New DCA Corps in the Washington DC Metro Region

[Fran Haring]

All good comments and I can piggbyback on other members of Sound. All of our staff our music/education degreed. We are tapped into area community bands and other wind ensembles. We draw heavily currently from Prince William county band programs because that is where we are located and we are competitive. We have a solid fund raising base and we travel consistently more than any other corps in DCA - average about 7,000 miles a season. WE are very serious about our role as an educating organization and this year we have group that is very competitive.

In the past two years we have seen many longtime organizations cease operations and many new ones sputter and not start. This is a VERY difficult activity to start and especially maintain. In the DC area we have found that most young adults are career oriented and don't have time for this very time intensive activity. And there is not a history of the activity here to draw on, DCA or DCI. We focus our recruiting on high school students as we view that is the most efficient way to grow and introduce the activity to new people, not just recycle members from one group to the next as it seems happens in other locales.

I welcome anyone in the area that is serious about helping out to come to our organization and offer. For staff, I will tell you that I am very discriminating and you have to meet our standards of education/experience and the ability to work well with others. The last part is also very important in any capacity as a volunteer with the corps. We don't have "crazy" here and we don't invite it either. We have a solid family friendly program with parents that trust us to take their kids all over the country side.

I commend all of my brethren directors and administrative staff that on a daily basis sacrifice their time, personal finances and undying commitment to their organizations. While having more groups in DCA is a good thing, I do encourage anyone out there to be a part of a group nearby first to learn about how it works before trying this on your own. You must be prepared to get phone calls/texts 24 hours a day, worry constantly about the budget and expenses, recruit every day of your life with everyone you meet, be listener/mediator sometimes to the point of counselor, recruit every day of your life, provide bed and breakfast for anyone outside the area, recruit every day of your life, manage expectations of your group, yourself, recruit every day of your life, and somehow balance this with your own family life and work.

I rarely open up in a forum like this as we just try to take care of our own business, but I feel it is important for anyone to understand what they are getting into when they take on this monumental task.

Well-said, Sean.

After many growing pains through the years, Sound is slowly but surely building their organization into a solid contender in DCA Class A.

Definitely a viable option for anyone in the DC-Virginia-Maryland-Baltimore regions who wants to march with an all-age corps.

Especially next year, when Sound will practically be the "home team" corps for the DCA Championship in nearby Annapolis.

[scottmkeen]

Good advice given by all here. I should note that I once had a dream of starting a drum corps, so I emailed Bill Cook (RIP). His reply was this:

Dear Scott,

Start a bingo.

Yours,

Bill

[Xsnaredrummer]

All good comments and I can piggbyback on other members of Sound. All of our staff our music/education degreed. We are tapped into area community bands and other wind ensembles. We draw heavily currently from Prince William county band programs because that is where we are located and we are competitive. We have a solid fund raising base and we travel consistently more than any other corps in DCA - average about 7,000 miles a season. WE are very serious about our role as an educating organization and this year we have group that is very competitive.

In the past two years we have seen many longtime organizations cease operations and many new ones sputter and not start. This is a VERY difficult activity to start and especially maintain. In the DC area we have found that most young adults are career oriented and don't have time for this very time intensive activity. And there is not a history of the activity here to draw on, DCA or DCI. We focus our recruiting on high school students as we view that is the most efficient way to grow and introduce the activity to new people, not just recycle members from one group to the next as it seems happens in other locales.

I welcome anyone in the area that is serious about helping out to come to our organization and offer. For staff, I will tell you that I am very discriminating and you have to meet our standards of education/experience and the ability to work well with others. The last part is also very important in any capacity as a volunteer with the corps. We don't have "crazy" here and we don't invite it either. We have a solid family friendly program with parents that trust us to take their kids all over the country side.

I commend all of my brethren directors and administrative staff that on a daily basis sacrifice their time, personal finances and undying commitment to their organizations. While having more groups in DCA is a good thing, I do encourage anyone out there to be a part of a group nearby first to learn about how it works before trying this on your own. You must be prepared to get phone calls/texts 24 hours a day, worry constantly about the budget and expenses, recruit every day of your life with everyone you meet, be listener/mediator sometimes to the point of counselor, recruit every day of your life, provide bed and breakfast for anyone outside the area, recruit every day of your life, manage expectations of your group, yourself, recruit every day of your life, and somehow balance this with your own family life and work.

I rarely open up in a forum like this as we just try to take care of our own business, but I feel it is important for anyone to understand what they are getting into when they take on this monumental task.

Sean,

I applaud you for honesty here. I joined my corps in 07 and slowly I have started to learn from and with other members of my corps on what it takes to bring a corps to the field year after year. I KNOW I don't even understand half of what it takes yet, and honestly I've looked at my director and told her "I don't want your job". Sadly way to FEW people understand the difficulties, and even fewer have the B**** to grow an organization.

Rather than just take their "brick" somewhere else, that honestly wont need you, march somewhere that you will matter FAR more.

I have multiple times socialized with Shen. sound's members and they are always a class act. One day maybe I will be able to learn the names of the kind people I have talked to on and off for years now!

My kindest words to the OP and of course the people at Shen. Sound.

Your drum corps brother and friend at X,

[Jeff Ream]

All good comments and I can piggbyback on other members of Sound. All of our staff our music/education degreed. We are tapped into area community bands and other wind ensembles. We draw heavily currently from Prince William county band programs because that is where we are located and we are competitive. We have a solid fund raising base and we travel consistently more than any other corps in DCA - average about 7,000 miles a season. WE are very serious about our role as an educating organization and this year we have group that is very competitive.

In the past two years we have seen many longtime organizations cease operations and many new ones sputter and not start. This is a VERY difficult activity to start and especially maintain. In the DC area we have found that most young adults are career oriented and don't have time for this very time intensive activity. And there is not a history of the activity here to draw on, DCA or DCI. We focus our recruiting on high school students as we view that is the most efficient way to grow and introduce the activity to new people, not just recycle members from one group to the next as it seems happens in other locales.

I welcome anyone in the area that is serious about helping out to come to our organization and offer. For staff, I will tell you that I am very discriminating and you have to meet our standards of education/experience and the ability to work well with others. The last part is also very important in any capacity as a volunteer with the corps. We don't have "crazy" here and we don't invite it either. We have a solid family friendly program with parents that trust us to take their kids all over the country side.

I commend all of my brethren directors and administrative staff that on a daily basis sacrifice their time, personal finances and undying commitment to their organizations. While having more groups in DCA is a good thing, I do encourage anyone out there to be a part of a group nearby first to learn about how it works before trying this on your own. You must be prepared to get phone calls/texts 24 hours a day, worry constantly about the budget and expenses, recruit every day of your life with everyone you meet, be listener/mediator sometimes to the point of counselor, recruit every day of your life, provide bed and breakfast for anyone outside the area, recruit every day of your life, manage expectations of your group, yourself, recruit every day of your life, and somehow balance this with your own family life and work.

I rarely open up in a forum like this as we just try to take care of our own business, but I feel it is important for anyone to understand what they are getting into when they take on this monumental task.

Sean,

As you are close to TOB's Chapter 5, you should seek out show hosts there to see if you can recruit at those shows

[bryan2449]

Thanks you all for your postings and thoughts. You have helped me to realize what a good idea it is to get involved with a DCA corps before even considering doing anything else. I have to appreciate any advice attributed to Bill Cook, as one of his foundations paid for my higher education and since I used to work as an engineer for Cook, Inc. :)

I have a question that may be silly or I may be missing something obvious, but what is the difference between the Buccaneers and Fusion Corps? If I am correct, they practically rehearse in the same place. Why not join forces?

I also appreciate all the insight and encouragement from the folks as Shenandoah Sound. I giggled to myself when I read the comment that Manassas Park is "right outside the beltway." While it may not be particularly far distance-wise from the beltway, we know how I-66 is! I'll be straight up honest with you all, and I'm totally not being condescending or looking down my nose at any group. I have never been involved with any corps that would look to me to be a great contributor, indispensable, etc. instead of always being just another cog in the machine. I don't know how I would take to it.

[Jeff Ream]

Fusion and Bucs are from two different states

[G-horns]

Thanks you all for your postings and thoughts. You have helped me to realize what a good idea it is to get involved with a DCA corps before even considering doing anything else. I have to appreciate any advice attributed to Bill Cook, as one of his foundations paid for my higher education and since I used to work as an engineer for Cook, Inc. :)

I have a question that may be silly or I may be missing something obvious, but what is the difference between the Buccaneers and Fusion Corps? If I am correct, they practically rehearse in the same place. Why not join forces?

I also appreciate all the insight and encouragement from the folks as Shenandoah Sound. I giggled to myself when I read the comment that Manassas Park is "right outside the beltway." While it may not be particularly far distance-wise from the beltway, we know how I-66 is! I'll be straight up honest with you all, and I'm totally not being condescending or looking down my nose at any group. I have never been involved with any corps that would look to me to be a great contributor, indispensable, etc. instead of always being just another cog in the machine. I don't know how I would take to it.

Every member of every corps is critical. It isn't about the individual, but the team. If you can't commit to that concept, maybe competitive drum corps is not for you. Just sayin'.

[Latrobe's Finest]

I also appreciate all the insight and encouragement from the folks as Shenandoah Sound. I giggled to myself when I read the comment that Manassas Park is "right outside the beltway." While it may not be particularly far distance-wise from the beltway, we know how I-66 is! I'll be straight up honest with you all, and I'm totally not being condescending or looking down my nose at any group. I have never been involved with any corps that would look to me to be a great contributor, indispensable, etc. instead of always being just another cog in the machine. I don't know how I would take to it.

Well considering that most folks in the DC area who march DCA drive 4-7 hours to NJ/PA/NY to rehearse with their corps, driving 45 minutes through Northern VA is nothing. I will say, as someone who travels 65 miles to rehearsals (from MD), traffic is rarely an issue since everything we do is on the weekends. We really are the local corps for the DC Metro Area.