RetiredMusTeach Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 A poster on Reddit made this neat map (below) of the US showing where all the drum corps are located, World Class, Open Class, SoundSport and DCA. It appears that there are at least 15 states that have no active drum corps. Because I am interested in the growth and health of drum corps, I know that the more people who are exposed to it, the better it is for drum corps. I bet that there are DCP'ers that live in those states that have no corps, so I would like to hear from you. Are there rumblings and stirrings in your state of interest in starting a corps? What's keeping that from happening? I know Open Class is healthy and growing. How exciting to see recent new corps starting in New Mexico, Utah, Louisiana, etc. Wouldn't it be awesome to see a Hawaiian corps with a guard that reflects their heritage? An Alaskan corps with limitless possibilities to showcase their state through the music and guard? You get my point. While I love World Class corps and eagerly look forward to being dazzled by them this year, my heart is most stirred by Open Class, because that is the incubator, the growth medium, the source of fresh, eager, talented young people looking to experience drum corps - and pouring all that talent, youth, and energy into making something visually and aurally beautiful to please us and to stir our hearts. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=11IOg3mIaMTZ6dt7MJHmVK8CDzpk&ll=36.47189326388248%2C-62.36683419999997&z=4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 (edited) 10 minutes ago, RetiredMusTeach said: A poster on Reddit made this neat map (below) of the US showing where all the drum corps are located, World Class, Open Class, SoundSport and DCA. It appears that there are at least 15 states that have no active drum corps. Because I am interested in the growth and health of drum corps, I know that the more people who are exposed to it, the better it is for drum corps. I bet that there are DCP'ers that live in those states that have no corps, so I would like to hear from you. Are there rumblings and stirrings in your state of interest in starting a corps? What's keeping that from happening? I know Open Class is healthy and growing. How exciting to see recent new corps starting in New Mexico, Utah, Louisiana, etc. Wouldn't it be awesome to see a Hawaiian corps with a guard that reflects their heritage? An Alaskan corps with limitless possibilities to showcase their state through the music and guard? You get my point. While I love World Class corps and eagerly look forward to being dazzled by them this year, my heart is most stirred by Open Class, because that is the incubator, the growth medium, the source of fresh, eager, talented young people looking to experience drum corps - and pouring all that talent, youth, and energy into making something visually and aurally beautiful to please us and to stir our hearts. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=11IOg3mIaMTZ6dt7MJHmVK8CDzpk&ll=36.47189326388248%2C-62.36683419999997&z=4 Back in my day, there were 14 corps just in my neighborhood, and 10 more in the next town over. Seriously... I agree with you, it's great to see those Open Class corps coming onto the scene!!! Edited March 13, 2017 by Fran Haring 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 19 minutes ago, RetiredMusTeach said: I know Open Class is healthy and growing. I would say that Open Class is getting healthy. There are still far fewer corps than there used to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredMusTeach Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 15 minutes ago, Fran Haring said: Back in my day, there were 14 corps just in my neighborhood, and 10 more in the next town over. Seriously... I agree with you, it's great to see those Open Class corps coming onto the scene!!! How wonderful! I suspect you lived in the East. I taught school in Delaware in the 1970's and there were lots of local corps. They mostly marched in parades. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 10 hours ago, RetiredMusTeach said: How wonderful! I suspect you lived in the East. I taught school in Delaware in the 1970's and there were lots of local corps. They mostly marched in parades. I did... and still do. Marched in a local-circuit junior corps, then a DCA all-age corps, through the 1970s into the early '80s. Of course I'm exaggerating about the number of corps in my town... but there were a bunch of local corps around, like you said. A lot of them were mom-and-pop operations with shoestring budgets. Heck, even some of the nationally-known top contenders were barely getting by back then. Now, a corps' management has to know how to run a business (not always the reality, even now... LOL) , and it's good to see the various guidelines in place which try to ensure that a corps can pay its bills and give its members the best experience possible. And scholastic marching bands, by and large, have taken the place of the "local corps experience" kids once got. Nothing at all wrong with that... just different than it used to be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldBones Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 It will be interesting to see what happens when the new education budget is slashed and see how many HS Bands survive. I have a feeling that New Jersey will be hit pretty hard. I certainly hope the cuts do not become too deep that it effects all of the marching arts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkcarlson Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 We've come close in Nevada a few times, but no cigar! But we continue to be a prime recruiting field for much of the western corps! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredMusTeach Posted April 23, 2017 Author Share Posted April 23, 2017 6 hours ago, mkcarlson said: We've come close in Nevada a few times, but no cigar! But we continue to be a prime recruiting field for much of the western corps! What do you think it would take to get a corps started in Nevada? Is there a strong HS marching band presence in Las Vegas & Henderson? Seems to me that if New Mexico can field a corps (Arsenal - new this year), that Nevada could do it too. By the way, thanks for your comments on various OC topics. I would love to see more interest, information, and comments about Open Class corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Thunder Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Armada, a new junior corps in Boise, ID, is getting off the ground this year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredMusTeach Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 50 minutes ago, Northern Thunder said: Armada, a new junior corps in Boise, ID, is getting off the ground this year. That's great news! Do you know if they have a website or Facebook page up and running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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