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rmurrey74

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Posts posted by rmurrey74

  1. 14 hours ago, greg_orangecounty said:

    I don't see it that way.  Kids commit to a corps, not a particular instructor, or set of instructors.  It's just like the kid that signs a letter of intent to play for a particular coach only to have said coach leave for the NFL or a different university before he/she sets foot on campus.  Commit to the institution, not an employee of the institution.  Employees come and go. 
     

    Guard members are very loyal to staff and instructors. Probably at the same degree or higher than percussion. Watched the majority of my corps’s guard follow their caption head to their new corps twice in the mid-nineties and have seen it so many times since. 

     

    I’ve also seen new guard members show up to spring training in recent years with barely any following or knowledge of the history of past of the corps they were about to join which is surprising. They are following that staff that recruited them throughout the WGI season. 
     

     

    • Like 2
  2. 19 hours ago, Terri Schehr said:

    One of the things that kind of bugs me about nowadays, is that a younger person, say 16 years old, can audition for the local corps, make it down to the last two for one spot, and they’ll pick the age out kid from 1000 miles away rather than the kid who lives nearby and has several more years left to march.  Seems short-sighted to me.

    BTW, this really happened.  I personally told the founder of the corps about it and he found it very disturbing. 

    Lots of difference in maturity from 16-21.  I would always pick the oldest if two people are in the same talent range. 

  3. 2 hours ago, cfirwin3 said:

    I understand.  But the bottom line doesn't lie.  Plenty corps exist outside of the top 4-5 perennial contenders, and they do just fine not winning the big show.  Bluecoats, for example, had a very strong business model for decades without even a glimmer of championship success.  If anything, it's the drive for championship success that is most likely to threaten their financial stability today... that's a high bill to pay, year after year.

    Bluecoats also make a HUGE amount of money based on their success now and popularity. There’s no shortage in the activity of members that will pay $5000+ to march, but those same kids are selective and want to be at the top of the activity.  Over 1,000 kids auditioned for them last year. That’s a huge profit center based on the audition fee and audition materials purchased.  
     

     

  4. What’s the average staff on the road level?  That ties into vehicle space.  If you eliminate sleeper coaches, you reintroduce the previous problem of having to find staff housing where school classroom space was becoming limited.  You’re probably still looking at two staff vehicles. 
     

    is this the typical or ideal size today?

    3 admin

    2 medical

    5 brass (4 techs plus caption head)

    5 visual (4 techs plus caption head)

    6 percussion (5 techs plus caption head)

    4 guard (3 techs plus caption head)

    2 electronics (1 tech plus caption head)

    3 merchandise

    4 food truck

    2 media

    3 designers (not the full team on the road at once)

    3 costumes/production team

    8 drivers?

    50 total

    Am I missing anyone?

     

     

     

     

     

  5. I heard a Glassmen 2005 story, can anyone involved confirm it's true?

    Robert had the entire show completely written at one of the first camps (New World Symphony).

    He had the brass all sit-down concert style and play through the entire book.  I just thought that was an interesting way to approach/learn the show.  

    He'll be missed!

     

  6. 27 minutes ago, Weaklefthand4ever said:

    I'm not implying that Safesport is not a good program or that it's vital. The questions would still be same of any program. 

    1. How comprehensive is it

    2. Is there testing to ensure understanding and knowledge transfer

    3. Is it tracked for compliance by a 3rd party and enforced

    Again, it could be an excellent program. In my world we do 2 hours alone on sexual harassment prevention at the entry level for employees. Managers have FAR more hours of training as they are responsible for any employee that comes to them (plus about 12 hours of compliance work twice a year.) 

    It could be an apples and oranges comparison. I am simply posing questions. 

    Just as an aside, a LOT of study has been taken place on adult learning theory over the years as you can imagine. Video presentation comes in towards the bottom of the list when designing curriculum (still above lecture alone.) Adults tend to have limited recall of what they have seen and heard without additional learning methods to reinforce the skill transfer. 

     

    I’m sure it’s not perfect. It seems comprehensive to me but I’m not an expert. It reviews signs to look for, mandatory reporting, multiple scenarios with questions/quizzes throughout. To me, I had to pay attention throughout.  It’s a 3rd party and yes, it’s enforced.  It’s  also a WGI requirement and probably for other circuits as well.  

    I also had in person training/policy review early in spring training, reminders throughout the season, reiterated through member and staff contracts and DCI did a full town-hall event for all drum corps on the topic last year.  

    I’m sure it could be much more, but It’s far and beyond anything I’ve ever had at any of my non-band/drum corps related jobs that I’ve held during my career. I work for a Fortune 500 and it’s a 15-20 minute training video once a year for Managers/Directors. 

  7. I'm more reassured from my friends on staff that have committed to the summer based on the information that been shared with them and the work that's been done behind the scenes.  Can't wait to see them return to the field!

    If it doesn't work out, and they completely fold, then a bunch of people on here can celebrate that they were right! 

    I'm going to ignore this thread today and just make a donation to hopefully help the cause.

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