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Interesting conversation regarding Music City.  Each year they present an enjoyable show usually with great potential.  What I have seen in the past is a challenge to tighten up the show for a major competitive push when the corps hit the ground at Michigan City.  Have watched the Michigan City rehearsals the past few years, and not sure where the answer lies.  

They are a very good corps and can always be counted on for an entertaining presentation!  The very best this 2017 season.

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And we can't count out the OC Texas corps Guardians.  Only 4 years old, they have announced on their website that they are starting a regional corps - I guess this is their equivalent of a feeder corps - in the Lubbock, TX area.  If Guardians has excellent support, leadership, and financial footing, they may start quickly moving up from 11th last year to a much higher finish this year especially because there are so many great HS bands in Texas. Last year their tour was 7 competitions and they've moved up to 11 this year.  Exciting stuff happening in Open Class.  Here's the info about the regional corps:

87d08f_b64f9f5985764b1883f37ed372cf8c86~

 

REGIONAL DRUM CORPS: HUB CITY GUARDIANS

The Guardians have launched a "regional drum corps initiative" aimed at bringing more drum corps to Texas. This initiative will expand to other cities, starting with the Hub City Guardians Drum and Bugle Corps based in Lubbock, TX. The corps will be under the direction of Lubbock-Cooper High School's assistant band director, Nicole Baxter. Nicole will lead the creation and management of the corps, while the national touring Guardians' director, Johnathan Doerr, will be the executive director and manage the strategic planning and financials. The goal of a regional drum corps is to be affordable, less of a time commitment, and built by and for the community. Hub City Guardians will be applying for drum corps international's open class for the summer of 2018. El Paso is the next community in the Guardians' sights for the regional drum corps initiative, with plans to expand to other areas of Texas shortly thereafter. 

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Great thread.  Learning a lot here!!!

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1 hour ago, RetiredMusTeach said:

And we can't count out the OC Texas corps Guardians.  Only 4 years old, they have announced on their website that they are starting a regional corps - I guess this is their equivalent of a feeder corps - in the Lubbock, TX area.  If Guardians has excellent support, leadership, and financial footing, they may start quickly moving up from 11th last year to a much higher finish this year especially because there are so many great HS bands in Texas. Last year their tour was 7 competitions and they've moved up to 11 this year.  Exciting stuff happening in Open Class.  Here's the info about the regional corps:

87d08f_b64f9f5985764b1883f37ed372cf8c86~

 

REGIONAL DRUM CORPS: HUB CITY GUARDIANS

The Guardians have launched a "regional drum corps initiative" aimed at bringing more drum corps to Texas. This initiative will expand to other cities, starting with the Hub City Guardians Drum and Bugle Corps based in Lubbock, TX. The corps will be under the direction of Lubbock-Cooper High School's assistant band director, Nicole Baxter. Nicole will lead the creation and management of the corps, while the national touring Guardians' director, Johnathan Doerr, will be the executive director and manage the strategic planning and financials. The goal of a regional drum corps is to be affordable, less of a time commitment, and built by and for the community. Hub City Guardians will be applying for drum corps international's open class for the summer of 2018. El Paso is the next community in the Guardians' sights for the regional drum corps initiative, with plans to expand to other areas of Texas shortly thereafter. 

Hey, right in my neck of the woods!  (I live 15 minutes south of Amarillo).  Lubbock Cooper is an exploding program, their improvement from 2015 to 2016 was pretty incredible.  I don't know any of their staff personally, but have only heard the best and it shows in their schools program.  

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1 hour ago, DrumManTx said:

Hey, right in my neck of the woods!  (I live 15 minutes south of Amarillo).  Lubbock Cooper is an exploding program, their improvement from 2015 to 2016 was pretty incredible.  I don't know any of their staff personally, but have only heard the best and it shows in their schools program.  

So glad to hear from you DrumManTx and that you live in the area.  I lived in West Texas as a child (Petersburg and Amarillo) and went to college in Abilene as a music major but I haven't been back in decades.  I do remember that even small towns invest in their football and basketball teams.  Do they do the same with bands?  I have watched enough YouTube videos of HS band competitions in Texas to know there is a huge pool of great high school talent there and surely enough of it to provide great MM's for at least 1/2 dozen corps.  So other than Crossmen, Genesis, and Guardians, are you aware of other corps getting started in Texas? 

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Found the concept expressed in this line in the Guardians announcement a good sign of some creative, progressive thinking going on in Texas: "The goal of a regional drum corps is to be affordable, less of a time commitment, and built by and for the community."  Harks back to the old drum corps activities and maybe it's time to brush it off and re-invent it.  I remember when I lived in Delaware in the 1970's that at local parades throughout the year, the high school bands might not bother to march, but there would be one or more D&BC's.  A great way to draw positive attention to drum corps.  I live in Nashville and we have some major parades every year, including the parade that opens up CMA week.  Music City marched in a few of them but when parades happen during the off-season, a regional corps could step in and fill a need.

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16 minutes ago, RetiredMusTeach said:

So glad to hear from you DrumManTx and that you live in the area.  I lived in West Texas as a child (Petersburg and Amarillo) and went to college in Abilene as a music major but I haven't been back in decades.  I do remember that even small towns invest in their football and basketball teams.  Do they do the same with bands?  I have watched enough YouTube videos of HS band competitions in Texas to know there is a huge pool of great high school talent there and surely enough of it to provide great MM's for at least 1/2 dozen corps.  So other than Crossmen, Genesis, and Guardians, are you aware of other corps getting started in Texas? 

I'm from Canyon, currently finishing up my Music Education degree and about to start working on my Masters in percussion performance.  Not many people from around here on DCP......haha.  

Did you go to Abilene Christian by chance?  Great program, performed at TMEA in February I believe.  

There was absolutely nothing in the way of drum corps until recently up here.  I do find Guardians decision......interesting to look at starting one up in Lubbock.  Horizon has been vying for Open Class designation in Odessa for a year or two (know a few people there, great little thing getting started) and I think there is another trying to set up shop in Midland......getting a tad crowded up here for what is a far less dense and wide spread scene in the huge world of Texas bands.  

When I was in HS starting about 10 years ago (oh my God...)......not a ton of investment in bands and not a lot of great programs to be honest.  But over the last few years there have been a ton of new directors especially in the Amarillo ISD programs that have breathed huge new life into a lot these programs and it seems like schools are supporting them a lot more.  The support and fan base for DCI has also exploded as a result.  When I was in HS the Big Loud and Live events were lucky to have 15 - 20 people, now they're at two theaters in Amarillo and selling out at both.  I know the number of auditionees from up here has increased quite a bit too, I don't recall any when I was in HS and now I know there are kids all over trying out.  Lubbock has a lot of good programs to draw from too, and Midland/Odessa has a good few big schools as well to recruit from.  I'm guessing they're recruiting form El Paso as well.  

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13 minutes ago, DrumManTx said:

I'm from Canyon, currently finishing up my Music Education degree and about to start working on my Masters in percussion performance.  Not many people from around here on DCP......haha.  

Did you go to Abilene Christian by chance?  Great program, performed at TMEA in February I believe.  

There was absolutely nothing in the way of drum corps until recently up here.  I do find Guardians decision......interesting to look at starting one up in Lubbock.  Horizon has been vying for Open Class designation in Odessa for a year or two (know a few people there, great little thing getting started) and I think there is another trying to set up shop in Midland......getting a tad crowded up here for what is a far less dense and wide spread scene in the huge world of Texas bands.  

When I was in HS starting about 10 years ago (oh my God...)......not a ton of investment in bands and not a lot of great programs to be honest.  But over the last few years there have been a ton of new directors especially in the Amarillo ISD programs that have breathed huge new life into a lot these programs and it seems like schools are supporting them a lot more.  The support and fan base for DCI has also exploded as a result.  When I was in HS the Big Loud and Live events were lucky to have 15 - 20 people, now they're at two theaters in Amarillo and selling out at both.  I know the number of auditionees from up here has increased quite a bit too, I don't recall any when I was in HS and now I know there are kids all over trying out.  Lubbock has a lot of good programs to draw from too, and Midland/Odessa has a good few big schools as well to recruit from.  I'm guessing they're recruiting form El Paso as well.  

Yes, I went to Abilene Christian and then went off to teach music in Newark, Delaware! 

I appreciate you taking the time to give all this great information. I'm going to check out Horizon now. 

So from your observations, it sounds like the new crop of band directors are energizing the high school activity.  I assume a lot of them marched drum corps and bring that kind of excitement and vision to their band kids.  Interesting to hear your observation of how the interest in DC has exploded from when you were in HS to now as a soon-to-be college grad. I am encouraged.  And I appreciate the dialogs we are having on open class.  Great information.  Thank you.

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2 minutes ago, RetiredMusTeach said:

Yes, I went to Abilene Christian and then went off to teach music in Newark, Delaware! 

I appreciate you taking the time to give all this great information. I'm going to check out Horizon now. 

So from your observations, it sounds like the new crop of band directors are energizing the high school activity.  I assume a lot of them marched drum corps and bring that kind of excitement and vision to their band kids.  Interesting to hear your observation of how the interest in DC has exploded from when you were in HS to now as a soon-to-be college grad. I am encouraged.  And I appreciate the dialogs we are having on open class.  Great information.  Thank you.

Actually, I don't believe a lot have marched drum corps if any (I'm speaking for Canyon and north, the panhandlepanhandlepanhandle).  I'm not sure if any of the heads have, I know there are some 90s Phantom Regiment, Madison Scouts, etc. former MMs but no one that has marched very recently.  I know at my school I REALLY pushed the theater stuff as a student for some after two a days activities, and it just kinda spread like wildfire through the students to other schools and now directors are bringing them in by the busloads.  

The interest has been pretty student initiated, but the HS band directors really embrace and support it too.  

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