Tim K Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 (edited) most successful HS programs ( at least the many I have been with )dont rely on school or board of ed money...a few of the programs I have been with are in the hundreds of thousands budget ..some not so much but all make their own moneys..I think its nearly impossible to get a school or board to buy into such a high budget You're correct about school boards, budgets, and bands. A friend of mine is married to the director of one of our areas better high school bands and the local school committee expects the band to be top notch, but fundraising covers the costs of uniforms, transportation, and a host of other costs, and this school is located in an affluent suburb of Boston. This is also a symptom of a larger problem. We want schools to solve all our problems, but we don't want to invest in education. Enough soap box. In my situation, the school is a Catholic school and the local public schools do not have a music program other than classroom education. So we'll be offering something I value and something that may one day attract students. I won't have to convince any unenlightened bureaucrats either--I'm the pastor of the parish that runs the school. We'll be working with a company that provides instructors in lieu of commissions to the school for instruments sold, so initially it's no cost to the school. I'm hoping a winter guard will be the next step. This will involve salaries for the instructors, but if the band works out, this will not be a problem. In time we'll hire a director (I already know a potential drum corps alum music major who will finish school in three years who has a minor in elementary education). I'd love to have them learn to march, and who knwows, perhaps they'll be a rebirth of Boston' CYO Circuit, but I'm jumping way ahead and I'll be happy with a good music program that the kids learn from and enjoy. Edited June 21, 2012 by Tim K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLDmello28 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I aged out two summers ago, and since then, I'll make about 5,000 teaching marching band only in the summers (if you include what I'll make the rest of this summer). Both jobs I only got an interview because I marched drum corps. So, yeah, drum corps cost a lot, but it has opened up a lot of doors for me that eventually I'll make much more than I spent. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhsalan Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 The benefits of working with a top notch staff are many. The benefits of working part time and taking private lessons with a symphony player are many as well. The All age drum corps activity offers many benefits with a more manageable cost also. All those things considered however, the thing that the junior corps activity offers that almost nothing else other than the military does, is the ability to "lose" the outside world for a period of time and focus completely on the task at hand. Even at a symphonic camp, the TV, newspapers and the internet is a constant reminder that the world exists outside your bubble. While smartphones, Facebook, twitter and other social media don't allow the total immersion in the activity away from the real world that many earlier generations had, junior corps is still unique in the isolation from real world responsibilities it offers. For a few weeks, there are no chores to do at home, no finals to study for, no theory projects to turn in, no jury to practice for; simply that new drill move to master, that one phrase to perfect or that one flag toss to clean, along with your peers, at a level of perfection that is not often achieved in an activity involving so many at the same moment of performance. It is expensive and I wish we could find a way to make it more accessible for more students, but I do believe it is valuable and unique in the opportunities it provides. While many may not gain the same things from their experience, I strongly believe that GREAT things are AVAILABLE for members to learn from it. As in any activity, you get out of it, what you put into it. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagentryfan Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 (edited) The experience of being completely removed from the outside world and having NOTHING to worry about except corps. Cell phones were just starting to pop up when I marched, but now...kids are on water breaks posting on facebook. I liked the fact that whatever current events news I got on tour was from the cook truck white board. I should rephrase...it's not that the experience is less fulfilling, just cheapened! Just curious, pagentryfan, what experience did you have that the kids today are not getting? Edited June 22, 2012 by pagentryfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I'm sure there will be some negative responses to this thread, and that's fine. I am just wondering if "the drum corps experience" is worth what it costs these days, and if it outweighs giving up other opportunities. Opportunity cost is key here; the cost of doing something (in this case marching corps) also includes the cost of not doing other things. Now, say you have two kids who are in college, in, let's say, Kansas City. One decides to march with Spirit of Atlanta, the other stays at his apartment near school for the summer. The drum corps kid pays: $2400 for corps fees $75 for the audition $450 for camp fees (6 camps x $75) $10 for an audition packet Now, let's say for the sake of argument, since he doesn't have a car and has classes until Friday afternoon, driving isn't an option, so he is able to get flights for an average of $200 (which is pretty optimistic). $200 x 6 = $1200, so his total cost of being in the corps is: ~$4135 for a summer in Spirit of Atlanta (all these numbers are from their web page). The non-corps kid decides to take lessons from the principal of the local symphony. These aren't cheap, so he is paying top dollar: $80/hr, once a week. Let's say 12 weeks of summer, so we end up with $960 of one-on-one instruction from a top musician, and since it is summer, he can afford to practice four hours a day. He decides to get in shape for the summer, so he pays $50 a month to join a fitness club, $150 total. He spends about $20 a day on food, so that comes to about $1800 total. He also has to pay rent, about $450 a month or $1350 total (the corps kid is subletting his place, so he breaks even). In total, that comes out to: ~$4260, around the same as the drum corps kid. He could get a part-time job and make back some of that money, or he could spend that time doing other things, like independent reading up on subjects related to his major. At the end of the summer, the corps kid has toured the country, though mainly high school football fields, made some great friends, performed a lot, gotten in shape, etc. The non-corps kid has vastly improved in his own personal musicianship and repertoire, is planning on doing an independent research project with a professor in his department based on his readings, and dropped about 10 pounds going to the gym. Now, I know there are intangible aspects of the corps experience--I marched World Class for 3 years--but is corps really the best way to spend one's time and money? The answer, of course, is highly subjective, and it depends who you are...but I think it is important to challenge the automatic assumption many have that corps is better than anything else you could do. The answer, of course, is that everything the non marching kid did, can be done by the marching kid, when he's done marching. There is really no conflict here. Slow down and let life take its time, you don't win a trophy for having your doctorate by the time you're 25. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamu89 Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 The experience of being completely removed from the outside world and having NOTHING to worry about except corps. Cell phones were just starting to pop up when I marched, but now...kids are on water breaks posting on facebook. I liked the fact that whatever current events news I got on tour was from the cook truck white board. I should rephrase...it's not that the experience is less fulfilling, just cheapened! Gotcha, and understand. I know it was easier for my kid when she started out at 17 to be able to text every day or so and call home one night a week, depending on service. They are still mostly removed from worldly events, but family stuff, other show scores, and DCP opinions can be had on most days. Not sure if that last part is a good thing or not. But I can see where you're coming from. Not sure I'd call it 'cheapened', but as the parent of a younger kid a couple of years ago, I can see that it's definitely an easier transition now than it was back in the day. Both for her AND for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 (edited) If you are interested in high quality foreign sports cars then driving a Ferrari while on a trip to Europe is worth the expense; if you are one who says a car is just a car and a walk in the woods near home is what excites you then a Ferrari and a trip to Europe would be a huge waste of money. Any other comments on the worth, or lack thereof, are meaningless. Edited June 22, 2012 by Stu 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesandCassius Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 ^^ Ferrari?! PFFFFT!! Porsche!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 ^^ Ferrari?! PFFFFT!! Porsche!! Well... if you like driving an upside down porcelain bathtub on wheels I suppose Porsche would float your rubber ducky! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyDad Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Maybe a more apt comparison... 6 weeks at Interlochen = $7500 Hah. I went there (a loooong time ago) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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