BostonLUck

A rough run for Phantom, they sounded tired... or out of breath... intonation, articulation and dynamic issues throughout. We may see Mandarins make their move.

You know that's a very obvious answer, but a darn good one. I agree. Wonder if I&E could be moved to a different point in the season? But then again, the competitive nature of DCI almost demands every minute of the student's time.

Ah. So are there like "brass caption certification" and "general effect certification" ?

I don't disagree that members from 25 corps showed up; however, let's take a look at how that breaks down before we complete write-off what I was getting at: The "attending" corps / members: Blue Devils Oregon Crusaders Spartans Legends Blue Devils B Colts Seattle Cascades Raiders Pacific Crest Santa Clara Vanguard River City Rhythm Spirit of Atlanta (possible - but doubtful they'll jump Crossmen) Music City Pioneer Golden Empire Gold Golden Empire Louisiana Stars Troopers Shadow The Diplomats Mandarins Impulse 7th Regiment Jubal Okay, so I've put the corps in bold, who are still working towards finals' placement (Spirit isn't in bold, but they're in there too... if Crossmen crash & burn). So out of 25 corps, only 3ish are still working towards a finals' placement. Now, let me stop you before you say, "Well that's not fair Blue Devils B is technically working towards a Finals' placement still !!!" Yeah. So are Seattle Cascades & Pioneer, smh. You know what I mean! Now, currently 24 World Class are recognized by DCI and 22 Open Class are recognized by DCI, and 1 International Corps, which is 47 total corps, and we only saw a turn-out of 25 corps. Which calculates to 53% of the active corps showing up. If we were in grade school, that's a real solid F. So, returning to the original point of this post: do we retire I&E, and if not, how do we get that "F" to more like a "B" or "A"??? How is it only 3 of the top 12 World Class are attending --- and technically 1 of those 3 are the hosts for the event. So 2 of the top 12? Yikes. Hopefully this makes better sense....

Which is really, really odd. He's not a brass person. He's a brass player (trumpet), but he's not "known" for any type of brass education experience or ensemble success, etc... Oh well, I guess we'll see how this plays out : ) just saying I'd feel more comfortable with him in a visual caption.

Well when it comes to finals' week, female panels just can't be pushed like the all-male panels can be ;-) (if you don't get it, read the FloGuy Fired thread before you attack, lol)

Oh, I don't disagree. I think all performers should be given a chance to perform, but unfortunately it's not always that simple: Do you think DCI would schedule a show with 3 corps? Or BOA with 3 bands ? How about WGI? I guess I'm just missing the old school I&E that was truly a representation of DCI's best - hundreds of participants, rowdy audiences - now THAT was a showcase! But heck if BD is paying for it... LOL.

Ah, didn't realize BD was fronting the costs (which explains their heavy participation).

World Championship Finals — Saturday, August 11 General Effect 1: Kyle Miller & Tim Ochran General Effect 2: Caleb Rothe & Richard Saucedo Visual Performance: Robert Solomon Visual Analysis: Jim Sturgeon Color Guard: Michael Turner Music Brass: Chester Phillips??? Music Analysis: Darrin Davis & Chris Romanowski Field Percussion: Allan Kristensen Chief Judge: John Phillips Does anyone else find this a bit odd? We've got Albert Lo on Prelims night, Paul McGarr (eh? equally odd) on Semis, but Chester Phillips on FINALS night? Now, don't get me wrong here, Chester is a fine trumpet player, but he's a visual guy - drill writer. Yes. He's an music educator, but he & his wife are known to be visual designers / educators. Also, the GE panel has all the heavy hitters on Prelims night, and then scattered the rest throughout Semis & Finals. Just a very, very odd lineup. Great to see Darrin Davis join the mix. Thoughts? Maybe it caught me off guard not seeing Albert Lo on Finals night, but things seem off. And as it's been point out already, Jeff Prosperie is MIA too.

So, looking at the recaps it's obvious that the majority of the corps no longer invest time, or encourage, their students to participate. So should I&E be retired, and possibly those funds redirected to something that more of the corps will participate in? Thoughts?

Yep. Just a blank screen with a footer.

No argument here

LOL. Dang... you're right... I didn't include any "soul" references. Fart. Next time, next time.

Unfortunately, "Heart & Soul" ended up a bit of a heart attack. But here's hoping they have the heart to get back out there next year, and really pour their heart into the design process. As for all this coed talk: it would simply break my heart if Madison went coed. So, I hope that the Madison's staff will listen to their hearts, and realize that a heart-to-heart with the alumni will tell them that coed is a bad idea. Anyways, I guess maybe I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve, letting all this talk upset me, but sometimes my heart just isn't in this forum. Well, it's with a heavy heart that I'm signing off... I'm sending Madison a heartfelt best of luck as the season comes to a close. Get out there Madison and play your heart out! <3 B.

Careful. This is a sensitive thread. We only wish Phantom the best here. :::hugs and kisses, Phantom::: LOL.