GBugler

David will breathe fresh air into this corps. He's a top-notch educator and I wish him nothing but the best!

Yeah, my bad. Still in cringe mode like I am? Try this archive: https://rec.arts.marching.drumcorps.narkive.com/x3lOpENj/ramd-stares-into-the-abyss

Just went back to RAMD for the first time since the Bush administration. The "'Proof' and DCI Sex Offenders" thread does not hold up too well. If you're looking for cringe, that's the place to go. And, yeah. I was looking for cringe. Don't ask why.

And it will continue to get worse, inevitably.

Van was my first brass instructor with Carolina Crown. Quality educator and person!

Respectfully, the more info that comes out about this situation, the less "#### good" it looks.

Wow. This is really awful for anyone and everyone involved with this organization.

The staff and members of Carolina Crown from that summer will always hold the Glassmen in very high regard. Crown's first Finals was truly a special one because of the awesome welcome message you guys sent us after Semis. It was my first summer on staff after being a charter member from 1990 and I'll never forget all the signatures on that sheet. Just incredible.

I agree. Bad reporting can be just as troubling.

From this outsider's perspective, it just looks off. She's hired, then the story drops. Seems like someone either knew and didn't care or genuinely had no idea, neither of which are good looks. I'm suggesting that if this situation is going to be remedied (the predators in the activity situation) ALL potential employees, especially those in positions of leadership/upper mgmt., must be vetted without error. That requires a lot of digging and oversight, and like you said, Vanguard's vetting process doesn't seem to meet that standard.

Given everything that has happened in the activity at the very highest levels over the last five years (and most certainly well before that), every corps' personnel decisions have to be heavily scrutinized. I merely suggested that hiring someone who left her previous position after having a predator on her staff might reflect poorly on Vanguard's vetting process. Also, given everything that's happened recently, I'm not sure that jumping to Vanguard's defense on this hire is necessarily a good look either. Then again, maybe Compton-Allen's swift action when notified of the issue is a positive in the eyes of the board. Who said heads must roll? Not me.

When I saw the thread title, I thought, "Oh good, ANOTHER 1993 Finals discussion!"

Anyone else think that this appointment might not be the best thing for Vanguard, given what went on under Compton-Allen's watch at Shadow D&BC? https://www.tonemadison.com/articles/longtime-madison-musician-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-with-drum-corps-students I mean, SCV's board had to vet this person, right?

Scooter's interview with Wayne is the crown jewel of the Middle Horn Leader's contribution to the Drum Corps Lexicon. Always my favorite read from the site, no matter how many times I've read it.

Impossible. Sit-up.

<cough> <cough> <sniff> <sniff> <puke> <squirt>

According to this site, the length of time varies per applicant/application. https://charitynetusa.com/how-long-does-it-take-for-my-501c3-to-be-approved/

Kevin is President Emeritus of the BOD.

Paula was the top band clinician at USC's annual band clinic in the late 1980's and I had the pleasure of performing with her ensemble. She's something else, alright.

100% wrong, and that would be idiocy. I assume that any kid who wanted the DCI brass experience would take the time required to learn to properly play a brass instrument. It's not the blood-letting, hand-wringing sacrifice you are making it out to be. It just is not.

I assume you're talking about a drum corps playing top tier wind band lit? That is, and always has been, the responsibility of the arranger. It is their job to bring those sonorities out of the all-brass format. Adding woodwinds just makes it wind band, killing the unique nature of the all brass ensemble. My experience, yes. And I'm sure that I'm not alone in that experience. By a lot.

I assume you are a music educator? If so, you should know the answers to these questions. Being versatile is an asset, not a nightmare as you so dramatically put it. You are simply trying to use hyperbole to strengthen some kind of case for discrimination against woodwind players by Drum Corps International. I'm a bassoonist. I also marched DCI. I won I&E in a brass octet in 1993. I played Carnegie Hall under the baton of H. Robert Reynolds in 1999. I suspect that I am not a unicorn in this regard, as far as woodwinds who have enjoyed learning to properly play a brass instrument without having their technique suffer as a consequence. Band directors that I know (and I know tons) value versatility. It is the hallmark of a quality wind player. You make it sound like a #### disease. Your premise in this regard is flawed and it has been flawed since your first post on the subject.

Hyperbolic nonsense. Utter fantasy. It is no more a nightmare to learn a brass instrument as a woodwind player than it is to initially learn a woodwind instrument. This is a non-argument. Stop it.

Potato, potahto...

I am a woodwind player. I was a woodwind player in 1989 also, when I decided to audition for a brand new drum and bugle corps based in Charlotte. Some time prior to my audition, I took the time to learn how to play a brass instrument so that I would be able to seamlessly integrate into a marching brass ensemble. I did not demand that the ensemble conform to my chosen woodwind instrument, nor was I offended that the ensemble did not offer me an opportunity to play a woodwind. I wanted a new experience, and because I chose to learn instead of trying to change an established performance format by force, I was ultimately rewarded. Any kid who plays a woodwind and feels "left out" by an all brass ensemble should simply pick up a brass instrument and learn it. It isn't rocket science, nor has it ever been. When I say "learn it," I mean learn to play it with good tone quality and proper articulation. These are choices. If one is hypothetically as "talented" a musician as your premise states, there will be no real problems in doing this. If, after taking the time to learn said brass instrument, one is still "cut" by drum corps B, then it just wasn't meant to be. Do you believe that every talented brass player who marched Americanos could make it into the Blue Devils, or the Cavaliers, or Carolina Crown? Of course not! This ridiculous argument that "everyone" should get to enjoy what we all enjoyed (by marching) is headed down the road of participation trophies and the like. There are absolutely no guarantees that every talented musician will be able to march in a drum corps and there never have been. And there never should be.