Gold_Bond Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I'll throw a couple thoughts out there. Forgive me if someone else brought anything like this up...- Let's remember that Hopkins brought up a problem. And many on here are jumping on him saying that he should be the solution. Perhaps he has a role, but making a statement like "hey Hopkins, why don't you start corps in the inner-cities if you think there's a problem" doesn't seem appropriate. Had Jeff Fiedler made this comment, many would have found it prolific. (and I'm no Hopkins apologist, I might add). - I've often been to orchestra concerts and been dismayed by the lack of diversity (lack of African Americans, in particular) seen both on stage and in the crowd. Presumably it has the same roots as the "problem" identified by Hopkins. And there is a management line of thinking that goes "do not come to me with a problem unless you have a solution in mind". Here on DCP I have seen a lot of retorts in discussions along the lines of "it is easy to sit back and ##### about a problem. What are YOU going to do about it besides #####?" If Hoppy is the visionary people paint him to be is it unreasonable to expect him to do more than point out problems? I.E. Lead by example? I know setting the stage for woodwinds takes a lot of time but still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburstall Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 um... there are probably more than that... From the article: Willie O'Ree estimates there are 15 to 20 black NHL players. A recent Pittsburgh Tribune Review story counted 14. Some of the top black players in the NHL: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madscout96 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 From the article: I was talking about white players in the NBA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT-Horn Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 (edited) Tell you what, though, George: drop the fees down to about 250 dollars for a Cadets "Cadet" corps, go into inner city Philadelphia and get some kids together and give them some drum line equipment (get Yamaha, etc to donate it) and create a few lines to compete against each other regionally.There's your entry point into the multicultural world of today...which sounds suprisingly like the entry point many, many years ago people used to get kids off the street and into a little thing called drum corps. Funny, no? I won't hold my breath to see that happen, though. You can start breathing again......... Lehigh Valley Youth Drumline steps off Wednesday, March 12, 2008 Open House, rehearsals begin in early April Students can now learn the basics of drumming - from how to hold a drumstick to playing more complicated technique exercises - as part of a free program that encourages discipline, teamwork, music and, most of all, fun! Youth Education in the Arts has expanded its program offerings to include an Allentown, Pa.-based youth drumline, the new group further opening up the possibilities for young people to develop positive life skills through music and performance. The Lehigh Valley Youth Drumline welcomes students fifth through eighth grade with no prior music and drumming experience to be a part of the club. There is no fee or equipment needed to participate, just a willing desire by students to learn percussion skills, expand their horizons and, when they are ready, perform within the community. more here.... http://www.yea.org/site/News2?page=NewsArt...ws_iv_ctrl=1021 Edited March 14, 2008 by CT-Horn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kusankusho Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 You can start breathing again.........Lehigh Valley Youth Drumline steps off Wednesday, March 12, 2008 Good stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euponitone Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 You can start breathing again.........Lehigh Valley Youth Drumline steps off Wednesday, March 12, 2008 Open House, rehearsals begin in early April Students can now learn the basics of drumming - from how to hold a drumstick to playing more complicated technique exercises - as part of a free program that encourages discipline, teamwork, music and, most of all, fun! Youth Education in the Arts has expanded its program offerings to include an Allentown, Pa.-based youth drumline, the new group further opening up the possibilities for young people to develop positive life skills through music and performance. The Lehigh Valley Youth Drumline welcomes students fifth through eighth grade with no prior music and drumming experience to be a part of the club. There is no fee or equipment needed to participate, just a willing desire by students to learn percussion skills, expand their horizons and, when they are ready, perform within the community. more here.... http://www.yea.org/site/News2?page=NewsArt...ws_iv_ctrl=1021 Wow....thats really excellent... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skewerz Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 (edited) You can start breathing again.........Lehigh Valley Youth Drumline steps off Wednesday, March 12, 2008 Open House, rehearsals begin in early April Students can now learn the basics of drumming - from how to hold a drumstick to playing more complicated technique exercises - as part of a free program that encourages discipline, teamwork, music and, most of all, fun! Youth Education in the Arts has expanded its program offerings to include an Allentown, Pa.-based youth drumline, the new group further opening up the possibilities for young people to develop positive life skills through music and performance. The Lehigh Valley Youth Drumline welcomes students fifth through eighth grade with no prior music and drumming experience to be a part of the club. There is no fee or equipment needed to participate, just a willing desire by students to learn percussion skills, expand their horizons and, when they are ready, perform within the community. more here.... http://www.yea.org/site/News2?page=NewsArt...ws_iv_ctrl=1021 very excellent...props to YEA for this one...(and ya'll probably know how much I like Hoppy's positions...) Back in the olden days...(you know..the 70's and even the early 80's) there were more drum corps around...heck..back farther, there were gobs more. Why? Because every little town had one. Why has this changed? Lack of time in people's lives? dual income households? lack of interest from appropriate aged kids? costs too much? probably all of the above...one other thing I'll throw out. Back in the DCM days, and VFW days, there were more shows...at smaller towns...and people could shell out 3 bucks and watch a musical production, without having to drive 100 miles each way to see a show. There were more chances for a corp to stay at a local high school..more chances for kids to see what drum corps is all about. I hate to keep harping on the US Open show that met it's demise due to DCI scheduling. That used to be a HUGE show, with 40+ corps in attendance...held in a wrinky dink 5,000 seat high school stadium...that was absolutely PACKED shoulder to elbow every finals. A lot of shows have degenerated into smaller shows...Key to the Sea used to be another big one from the Ohio area...I'm sure there are instances of this all over the country. I know that the biggest concern for most parents is money. I know that if I had a child of drum corps age, and they wanted to participate, I'd rather shell out 2g's for a summer of life enrichment and education, as opposed to watching them waste a summer playing Wii..but then again, I know what music can do for a person's life. edit...I will add one more thing that has dropped the number of kids participating. Kids attitudes towards drum corps, and, well, towards life in general.(this is all from my dirty grey cells, and I'm most likely gonna stroke with a broad brush, so hold the flames down...I'd doing it on purpose) Kids don't want to expend effort on something if they can't win. If they can't march in a top 12 corps, they ain't gonna march..and that's sad. Back when I was of the age, I would have given my left..er...well, you know...to have been able to march with the Marion Cadets, or the Bluecoats, or the Pride of Cincinnati, but our family flat out didn't have the cash to do that. Music to me was a passion, and I wouldn't have cared if we'd won anything at all, as long as the music was good. Edited March 14, 2008 by skewerz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoltonH178 Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 snipLehigh Valley Youth Drumline steps off Wednesday, March 12, 2008 snip George Hopkins > DCP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmansdrummin Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 ...and that sucks.The only way to break the cycle is to make things affordable to everyone who wants to do it. It's really that simple...and if that means that you make DCI have to change its model to have a bunch of smaller units that have woodwinds and everything else eventually, then so be it...but as it stands now, the activity prices itself into its racial stereotypes for the most part. I agree. Though I would hope more traditional drum corps. When I was a kid in the 70's, we had a Northwest circut that had around a dozen drum corps or more. In the 80's far less, in the 90's one, and now there are 3. The way things are so specialized now, you HAVE to know how to play. Back then, I was 15, and a friend said, "hey, I'm in the Titans, check out my uniform...". I did, and I was impressed. I didn't know what drum corps was, and I was curious. Well, after 2 horn rehearsals I was told, "maybe you would be better in the drumline", and I played cymbals that year, and thought I was the coolest cat on the planet. I aged out in 1978, and with the help of great instructors and hard work, I became a very good drummer. I never would have gotten this opportunity today. I didn't know what to do, because I wasn't blessed with great athletic ability. (I was a late bloomer. I hold my own nowadays.) So drum corps became my second life. I could have become a different person, with a different road in life. Drum corps taught me discipline, how to look at music, and even broadway performances in a different way. (Which sucked at times, since I became too much of a critic.) But I got the balance of being entertained and appreciating all the hard work that went into performance art. It also gave me lifelong friends that I treasure to this day, some of which were from other corps. (I was shy in High School.) Nowadays I co-ordinate the Pacific Alliance Drumline, and we have mostly Northwest Drum Corps Alumni. We are very good, and we are a force to be reconed with. Not bad for a bunch of old dudes. There's a lot of talent in this line, and while I put the pieces together, and play very well, I'm not the best drummer, or cleaner. I do some writing, but the whole line has input and we use each others ideas. Our equipment came out of date, so I used money I was going to use for a classic car and bought new drums from Music 123. (Yes, Pearl.) I'm not saying this to toot my horn, rather to say how much I love this activity. I also had the great opportunity to perform with the 2007 Kingsmen Alumni Corps. I got to be part of the first 10 man Multi-tenor line in a full DCI show. I got in really late and it took great effort to learn music and drill, but it got done, and it was the best experience of my drum corps life. To finally march DCI, albiet it was when I was 50 years old. The reason this is so long winded, is because without that little Titans Drum and Bugle Corps from Bremerton, WA, (and having a wonderful loving Mother who wouldn't let me quit after the first month because I said, "it's too hard". Her response, "you can't quit", words that I still hear when I want to give up.) I became someone who acheived more than I ever thought I could. Yes, because there are many, many more people like me, those little corps are THAT important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Is it an evil youth drumline? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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