TroopAlum12

A new drum corps that is starting up out of Utah had their first ever camp this weekend. The Battalion. Very good turnout for a brand-new corps. Photos are up on their Facebook page Blue Knights also has camp this weekend. I have a few vague connections there, but haven't heard anything.

List updated.

MHPA Announces DCPI Season 23 Shows World Class - The Alpine Scouts Show title: "The Electric Violin: The Music of Lindsey Stirling" Mvt 1: Crystallize/Electric Daisy Violin by Lindsey Stirling Mvt 2: When the Stars Align by Lindsey Stirling Mvt 3: Shatter Me/Song of the Caged Bird by Lindsey Stirling Mvt 4: Roundtable Rivalry by Lindsey Stirling (For those who may be unfamiliar, all of the above music is on YouTube direct from Lindsey.) Director C Leon Pack states, "In our first season, we want to come out swinging. We want to set the bar by doing a show that is unique, exploring music that is relatively new not only to the world of music but to the marching field as well. This will be a show that combines high energy with finess and beauty, demanding much out of the musicians. Possibilities for visual design and colorguard choreography are exciting. We hope this one will be both a truly great show and a crowd-pleaser." Open Class - The Alpine Cadets Show Title: "Light and Gold - The Music of Eric Whitacre" Mvt 1: Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine by Eric Whitacre Mvt 2: Alleluia by Eric Whitacre Mvt 3: Equus by Eric Whitacre The director had this to say: "Yes Whitacre has been done before in drum corps. But, he is one of my favorite contemporary composers. I've wanted to do a purely Whitacre show for a while now. I think this will be a stable, musically demanding show to show off our "B" corps nicely. Personally, I believe a lot of the "wow" in the show should come from good music and drill, performed at a high level, and not with cheap gimmicks. That is exactly what we want to achieve with this show - to wow the crowd through performance excellence." Class A - Western Wind Show Title: "Holst!" Music to include a medley of songs by Holst, including "Mars," "Jupiter," "English Folk Song Suite," and "First Suite in Eb." Season 23 show poster. Credit to John Bogenschutz at Tone Deaf Comics. Director comments, "Folk Song Suite is a standard. First Suite is a standard. The Planets are a standard. Let's put them all together and make a show! Western Wind is our "C" corps focused more on music education than anything else. We hope crowds will love this show as the corps members learn about these important pieces of music, learn how to play them well, and get their introduction into the marching world." Stay tuned for future updates regarding uniforms and more.

I thought it might be a good idea to start a common thread for show announcements. Tell us what your show is, what your repertoire will be, and a little about the design. I'll keep a running list here on the top as new shows are posted. WHEN POSTING YOUR SHOWS, PLEASE INDICATE WHICH DIVISION YOUR CORPS ARE IN SO THAT I CAN PLACE THEM IN THE APPROPRIATE LIST! Thanks :) --------------- CURRENTLY ANNOUNCED SEASON 23 SHOWS: World Class (Div I): -Alpine Scouts - "The Electric Violin" -The Dewsbury Regulars - "Mallory" -The Royal Crusaders - "Story's of War" -Northern Lights - "A Carmen Fantasy" -Polaris Regiment - "The Wall" Open Class (Div II): -Alpine Cadets - "Light and Gold" -The Texas Zephyrs - "Ballets for Martha" -The Huddersfield Hundred - "Lawrence" -The Blue Raiders - "The Sound of Music" -Harmonic - "Whiteout" -Northern Stars - "Moulin Rouge" -The Marauders - "Nightfall on the Amalfi Coast" Class A (Div III): -Western Wind - "Holst!" -The Mirfield Lockmen - "Christie" -Crusade - "Locomotive" -Northern Cadets - "Atonement" -Xothyme - "Call of Desire"

As far as I can remember, we didn't have any major on-field accidents during shows...now rehearsals, that's another story. My rookie year (2010) we had a move during a drum break where the hornline formed two lines facing each other, knelt down, and the guard threw a flag exchange over our heads. First time we ran it, one of my buddies took a flag pole straight to the back of the head, javelin style. During the very next rep, I met the same fate. I remember hearing the guard girl behind me yell something, then pain, then realizing I was on the ground as the corps was about to step off into the next set, rolling out of the way, and just sitting on the field. The staff checked me out real quick after the rep finished, and I was deemed fine and put back into the rehearsal. After two back-to-back incidents, it took a little while for us to keep people from flinching right as the guard threw the exchange. I did lose a shoe once during a show. And I remember that happened to others every so often through the years. And every single year, for some reason, at least a third of the corps' hats would blow off during the Lafayette, LA show. Never had much of a problem with that elsewhere. Sophomore year of high school band, we had a "waterfall" set where the band made a block that line-by-line cascaded back through itself. During a halftime show at a football game, it had been raining all day. This particular field (our home field) had natural grass, but also had astroturf on the sidelines that sloped sharply down towards the track. The backwards direction change on that waterfall set placed your foot right on the sideline, pushing all your weight backwards. Needless to say, several people from each line slipped on the direction change (including me). One girl lost her trombone slide and wasn't able to recover it for the rest of the show (thankfully it was not judged, nobody apart from the band parents in the stands really cared, and we were in the closer).

Did the audiences decrease though? Audience attendance at the theater broadcasts has been going up steadily for the past 11 years (as we've seen from the recent posts). If anything, I think interest in drum corps is making a comeback as it becomes more integrated with music education, and as participation in marching bands becomes more mainstream.

Corps name: The Alpine Scouts Director: C. Leon Pack Division: World Class Hometown: Parker, CO Home Show Venue request: Sports Authority Field @ Mile High, Denver, Colorado Corps name: The Alpine Cadets Director: C. Leon Pack Division: Open Class Hometown: Parker, CO Home Show Venue request: Same as above. Corps name: Western Wind Director: C. Leon Pack Division: Class A Hometown: Parker, CO Home Show Venue request: Same.

Several years later: New username. New corps. Let the fun begin :) PRESS RELEASE From: Mile High Performing Arts To: DCPI Directors and Fans Subject: 3 New Corps for DCPI Season 23 Dear DCPI Community, About four years ago, the venerable Firebird Performing Arts group disbanded, including it's two premier corps, Firebird and the Firebird Cadets. This was due to the corp director's decision to march with a DCI corps for a period of time, and during that time his involvement with DCP was nonexistent. Now, following his retirement from DCI participation, he has made the decision to organize a new performing arts group and field 3 new corps for 23rd DCPI season.The new organization, known collectively as Mile High Performing Arts, is based out of Parker, Colorado, where both it's headquarters/corps hall and main practice facilities are located. MHPA wil field one corps in each of DCPI's competitive divisions. The flagship corps, competing in Division I, will be known as the Alpine Scouts. In Division 2, the Alpine Cadets will compete as a training and feeder corps for the Alpine Scouts. In Division 3, we will field Western Wind, designed as an educational corps that will train younger participants with little to no experience in music and marching, and prepare them to eventually move up into higher division competition. More details on uniforms, corps history, and practice facilities will be posted in the near future. Looking forward to a fantastic inaugural season! - Leon, MHPA Director

For the laughs! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M34X97ChnP4

2011 Troopers, BOA summer symposium show. Right as we went into the infinity chord near the end of the closer, a kid on the front row of the second deck stood up and shouted, "GIVE IT TO ME!!!" Then we hit the chord and the crowd erupted in a massive standing ovation. 2012 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, we had a show where both the corps and the crowd were just electrified. There was this kind of tangible energy on the field that we were all just feeding off of. Never felt as pumped during a show as we did then. Crowd ate up every moment of it.

I don't think it will ever go away entirely. Best description I ever heard of DCP was the bar where all the old veterans sit and argue about whose war was worse. In the end, we all love drum corps. By human nature, there will always be banter between the "dinosaurs" and the newest generation. And also by human nature, there will always be those who decide to take it too far. But no matter who is ranting about who, we can all kick back and enjoy whatever era, style, or circuit of drum corps that we love so much.

Hey, according to some people, if you wait long enough that's what DCP will become

I don't think there are many people in the world who could handle a mace like GNP. Even as he got older he could still show off at his camps.

That, combined with the "infinty sign" shaped formation that was stood in for the duration of the chord.

Having been kind of disconnected from the activity for the last two years, I will refrain from doing a full prediction this year. It makes me happy to see how many people are pulling for Troop to break top 12 again though! I remember at least a few of the years I marched, we got a pretty rough treatment from the DCP predictions firing squad (but that was all made up for by how much love we got for the "infinity chord" in '11). Like what I'm seeing consistently from Troop recently. With a new drill designer and color guard staff for 2015, we will see what new things they bring to the field this year.

From the Troopers Facebook page (facebook.com/TroopersDrumCorps) "Troopers are pleased to announce the Drum Major for the 2015 season is Gabe Gallegos. Gabe Gallegos is a student at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colorado, where he was born and raised. There he is working towards a degree in Music Business. He is involved with many performing ensembles such as the wind symphony, the jazz ensemble, and marching band, just to name a few. Along with the instrumental aspect of performing, Gabe is also involved with the local community theatre group, the Creative Avenues Theatre Project. Gabe's drum corps experience goes back to 2011 where he started marching with the Troopers, playing the baritone at the age of 14. He has marched every year since and served as the horn sergeant for the 2014 season. Gabe is honored to have been chosen as the Drum Major for the upcoming season. "We are pleased to have Gabe take on the responsibilities as Drum Major of the Troopers, his time with the Corps coupled with his leadership capabilities as Horn Sergeant we feel Gabe will do an outstanding job for years to come".--Fred Morris, Director--" I had the pleasure of marching two seasons with him, and I know he will do awesome :)