normy diploome

Believing that OP stands for original poster/posting, check again. I stated that each of them has their own narrative and personal rationale. On this we agree. In the Socratic method of asking questions, sometimes questions at an extreme to build toward a middle consensus, or a place between two opposites, I never called them disloyal. I ask what happened to corps loyalty, hoping that the current and young interpretation of what that means might arise in this thread. (It hasn't yet...most of the posters have been us old guys, meaning anyone no longer 22 or younger.) I am certainly not one who disavows the greatness of today's members. And I put my cheque where my mouth is so that a number of them can march in a number of corps. This is in addition to consulting, being a clinic and camp faculty member, etc., etc. Check the profiles of each poster before you fall prey to the same generalized accusation you throw at others. On this you and I disagree.

Depends on what you mean as "known for." If you count what they are doing with their feet at the same time, Cadets usually rate kudos and SCV as often. Crown and Cadets are both noted for exceptional mellophone sections, but Crown's low brass so often are in the running as well without getting the spotlights like those trumpet guys. Trying playing Fanfare for the Common man without the low brass part. Just ain't the same.

So, if Brasso and Kamarag are accurate, and I think they are in the above comment, why hop from corps to corps, sometimes from the frying pan into the fire?

Care to elaborate further ? This is for enlightenment, particularly as some other posters, coincidentally all alumni of one far western corps, have posited that the position is not different from others, let's say the cymbal player, regarding off podium responsibilities. I hold the stance that the podium prince/princess has a different realm of responsibilities depending upon the units. For some they are merely human metronomes. For others they are akin to assistant tour directors, corps directors, bankers, bottlewashers, and cheerleaders. What made the job tough in your perception. What makes it tough for the candidates today? You need only be as personal or generic as you wish, of course.

I have to correct something I previously stated in the original post when I said both Cadets' majors last winter resigned from the activity. One of them is now on the faculty of an up-and-coming West Coast drum corps. All the best to him and his new students.

But Joe is a good example of a corps hopper: from Scranton, PA to Delaware!

Hey Fran, No Politics on DCP, ha, ha.

Agreed. Because Hyde Park, Garfield, Revere, even Madison and LaCrosse cities are not the neighborhoods they once were when each corps began, I chose the example as a speculation not a condemnation, all too common on DCP of late. If my statement style seems to go that way, that's a weakness not a philosophy. Boston, where I had my first judging assignments, used to be home to no less than three full circuits, but no longer. Different times demand different selections. I know that Craiga is the best that Biddeford offers. I've enjoyed many a fine moment there for a meal and gas refuel on my way to and from Georgetown/Brunswick/and Bath. I appreciate his loyalty, an aspect that generated the original questions.

Count me in as another appreciative fan of your great work with these financial details. I especially appreciate how you break the data down for us non-accountant types who almost look at budget spreadsheets as the crosses we bear for the sins we've committed. If you have the time in this final week before taxes, there would be a number of us who could benefit from your work. Thank you.

Sorry John, but your suspicions are not correct. I have been on staff/faculty of three DCI medalist corps for a total of 20 years, count all of the last five Jim Jones Award winners as friends and four of them as regular correspondents on life matters in and out of drum corps, and last year was a consultant for various aspects with three of the top 12 corps. Of the top 12 corps' majors from last years finals, I am friends with the families of thecorps officer of seven of them. I did not disagree with your second half of your statement but find that it only matches the experience or job description of a few units, but not all. The demands on the DMs/conductors/officers is not a universal set for all DCI corps; the differences are what set much of the distinct personalities of each unit. Those different experiences and perspectives help prompt me to start the thread. Good night.

John, My source is the Marriage Center at the University of Wisconsin for one (Dr. Sweet's office tracks the numbers each year, state by state, and offers an annual report.) My doctorate (with the research done in 9 countries including US and Canada) is in the field of marriage preparation as education. I am presuming by your reaction that you are not a certified, licensed educator at any level and have not attended the many, many continuing education programs hosted by most supervisory public school districts discussing the life horizons of current student populations. Check the programs available to admissions officers and campus life officials at the post secondary level. It is you who are proposing a moral view. I am merely stating the sociology. You may react negatively in offense, but the sociology at the university and post graduate level consistently backs my statement that the divorce rate and loyalty rate have the same chronology. Almost no university accepts Wikipedia as a dissertation source due to its porous entries. Me thinks the lady protests too much, to quote Shakespeare. I am merely citing that the current cohort age cohort who populate

If my memory is correct, the Crusaders began practicing in Florida when Mr. Weinstein was director............himself a Florida resident, wasn't/isn't he? Not a spitting match, but you put the emphasis on only part of the sentence to which you took offense. What does the current Crusader corps do for the kids of, let's say Most Precious Blood neighborhood in Hyde Park? or is the corps' focus solely on the current membership of the current corps??? The current membership is far from being a Boston based corps, although I do acknowledge that an audition was held this year at Boston U on Commonwealth AV., the first in greater Boston in several years. Regarding your pot-shot on the Cadets, confer my response to Bill (who likes the Kilties in this same thread. I quote one of those Cadets. I did not mention previously the coincidence that the assistant director of the Cadets left at that time to become assistant director of the Crusaders but now is moving back to the Cadets and has publicly said so in interviews and postings on their website. By the way, I proudly carry in my wallet the laminated card with the Red waldo on oneside and the black waldo on the other which card was given to the BAC membership several years back. The author of the card, with the director's awareness, acknowledged the number of Crusaders I have sponsored in past years. I look to enjoy a wonderful 2013 Crusader season, wherever they are.

As one who was a secondary school administrator who helped win the Federal Blue Ribbon at two schools where I taught, I had a great hand in choosing new teachers. Resumes are a tool but so is the great distinction between depth and width. Running from unit to unit (width) to list various instructors who have taught me (as in the "I studied under" citations) never quite matched the depth of maturity and development of character aspects necessary as a music ed teacher. That so many young music ed teachers bail on the vocation within a few years is not coincidental. To develop persons and programs from fledling rookies into champions is tougher than ring-chasing for sure. Unfortunately, too many are seeking the jewelry and not the character development that is requisite and hopefully comes in time, like mastering the scales first.

I believe one of the veteran Cadet majors who resigned agreed with you when he wrote to the corps, "Drum corps is supposed to be fun, and it's not." His personal perception, not that of others. But it underlines your insight.

Because I am not always a diplomat (wise chooser of words, not the Canadian corps, ha, ha), I have to tread lightly and pick my words well here. The loss of unit loyalty coincides with the greater societal shift where 50 per cent of marriages now end in divorce within five years. These kids have grown up in that culture where not even their families are stable and as often, not loyal. The corps on the whole are not local and are more geared toward filling the spots with the greatest talent rather than building the talent from within as in the old neighborhood corps. Once corps left the confines of the parishes, veteran posts, fire departments, and scout troops and became their own entities, the culture changed dramatically. Membership boundary lines were the first to go in DCI. Transfers were next. "Why force kids to march where they didn't want to?" was the rationale. These kids grew up in a culture where family binds flex, employer-employee relationships change monthly (who works for only one company their whole life today???), sports figures come and go from teams as often as we change socks, and even the corps change their home base to benefit themselves not the neighborhood youth (Cadets from Garfield to Bergen County to Allentown in a different state; Crossmen from Pennsylvania to Texas; Crusaders from Hyde Park /Boston to Florida, Madison and Blue Stars now in Indiana, etc., etc.) I remember talking with George Bonfiglio, the DCI HOFer who founded 27th Lancers after the demise of the I.C. Reveries of sit-down fame. George B. struggled whether to accept kids from outside greater Boston because he knew the availabilities and loyalties would not be the same again. I had a similar discussion with Drs. Cinzio and Santo, consecutive directors at Garfield before a young George Hopkins made his now famous trek to the Gulf Coast to bolster Garfield's membership. In recapping these conversations with Jerry Seawright, founder of the Blue Devils, Jerry said to me,"Everybody in California is from someplace else"! as he pointed his thumb at Gayle Royer, founder of the Santa Clara Vanguard and himself a transplant from Iowa. Unit loyalty being different in culture is the macro-economic at work here. Choosing the clarinetist, saxophonist, violinist or college conducting major for DM to direct a more difficultly arranged piece of music than what the neighborhood corps played is a different dynamic. The activity has benefitted with such stellar stars as a saxophonist/pianist in Will Pitts for example, but not always. That the financial dynamics now constrict many to few years of marching at all is another major consideration. We will not return to the old world certainly But not choosing established veterans for the podium while pressuring them to be the public face through TV interviews and media spots is a whole new universe. It is though I believe, why alumni no longer donate/feel attached/stay loyal to the new units today because the units don't breed that loyalty. Bluntly, Brasso, to answer your question, "I am not certain" which is why I ask and started the thread. This current trend does seem to be building the activity on the macro level but is raiding other units for the benefit of a few.

oh that is was so easy. The other side of the triangle is to investigate how the members of the corps' BoD actually are selected/nominated/appointed. There is at least one major G7 proponent where the ED formed the BoD to validate his perceptions. He make's the pope's infallibility look like nothing. There are some other similar situations now that corps have full time paid staff as ED and CEO's. Rockford seems to be an exception. What about the others???

Very fine points made here. Nice to hear some hope about. Who all attended?. As one who once was a temporary replacement representative for some DCI BOD meetings, I think you present some valid insights. HOWEVER... DCI seems to be plagued with a POWER struggle amongst personalities. Would those same personalities release their need for power to others even to merely send puppets? Your proposal is worth developing. Back in the beginnings, the directors were competitors but most of them were or became friends, much like former American presidents do. I am not sure that is the case now.

When Jim Mason and crew sought to re-brand the Madison Scouts, John Lee resigned as veteran assistant DM with the Blue Devils to assume the podium for the Scouts. His homestead's move to the Midwest made the shift sound reasonable. John did such a great job with the Scouts that DCI named him the Jim Jones Award winner for that season and Scouts named him a tour leader for the next. In the past, podium changes were rare or due to the folding or merging of corps as is the case of this season's Glassmen's major assuming duties with B.D. But since John Lee, podium shifts and corps jilts have seemingly become more common. The major at Crown was previously a major at Crossmen. The "in-line" major for Blue Stars left to join the Cavaliers. PR's last season's poster boy/blogger/ assistant conductor is staying home in Tenn. to be the DM at Music City. And last winter, after DCI's leadership weekend for DMs, both majors at the Cadets resigned the podium and the activity, followed out the door soon by almost all the section leaders of that corps; the horn sgt. had to move to the podium in a hurry and the Miss did a very fine job. Where once being a corps' DM or officer was considered akin to being the corps' public face, model member, and unit loyalist par excellant, there now appeaars to have been a drastic culture shift! Have corps administrators failed to do due-diligence in their selections? Is all this due to some corps no longer promoting within veteran membership but auditioning like any other position amongst recruits, other rookies, and even rook-outs and one-and-dones? Has the role of DM become too heavy shepherding larger memberships almost as assistant directors, more complicated shows and charts, more photo-ops and press interviews with Dan Potter et al., and reporting to overly-stressed adults now becoming more cut-throat CEO business tycoons than educators and counsellors for teens and young adults? Each of the above named student leaders (deliberately left unnamed respecting their ages) has a narrative and personal rationale for the transfers. Without disecting the individual, what prompts this recent trend affecting at least 10 major corps? Is the trend a fluke of history or are other factors changing and shaping member leadership? Why do drum majors/conductors/officers corps-hop? What happened to unit loyalty?

hello! I am neither Dr. David Kampshoerer, former Blue Star director, former DCI Hall of Fame moderator, nor Mr. David Borden, former Blue Star volunteer and DCP honk. If I am being compared to these great gentlemen by mistake, I consider it an honor.

When I saw the Rutgers tape, I quickly remembered a very, very famous drill designer who was let go from one now defunct World Class contender because he swore and hit a kid in practice. Wrong then, wrong now. But another world class corps gave him a second chance and they went on to win several championships and change drum corps drill history forever before the designer moved to a third World Class medalist. He learned, he repented, he grew. My hope is that the same happens for the dismissed coach. My other hope is that the new AD and administration of Rutgers will allow a drum corps contest and marching band competition in their great stadium. Like Syracuse U who prohibits summer drum corps from the Dome, Rutgers isn't nice to drum corps most years.

Elsewhere amongst current threads is an item that the Bluecoats manufacture their own helmets and make them fit. Presumably this would not be a cross for those from Lacrosse. But looking at my rankings, it seems that Furlano's little starlets are quite defensive with the negative button. Sling if you wish, but the feet problems, not the hats, brought down the visual score the last few years, plus the immature mellophone section last season after the vets bailed to the Cavaliers. Myron was merely a scapegoat just as the traditional helmets are being blamed now..

Seemingly this thread has wondered far off field, pun intended, from the G7 discussion. My question is who are the BOD's not attending (boycotting?) the DCI meeting this weekend? G7? Should the moderators close the thread otherwise since it has lost the discussion of the OP?

You will recall that before Bill Cook moved him to Star as arranger, Jim Prime, Jr. was the arranger for the Cadets during the dynasty days of 4 champs in five years. He used "O Sacred Head" as a warm-up chorale for both (Garfield) Cadets and Star of Indiana. When he first introduced it, it seemed to blend well with the Bernstein's Mass pieces being done by Cadets those years.

Hmmm. Can't believe no one has pointed out this numerical irony thus far from the DCI official announcement. Who will be missing? G-7 boycott? What boards think that this would not be worth attending? Or are they others who already know what Daniel Ray will say??? Most Interesting! "Traveling and meeting at their own expense, representatives of 17 of 23 World Class corps are expected to be in attendance. The session is scheduled to run the afternoon of Saturday, April 6 through noon on Sunday, April 7." Read more: http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=715c5d7f-132a-4453-ad23-75ba90706ab8#ixzz2PXPFPYNR

I find this accurate, well stated, and too true. What is not noted however is the use of birth control and the change of family size. No longer are there six or seven kids in a Boston family who joined the CYO corps at various levels. No longer does the population live principally in the East or Midwestern cities where corps were traditional, no longer are the same ethnic groups who populated the corps for so long balancing the population levels of the U.S. The center of population has shifted, who comprises that population has shifted, and the cultural matrix is now based on other pillars than those on which drum corps as an activity stood for many decades. It's a new world needing new thinking.