2009 SCV Piano Performance Membership Opportunity

[kusankusho]

Bawker – first class post!

The DCI wording may give that definition validation, but that doesn’t mean it has credibility.

The level of excellence has never been higher, but all that has done, at the upper levels, is make it a game for the elite. Drum corps worked best, IMHO when it served thousands more kids than it does today, took any kid off the street and showed them which end of the horn to blow into, and was a truly community thing. Open class still does this to a large extent but there are so few Open corps to fill that void now.

I remember sharing the field with corps I’d never seen or heard of before that day. Who the hell are the Tri-Town Cadets and why do they have farm animals on their flags?????

I know it’s not a direct relationship, but I’d gladly sacrifice a little excellence in the top 5 corps to see more corps on the field and more kids involved.

[EndzoneEric]

The level of excellence has never been higher, but all that has done, at the upper levels, is make it a game for the elite.

For the sake of this discussion, how do you define "upper levels?" All of World Class or just the top half of it?

[kusankusho]

For the sake of this discussion, how do you define "upper levels?" All of World Class or just the top half of it?

I'd probably say the upper half - the ones that get the big audition turnouts and can pick and choose, carry alternates, aren't still looking to fill holes in July, etc. I know a couple of Open corps are pretty well set for members, so the definition will break down somewhat under the microscope.

[bawker]

For that matter, I see a huge difference between shows from 1979 and 1989.

. . .all of which was still created using only some horns, drums and flags.

Change can occur, even without adding electronics, amps or woodwinds! Who woulda thunk it!

[MikeD]

When the draw becomes "excellence" or "experience" and we attempt to cast a wide a net as possible with instrumentation/creativeness . . .is there a danger that you spread yourself too thin?

No. You provide the opportunity to more kids with varying skill sets.

After all, if we become solely reliant on excellence musically (or even creatively in general) as a draw, wouldn't a musician be more drawn towards Interlochen or another summer long master class experience rather than only learning eleven minutes of music (plus encore/etc) and cleaning said tunes repeatedly all year? Any music educator would give Interlochen the edge in learning your craft and becoming a better performer.

If we define solely by the "experience"; do we run the risk of becoming just another "summer camp"? Remember, parents of some kids haven't ever been indoctrinated into our world: if they only look at us (eventually) as nothing more than summer marching band, why would they let their kids go do something that costs at least 3,000+ dollars (airfare, dues, food, spending money) when they have something similar for less cost available at their school?

I have said for a long time that DCI is pretty much what you describe...a summer enrichment activity for the 'marching band junkies' who desire more than they get at the HS or college level in their bands. Interlochen and the like provide a summer enrichment experience as well, for students who desire THAT type of experience.

FWIW...the Interlochen HS Orchestra and Wind Ensemble 6-week summer program costs $6795 not including airfare and spending $$$.

[MikeD]

. . .all of which was still created using only some horns, drums and flags.

Change can occur, even without adding electronics, amps or woodwinds! Who woulda thunk it!

Who ever said it couldn't? But...it can change by adding those things too....and 2 out of 3 ain't bad, to quote the song.

[bmroth1]

Bawker – first class post!

The DCI wording may give that definition validation, but that doesn't mean it has credibility.

The level of excellence has never been higher, but all that has done, at the upper levels, is make it a game for the elite. Drum corps worked best, IMHO when it served thousands more kids than it does today, took any kid off the street and showed them which end of the horn to blow into, and was a truly community thing. Open class still does this to a large extent but there are so few Open corps to fill that void now.

I remember sharing the field with corps I'd never seen or heard of before that day. Who the hell are the Tri-Town Cadets and why do they have farm animals on their flags?????

I know it's not a direct relationship, but I'd gladly sacrifice a little excellence in the top 5 corps to see more corps on the field and more kids involved.

Kusankusho, I marched back "in the day" and now spend thousands for my daughter to be able to march. I'll tell you that I love what my daughter does today, she has more demanding work then we did and her shows are so far beyond what we did then its amazing. With that being said......

IMO you are DEAD ON with the majority of your points about the activity, where its going and what it is. Especially your comment above about the activity being catered to the elite.....

The combination of performance evolution as well as the financial and organizational structure of DCI (and its focus) has truly made this a game for the elite. It is killing the very essence of what DCI is about because it no longer reaches out to those thousands of kids your talking about. Nor do they want to. DCI's focus being as such has drown out those "middle level" corps that use to compete at the lower end of what would now be considered "World Class" or the upper ends of "Open Class". (The argument some have that it's economic is hogwash. This has been going on for quite some time now in both good and bad economic times). The interest is there. When you have literally thousands of kids who try out for top 12 corps, get cut and don't march elsewhere that says something. DCI could find ways of taping into these kids interest to build back up the activity, but they don't nor do they want to. I too would sacrifice a little of the performance quality to see more kids positively effected by the activity. (Even if it really is a band...LOL)

[bawker]

FWIW...the Interlochen HS Orchestra and Wind Ensemble 6-week summer program costs $6795 not including airfare and spending $$$.

. . .and is significantly more pedagogically advanced than DCI over those six weeks. The price point makes sense, given the instruction level and on-site housing.

My point being: the "marching band junkie" is an already small subset of the general high school band population; do we risk, by virture of blurring a definitive vision of what DCI is . . .other than "excellence" or "an experience" . . .losing the catch that DCI has?

Just because we can now say we offer more "skill set" positions, does that really mean anything for anyone but the top level groups? How many keyboard players (or for that matter, woodwinds or string players) will Open class units draw?

[ContraRich77]

. . .all of which was still created using only some horns, drums and flags.

Change can occur, even without adding electronics, amps or woodwinds! Who woulda thunk it!

I hop them

[ContraRich77]

As far as I'm concerned, changes as to the keys of the horn, how many valves, what KIND of valves (pistonrotor to upright), grounding the pit instruments, etc were ALL necessary changes and were ALL within the realm of UNAMPLIFIED BRASS AND PERCUSSION.

I really don't understand the NECESSITY of going OUTSIDE THE REALM OF UNAMPLIFIED BRASS AND PERCUSSION.

Now.....I'm not ready to lead a revolution over it like Mr Kusankusho, who is definitely entitled to his position and to defend it vehemently.......but I've yet to hear a plausible explanation as to why ANYTHING outside of UNAMPLIFIED BRASS AND PERCUSSION was NECESSARY.