephyrs with Steven Silverberg. Its clear from looking around camp that many members from the past two seasons have managed to stay on for the winter season as the Texas Zephrys defend the off-season title they've won the past two years. In breakout practices the size of the guard clearly has grown as they boast a larger guard than usual--up to 33 from their usual 28--and featuring individual soloists throughout the show, both musically and visually. Sure to be a favorite once again. “The show itself unlike past years which have been more musically-focused, is going to be more visually oriented; we have to, with the subject of Martha Graham.” Steven stated. Despite the increased visual focus, however, they still expect the music to be what people remember. When asked what the goal for the season was, Steven said “This will be our twelfth competitive season, rounding out our sixth year in Open Class. Our goal is the same as it always is: try to take over the world--and also bring home our fourth open class championship.” With the record they have, will be a challenge for anyone to take another one away from them!

West Virginia Sound

Next up, Open Class West Virginia Sound with Danny Holderby. Musically speaking, they have had the show complete for about 2 months now. “We've moved into the phase of nit-picking and even re-writing a couple of things to make them gel better.” Danny said. We noticed that this hornline is playing incredibly well, and even though they willl probably be one of the smaller corps in Open Class with only 104 members, I think people will be surprised how much sound the horns put out.

“Drill wise, we have about 75-80% of the show on the field. Marshall University has been fantastic in allowing us to rehearse in the new Indoor Practice Facility on campus as the weather has been crazy lately.” Danny added..

A lot of people think Sound is taking a big risk doing a show about Eva Peron and not including any of the Andrew Lloyd Webber score. However, the designer told me they felt that it was a risk worth taking in order to highlight one of Argentina's most renowned and beloved composers (Piazzolla) while telling the story of one of Argentina's most beloved and renowned people. “In the end, we feel like we've made the right choices in honoring the history and culture of Argentina.” Holderby said

This is the corps second season on the field. They finished ninth in Season 21, (they only compete in the 'off-seasons') so their goal is to place in the top 5 at Open Class finals. “We believe this is a very attainable goal, and feel it is a good measure of our growth as an ensemble. Obviously, we would love to win it all, but it's more important to us to establish ourselves as a perennial finalist and then move on to being one of the corps in the running for the championship.”

Danny added “We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Marshall University, Cabell County Schools, and Huntington High School for use of their facilities this season. Without a place to rehearse, we don't have a corps, so it is important to us to continue fostering a great relationship with these groups.

We would also like to thank all of our volunteers who have done everything from providing meals at camps, to fitting uniforms, to altering uniforms, to sewing flags, to doing airport shuttles, to keeping our members healthy. There will never be enough 'thank you's' in the world for these people.

We also would like to publicly thank our parent organization, Ohio Valley Performing Arts Association, and especially our big brother corps, Ohio Valley Thunder for their assistance. We sold our battery percussion to buy a new set, and there were some delays in getting them shipped in for a couple of camps and OVT was gracious enough to allow us to use their drums until our new ones were in.” we are very excited here at DCPI Times to see where they season will take them!

The Knights

We finish our camp reviews a little closer to home for DCPI Times with The World Class Knights. After settling for 5th in Season 22, the Knights look to combine a bit of what has worked in their past with some fresh ideas in Confluence. Director Gary Currier said “we’ve done so many shows about or with a focus on water in its many forms. We thought it was time to take on several of those classic river pieces like Rivers Symphony, Appalachian Springs and of course our classic version of the Moldau and intertwine them with new pieces for the corps like Black Muddy River, The River Suite by Ellington and a piece we just fell in love with, Yellow River Piano Concerto which pairs so nicely with Moldau.” like so many classic Knight shows, the ending will change so many times including which piece will “win” as the final section of the show. a typical musical battle for the group, but regardless which piece that is, we know it will send the crowd into hysterics. As far as the goal of the corps its no surprise that once again it will be GE heavy which tends to have a rough start as the Knights dont like to do “easy” shows. However this year the Brass and Guard section also look like they want to play for a title, time will tell...


England Marches on America-special report from across the pond

By Bronwen Boothroyd, BBC America

While most British children will be playing footie in the park the next few months, a select few of Yorkshire’s best and brightest musicians will be training, traveling and performing all day long as they hopscotch across the former colonies, participating in the 23rd Season of Drum Corps Planet International. We recently spoke to Colonel Eirik Bromley, Retd., of the West Yorkshire Regimental Drum & Bugle Division, the director of three drum and bugle corps sponsored by the Kirklees Council, Abrigg & Morley Wapentake in West Yorkshire, all of which will be in competition, who presented a little of the groups’ history, and talked about the shows they will be presenting this season.

“Our performance groups trace their history all the way back to 1702, when they were part of The Prince of Wales Own Regiment of Yorkshire, and indeed they had prior trips to the shores of America under less pleasant circumstances. Last summer, however, we sent our corps to American to make great music, and the trip was so successful that we are going back this year.

“Our highest level of corps, the Dewsbury Regulars, made up of 150 brass, percussion and guard members, competing in DCPI’s Division 1 World Class, will start their tour on January 17 in California, and by the time they wrap up their season at Finals in Lexington, Kentucky on March 14, they will have performed in 24 different states. The Regulars are excited about their show this year, titled “Mallory”. It’s a tribute to Sir George Mallory, the great mountaineer who was lost in 1924, in the world’s first attempt to scale Mount Everest. Our show starts off with the upbeat and confident notes of Sibelius’ Karelia Suite, then as the grueling work sets in, we turn to the great English composer, Arnold Bax, and the 1st movement of his 1st Symphony. As the difficulty of the effort begins to take its toll on the climber, we hear Ingrid’s Lament, from Grieg’s Peer Gynt. As he nears the summit, Mallory experiences the glory of a starry night on the mountain as the corps plays the moving 3rdmovement of Vaughan Williams’ Symphony #5. Although his body was found 75 years later, there has never been conclusive proof whether he reached the summit before perishing. Our interpretation clearly portrays that moment as having occurred, to the sounds of Richard Strauss’ Alpensinfonie.

“Our middle level of corps, the Huddersfield Hundred, have as you would expect 100 marchers. They compete in the DCPI’s Division 2, Open Class, and will start their tour a little later, on January 27 in Pennsylvania. They will finish their season in Kentucky as well, on March 11, and will have performed in 20 states, as well as visiting Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Continuing our theme of honoring iconic English personages, the Hundred named their show “Lawrence”, which is naturally a tribute to T.E. Lawrence, who gained fame in Arabia during the Great War. Representing the patriotic, and a bit naïve, sentiment at the beginning of the war, we hear Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory. We are then transported to the desert through Gabriel Yared’s excellent score for the film,The English Patient. The horrors of battle are heard in a less well-known piece by Sir Granville Bantock, called Thalaba, the Destroyer, but that is followed by the pathos and poignant longing for home ofButterworth’s A Shropshire Lad. The show finishes with the rousing finale of Vaughan Williams’ 8thSymphony, with the sound of bells tolling across England in victory and thankfulness in the returning soldiers.

“Lastly, our smallest group, the Mirfield Lockmen, are competing in DCPI’s Division 3, Class A with just 50 members. They have a shorter tour than the others, beginning February 5 in Pennsylvania, and visiting 15 states through the finals in Kentucky on March 11. No less iconic than the great adventurers and soldiers of the realm, the Lockmen’s show is titled “Christie”, for the great Dame Agatha. Instead of portraying her life, the show represents the great mystery stories for which she is famous. The famous Orient Express is evoked by modern American composer Eric Whitacre’s Ghost Train, and the haunting refrain of Kurt Weill’s The Ballad of Mack the Knife let us know that murder most foul has occurred. We hear William Walton’s stirring Funeral Marchfrom the film Hamlet, as the mood is darkened following the murder, but we end with the great 1931 song, Guilty, by Richard Whiting evoking the pre-War era as the murder is solved by the great detective.

“We hope that these great shows continue to showcase our great English composers and our great English musicians, to our closest friends across the Atlantic. Individually, the corps also hope to climb in the rankings this season, as they hone their designs to the American judging community. Perhaps one day before long, we will also be able to open our doors to host some American corps here in Yorkshire.”

Start of Season

Before we could finish up our first report and go to press, what do you know--the season started!

Opening night it was Great Lakes Sound making a splash in Lisle with a very strong music score. Back in PA the Golden Panthers pulled off the highest score of the day with Schuylkill Thunder right behind them! Day one came out with some HIGH scores but they seemed to plummet back down to earth by day two. The show of the day really seemed to be in Rockford as Dark Knights had a great show with a strong GE score, it is very exciting to see where they will take their season. They also right out of the gate take the Knight Sword from the Knights who started their first show back in 3rd. Defending Champs were just barely in second as their strong visual presence really helped keep them in a solid showing! They make up for it the very next night by upending Dark Knights. Also on the 19th, Star of Jupiter had their first real competition out west and while the crowd was thrilled to have the southern powerhouse in California, it was Quiksilver who took away the trophy for the night by a tight margin. Just a day later, Star of Jupiter surprises them in Portland! These two could tango out west for the early season and it will only result in GREAT shows for the crowds! In Cedar Rapids Polaris Regiment gave Dark Knights a taste of their success by giving them a near point loss. Dune Battalion in Flagstaff was very impressive and likely the most even, across the board performance of the week. This helped them currently jump to the top of the leader board.

Its early on and its always hard to tell where corps will take their shows and judges will take their scores, but we can tell you DCPI Times will be here to give you updates periodically through the season!

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