Sayre Kulp

From our family to yours, we want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. And remember, there is an all-age competitive corps right here in central Florida! You can be on the field this year at the world-famous Citrus Bowl in Orlando, the DCI Regional in Atlanta, and at DCI Championships in Indianapolis! We are returning for our second season in DCI's SoundSport division. And because it's our 5th anniversary season, there are even more surprises to come! Check back soon after the holidays for more information on open auditions for our 2017 summer tour season! You can check out our website anytime: http://impactdrumcorps.org/ or our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ImpactOfOrlando In the meantime, why not enjoy a little holiday cheer courtesy of our brass section: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_YZnmd7DQ0 Best wishes - we'll see you all in 2017! Check back soon after the holidays for more information on open auditions for our 2017 summer tour season!

Thanks for the excellent review. Would have loved to hear thoughts on the SoundSport teams that opened the show.

So I played on one of the Schiller big bell marching tubas for a while today. And I must say I was rather impressed. My initial reaction was to the weight as I unboxed it. It was SUPER light. I oiled it up and got to work with it. Took a little messing around to get a feel for where it wanted to center and get it tuned up. In other words, a little "pitchy" right out of the gate, but after a while it got settled in. It plays pretty freely.Valves operated smoothly. Has a pretty significant high register for a marching tuba. Low end wasn't super full, but you could move air well enough to create substantial sound. My impression is that the horn is made of a much thinner metal alloy that you would usually be accustomed to. This accounts for the light weight as well as some of the reduced resonance. One thing that surprised me was the responsiveness of the horn. Moving around playing intricate rhythmic passages felt quite easy on this horn. All in all, I think that it is reasonable for the money. I would never consider it for a full-time touring competition corps, but if you have an alumni or parade type corps - some kind of ensemble that won't beat the thing up too bad, then it is plenty adequate.

All assets of Sun Devils, Inc. stayed with the company. Quite simply, Florida Marching Arts, Inc. is the same company with a new name indicative of the multiple marching arts groups in Florida that it supports.

Where are you located?

Rock on, SD! LND

Impact of Orlando will be returning with our "Elements" show that showcases the sounds of Earth, Wind & Fire.

I'm glad folks dug on the trophies. As JJ said, we wanted to come up with something more creative than the standard trophy - something that tapped into all the history of America's oldest city. We got a few questions about what was in the bottles. Unfortunately, the announcer forgot to explain that part. Early on the morning of the show, the Sun Devils Board of Directors took a "field trip" to the fabled Fountain of Youth. The colors correspond to the corps in the show. Blue = Impact, Gold = Gold, Green = CV, Red = SD, and Grey = Florida Brass.

Not really. It's what WGI has in mind as a representative of their new Winds Division beginning in 2015.

I'd say go for it. I haven't really seen the corps in a while, but they were always a good group. Had some good experiences over the years with those kids when we were at the same shows.

Few corps grow leaps and bounds from one year to the next, so I'd imagine they'll still be small, though hopefully still growing. As for placement... it's February. 'Nuff said?

Two of those 8 are my brothers. Sock it in, Gabarina!

As usual, there is just too much up in the air at this point to make even a vague guess. Sky had a successful first few rehearsals. Will they be Open or A? Alliance has announced a return to the field. Where will they be? How about White Sabers? Windsor? Sunrisers have been making some personnel moves in the off season. How will that work out? Sadly, no more Statesmen. How will that affect the corps in surrounding areas? Tampa went junior. Early reports show a lot of interest over at Sun Devils. Should know more about that after this weekend. Best thing I've seen is a bunch of entertaining show announcements with many more to come. I have a feeling this year may top last year. Drum corps is on a nice upswing right now. I can definitely dig that.

This came as a real shock. Makes me glad I got the opportunity to catch up with Bill, if even for just 10 minutes, at DCAs this past year. Sometimes you just never know.

Sweet. Hope I get to see it.

Been doing it for the better part of two decades!

Not really a new design staff if both people you listed are returning designers. Just sayin'...

Drum corps is picking up momentum again in the south via Florida and Georgia. That puts shows within 11-15 hours of most Texas corps. (I know it's not exactly down the street, but it's way better than 24 hours of travel to the northeast shows.)

Hey - I could be wrong. I just thought I remembered reading something after one of their exhibitions this year that they were looking at Class A for next season. Maybe that was a reviewer wishing that for them? I honestly can't remember.

I think I remember seeing an announcement that they were planning on Class A. Not sure though.

I know time will tell and my 2 cents mean nothing, but if you take a look at the drum corps situation here in Florida, you'd realize that there are ZERO junior corps anywhere even remotely close to here and not one single show to speak of. Meanwhile, on the all-age side we had two field corps, a mini corps, and an alumni corps. There was also a very successful DCA show held this past season. To be honest, my money would be on growing the all-age activity here into a viable region. Realize that TBT and Sun Devils are only 100 miles apart and are both located on the west side of the state. Not for nothing, there is a lot of fertile ground here to support another corps or two. Miami, Jacksonville, Daytona, Orlando? If Thunder stayed and just one more all-age corps were to get started, there would be enough corps to have relatively local shows whenever they wanted IN FLORIDA! I understand that there are some aspects of the DCA experience that make it difficult for Florida members, but DCI Open Class is probably the WORST place to operate a drum corps in terms of finances, support from the circuit, etc. I don't get it, but then again, I don't have to. And I still wish them success.

Carolina Gold --- 86.40 Bushwackers --- 82.00 Heartliner --- 75.65 Excelsior --- 70.20 Shenandoah Sound --- 70.15

Caballeros --- 94.30 Hurricanes --- 82.10 Bushwackers --- 80.85 Sunrisers --- 78.95 Windsor Regiment --- 75.60 Heartliner --- 74.00 Excelsior --- 69.00 Centurions --- 65.60

Buccaneers --- 96.10 Cadets2 --- 90.30 Fusion Core --- 88.65 Carolina Gold --- 85.50 White Sabers --- 83.00 Shenandoah Sound --- 69.70

Actual Scores: 1. White Sabers 80.95 2. Windsor Regiment 74.00 1. Buccaneers 93.95 2. Caballeros 91.80 3. Empire Statesmen 89.05 4. Cadets2 88.70 5. Fusion Core 86.75 6. Hurricanes 80.40 7. Bushwackers 79.30 8. Sunrisers 75.15