DCA All-Age, All Good ~ Silva: ’08 was a dogfight

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The 2008 season ended with a bang for DCAssociates as the Buccaneers sailed into the sunset with a four-peat trophy while Midwest powerhouse Minnesota Brass, Inc., earned their highest placement ever, second place. Alliance returned to Tara in Atlanta with Class A honors, and Fusion Core, Chops and SoCal Dream also made the night show with second, third and fourth place in Class A. A total of 24 corps entered in Open Class and Class A.

The Alumni Spectacular keeps getting better and more stupendous. Three Canadian corps, Optimists and Scout House from Ontario, Les Diplomates from Quebec, and six American alumni entries, Boston Crusaders Sr., Bridgemen, Caballeros, Mighty St. Joe's, Park City Pride and the Skyliners made this possibly the finest Alumni Spectacular ever.

While missing Barb Haring's excellent administrative duties in Rochester, Dick Pronti, I&E/Minicorps coordinator, was quite pleased with another successful Individuals & Ensembles/Minicorps. The 11 minicorps entries were all excellent from top to bottom, including, in order of placement: Star United, Mass Brass, Golden Eagles, Music City Legend, Ghost Riders, Minne Brass tied for 6th with Erie Thunderbirds, Capital Brass, Amosteag Sound tied for 8th with Outlaws, and Crossmen Xtreme. In Brass Ensemble, 96, 95, 93 and 90 is what it took for The Ghost of Prime Brass, Hitmen, Half Mass Brass and Minne Brass to hold off a large field. The Three Tenors won brass trio, while Dennis and Cynthia Tischhauser won brass duet. Scott "Hulka" McCoy, Music City Legend and Cavaliers Alumni Corps, won snare soloist and Nick Adcock, Statesmen, nabbed multi-tenor. Cadre won percussion ensemble and Romance Explosion/Kilties took quartet. The Govenaires won color guard ensemble, and Nick Boucounis spun away with saber and rifle individuals. For more scores check www.dcacorps.org .

Special kudos go to Allen Buell, Empire Statesmen business manager, and his dedicated staff, including the City of Rochester, for another excellent DCA Championships at Paetec Park. DCA returns in 2009. Any interested city is welcome to submit bids for 2010 and beyond, www.dcacorps.org .

Fran and Barb Haring missed; Peashey and Anderman emceed

Fran Haring, even his luau wardrobe, and wife Barb were missed at the DCA Championships. Tom Peashey, DCA marketing director, took on the added role of announcer for Prelims and Finals, reverberating the stadium with his own unique and familiar P.A. voice. Stephan Anderman, Music City Legend administrative staff, stepped up to the emcee table admirably for the Alumni Spectacular.

Joe Geswaldo, Class A coordinator, and Vic Kulinski, Jr., DCA South coordinator, had a right to be proud along with Director Terry Reilly as Alliance won Class A over a skilled expanding number of corps. Fusion Core, Chops and SoCal Dream made it to Finals with Alliance. The normal top three from Prelims making it to Finals was expanded to four in '08.

President Silva speaks of DCA 2008, 2009; Templin steps down as Judging Coordinator

DCA President Gil Silva had much to be proud of in 2008 and looks forward to 2009. Silva explained:

Cozy Baker: What were your feelings about the 2008 season?

Gil Silva: I thought that the corps were stronger and more competitive from the bottom up. The highly competitive Class A corps showed the most improvement. Open Class was a real dogfight with the Hurricanes jumping into the top five and Minnesota Brass finishing second. Achieving top ten status is a real challenge. Buccaneers getting their fourth consecutive title while continuing to set the standard has been good for DCA.

CB: What will be some of the concerns in the off-season meetings?

GS: With this being a Rules Congress year (bi-annual), there will be some changes suggested by the corps. Hopefully, the changes will not be too dramatic. We will be selecting a new Judging Coordinator to replace Rich Templin who is stepping down after a very successful tenure. The growth of the corps is a testament to his leadership.

The major concerns that our activity will face are with the current economy. Costs for everyone, members, staffs, fans and sponsors will have to be carefully scrutinized. DCA will be having, in conjunction with our Rules Congress, seminars and round table discussions on dealing with the challenges of All-Age drum corps.

CB: What do you anticipate for the 2009 season?

GS: Every season brings its own challenges and successes. That is what I enjoy about DCA and drum corps in general. Every season, every corps starts out undefeated and has a blank canvas which to paint.

Judging Coordinator and Chief Judges Changes

Tom Peashey, DCA marketing director, and Glen Johnson, secretary, announced, "DCA President, Gil Silva, has announced the election of John Kreitzer as DCA Judging Coordinator for 2009. Kreitzer was the choice of the member corps to fill the void left with the resignation of longtime Judging Coordinator Rich Templin. He will be joined by an experienced, and talented team of elected Chief Judges including Tony Smith, Visual Caption Chairman, Rich Guillen, Brass Caption Chairman and the returning Percussion Caption Chairman, John Stauffer."

DCA Rules Congress meets Dec. 13-14, new corps invited

DCA President Gil Silva and his able staff will host the bi-annual Rules Congress Dec. 13-14 in Rochester, NY, at the George Eastman House Museum. As stated in DCWorld, November issue, www.drumcorpsworld.com , "Any group planning to compete in the 2009 DCA arena is encouraged to attend. DCA has opened these seminars to all corps.

"While staff members work on rules changes, corps directors and managers will be able to attend a variety of seminars dealing with all aspects of running a competitive drum corps. Contact Glen Johnson at secretary [at] dcacorps [dot] org, www.dcacorps.org ."

From www.sunrisers.com: "The Long Island Sunrisers 2009 season kickoff Open House & Orientation (will be) Saturday, November 29, 12 PM-6 PM, at Mineola High School in Garden City Park, NY…The Sunrisers corps has moved back to Long Island, NY, after being away for almost 25 years and we invite all to take part in what will be an exciting new chapter for us!"

Welcome back, Sun, the Class A 2007 champs and multiple DCA titles holder.

Join the "Friends and Fans of Drum Corps," a five-day Caribbean cruise departing Miami Jan. 12. Contact Bob Cardaneo, recent chief brass judge, 800-519-0050, e-mail: CR1RLC [at] comcast [dot] net.

Posted by on Friday, October 24th, 2008. Filed under DCA ... All-Age, All-Good!.