Jump to content

Staff Questions


Recommended Posts

I was at a show last night and one of my kids asked a good question. Who are all the people standing on the track watching the corps perform? I know they are brass techs, percussion techs, etc. But what do these people do during the year? Are they teachers who have the summers off or do they just do a few weeks at a time on tour and keep day jobs? I'm assuming the corps can't afford to pay them too much so they must have other jobs somewhere. They obviously love what they do during the summers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They're just local bums picked up off the street and given part time jobs while the corps is in town....kind of like carnies!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They're just local bums picked up off the street and given part time jobs while the corps is in town....kind of like carnies!

:smile:

A lot of them are HS and college music teachers/professors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And to be serious for a moment (don't know why) former members of either that corps or another corps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's actually a combination of what you've guessed.

Most of the higher ups are band directors at the high school or university level. Some are even career designers (arrangers, drill writers). Those guys are usually on all summer with maybe a weekend or two where they're gone to take care of other business back home.

Then the techs are college seniors or recent college grads, usually in the music field. Some stay on all season, but it's not uncommon to have techs being replaced as they become available throughout the summer.

Then you have any other support people (interns, volunteers, even alternates) who help get the corps on and off the field in regards to pit equipment, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of the people you see on the sidelines have been affected by the "Drum Corps Curse". They fell in love with corps at some point and can't get away. The curse lasts longer on some than others. On a serious note, I know a few people that became teachers just so they could have summers off to do corps. I'm not talking music teacher necessarily, but english, math etc.

It is a curse because it doesn't pay (much) in most cases, and ends up costing money in the long run, but most wouldn't have it any other way. The pay-off is immeasurable, and as we all know, money isn't everything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

corps staff literally come from every walk of life. most are educators of some kind, but some indeed are students, also travel agents, chefs, engineers, retail managers, EMTs, repair technicians and many others. they usually arrange ahead of time when they will be available, and do some or all of the corps...depending on the corps, they may only do weekends or chunks at a time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was at a show last night and one of my kids asked a good question. Who are all the people standing on the track watching the corps perform? I know they are brass techs, percussion techs, etc. But what do these people do during the year? Are they teachers who have the summers off or do they just do a few weeks at a time on tour and keep day jobs? I'm assuming the corps can't afford to pay them too much so they must have other jobs somewhere. They obviously love what they do during the summers!

Depends on how they are dressed, some are homeless..................

:smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...