cixelsyd

1. Indianapolis is farther from home than Winston-Salem for the three NE corps who went there (which was actually in 2005, not 2006). 2. The two NE corps who went to Madison in 1999 are no longer with us. 3. DCA can move off of Labor Day weekend whenever/wherever they want, if it is affecting recruiting. Technically, they did move off Labor Day weekend in 2021. I am generally in favor of DCI and DCA increasing cooperation and joint events. However, the idea posited in this thread is not a good one. Ask open-class what kind of marketing, logistics and audience you can expect when you are at best the fourth-favorite event of the week.

Half the people on this forum were not yet born the last time one of the DCA core membership (i.e. Northeasterners) traveled that far for a contest. Hard to believe this is true. Of course, I had the same reaction to SCV running out of money...

Except that is why the group needs a full-time year-round $100,000 director, to follow through on all these fundraisers and resales.

That will fix itself soon, if the attrition continues.

Using technology to teach is fine. Using technology to replace - not so fine.

SoundSport teams are not necessarily drum corps. In fact, they have taken to calling them "teams" in recognition of that detail. Aside from that one word, I agree with the rest of your quote wholeheartedly. Problem is that DCI then moved the barrier to open-class impenetrably high, even beyond the reach of this incubator.

What is established is that Vanguard spent faster than they could afford. Unless props/electronics were supplied, designed, transported and operated completely free of any cost, you cannot say they had "nothing" to do with it.

Maybe not. Then again, I never thought anyone would point out how A&E operates largely in fundamental opposition to instrumental music education. And I never thought someone from within the rulemaking machine would emerge to propose doing anything about that.

As I understand it, the newest DCI open-class corps would be Battalion (first competed in 2016). Youngest DCI world-class corps would be Genesis (first competed in 2010). Most recently promoted to world-class was Music City (promoted for the 2018 season; first competed as open-class in 2009).

You could try this three-step process: 1. Make it incredibly complex and expensive to start a DCI corps. 2. Watch while no corps start up for seven or more years consecutively. 3. Make it less complex and expensive to start a DCI corps. (We are stuck at step 2 of this process.)

I know one way to achieve 100% enforcement - remove A&E entirely.

Apologies. I do not film tiny marching bands in anticipation of internet debates. And I knew you would use that escape hatch. True, there are a variety of reasons why a band might have no trumpets and use synth for that voicing instead. For that matter, there are likely a variety of reasons why so many competing marching bands are so small. It was not always that way. I am told about our ancestors who marched way, way back, when you had to carry your instrument (you know, when "marching band" was a literal definition). They did other strange things back in those days, like having the HS marching band perform a demonstration at the local middle school every year, and participating in hometown events, both for the sake of recruiting. They could do those things because a literal marching band could perform virtually anywhere, even without a power feed. Their bands were three times the size back then compared to now. Funny how the more they embrace electronics and other "innovations", the smaller the bands get. Wonder which is the cause and which is the effect? Somewhere in all this fuss over what "innovations" certain people insist we must have to help 9-player marching bands succeed competitively, we seem to have forgotten that the whole point of music education was - education. More education happens when the band has more than 9 players.

Music for All has eight programs according to their website: Bands of America Music for All Summer Symposium Music for All National Festival Educational Resources Advocacy in Action Orchestra Programming Choir Programming Affiliate Regional Music Festivals This thread is about rulemaking for Bands of America. Those rules do not apply to the other seven program areas of Music for All.

I have seen marching bands go without trumpets (or name any other section), and mimic or replace their sounds via pit-based electronics. But I did not interview every such band to ascertain their motivation/reasoning for doing so. Good for you. I guess your career has permitted you to focus on your own successful ensembles, and not notice what is going on around us. If this was "Technology of America", then fine. But I could have sworn they called it "Bands of America".

SCV, like any other full member corps of DCI, would retain their full membership, voting rights and world-class status if they return after a single year hiatus. These days, the DCI "Board of Directors" is composed of three corps directors, three corps-affiliated people and three people not affiliated with a corps - nine people total. They are elected, and serve staggered 3-year terms. The voting membership used to be known as the "board of directors", since almost every corps sent their "director" to represent them at meetings. They still vote on numerous things, most notably rules. Membership is essentially the world-class corps, but newly accepted world-class corps do not get full voting rights until they meet all WC requirements for a couple of years.