Full Time Careers in Drum Corps?

[doctortelco]

I have had friends of mine on the staff of various corps over the years...they said being on staff may cover your "beer money". I think your best bet is to study music and to go into composition and arranging. Jay Bocook has made a good living doing that, but he also continues as the director of bands at Furman University. Let's face it making a living is tough, making a living in music is even tougher.

Scott Smith

[En929]

There has been a lot of great things said on here to answer your question. Another idea that I have is try starting your own drum corps. Simply start small and cheap at first and do mostly parade corps and local events where they pay your corps to perform (and yes you might need a second job at least at first to fund your corps i.e. get a few instruments). But then, continue with that and build from there.

[Pete Freedman]

I think a key phrase in the OP's post is "when I grow up", which was not meant ironically, the way adults use it. This is a young person. I think starting up a little corps of his own would be a bit ambitious fresh out of high school. Still, never count out a highly ambitious young person.

But given the astronomical costs of instruments (prices for new brass instruments are in the thousands of dollars, even for the smaller ones. Used are cheaper, but still.) Then there is the truck, and practice location fees. The idea of a 'new adult' trying to do this seems like a long shot. Still, if he/she is the kind of person who can easily talk people out of their money and time, it could work in theory. Realistically, it's not gonna happen.

[Stu]

I think a key phrase in the OP's post is "when I grow up", which was not meant ironically, the way adults use it. This is a young person. I think starting up a little corps of his own would be a bit ambitious fresh out of high school. Still, never count out a highly ambitious young person...

You mean like Chris Nagy?

[amadorj]

Just my two cents. I believe in the near future we will see a change in the leadership of the various drum corps with a migration toward business directors versus former drum corps people. The main reason - today's drum corps will have to operate like a business. As each season goes by the operational costs of fuel/transportation/logistics/personnel/salaries are not so much run like a youth activity any more but more like a business of keeping all of the above operational and profitable. Last year we saw a number of drum corps end their season due to financial support. Unfortunately I believe we will see more of this in the coming years. DCI needs to take a better look at the activity to focus more on a business side that can sustain the number of corps marching today. Has DCI become too big for our britches - possibly, but I see the push for more drum corps board of directors to have more of a business background than just former marching members. Hopefully the activity can find more members with both.

So to me people who have a good background in both business and drum corps will be the ones with a bright future in drum corps.

[Pete Freedman]

You mean like Chris Nagy?

I never said it was likely. Just possible. I would bet against a 19 year old starting up a successful corps. My point was only that it was possible.

[Pete Freedman]

Just my two cents. I believe in the near future we will see a change in the leadership of the various drum corps with a migration toward business directors versus former drum corps people. The main reason - today's drum corps will have to operate like a business. As each season goes by the operational costs of fuel/transportation/logistics/personnel/salaries are not so much run like a youth activity any more but more like a business of keeping all of the above operational and profitable. Last year we saw a number of drum corps end their season due to financial support. Unfortunately I believe we will see more of this in the coming years. DCI needs to take a better look at the activity to focus more on a business side that can sustain the number of corps marching today. Has DCI become too big for our britches - possibly, but I see the push for more drum corps board of directors to have more of a business background than just former marching members. Hopefully the activity can find more members with both.

So to me people who have a good background in both business and drum corps will be the ones with a bright future in drum corps.

Yeah, but this is a general problem with nonprofits: those skilled in business are usually too busy making money to run non-profits. In other words I agree that the drum corps activity needs more talented business minded people, but I think it is unlikely to get them, unless there is a sudden increase in their numbers!

[En929]

I think a key phrase in the OP's post is "when I grow up", which was not meant ironically, the way adults use it. This is a young person. I think starting up a little corps of his own would be a bit ambitious fresh out of high school. Still, never count out a highly ambitious young person.

But given the astronomical costs of instruments (prices for new brass instruments are in the thousands of dollars, even for the smaller ones. Used are cheaper, but still.) Then there is the truck, and practice location fees. The idea of a 'new adult' trying to do this seems like a long shot. Still, if he/she is the kind of person who can easily talk people out of their money and time, it could work in theory. Realistically, it's not gonna happen.

It doesn’t have to be expensive to start a drum corps or at least a winterguard styled venue. I remember when I was working as a teacher and didn’t have instruments at first, I started out with just a drumline. I bought some wood at home depot and had it cut into squares and bought some drumsticks. All of that together costed under $50 and I play the piano and compose so thus, I did all brass sounds with the keyboard-midi and it turned out VERY cool. We did a show with that at my school, got standing ovations and when word got out about what we had, then was when we started getting phone calls from schools that vowed to donate and/or let us borrow instruments. Then, the year after that, I taught a few kids simple keyboard, guitar, and bass guitar (I got the guitars from the pawn shop) and they played what I taught with the drumline and that worked out and was cool. And I was ready to add trumpets too (the same pawnshop had trumpets for sale for aroundr $100 – I never bought them but they were available too); we had something very decent going, but eventually when I had to change jobs and didn’t have time to keep the ensemble going, but to start what I had, costed between $300 and $400, but that’s because of me not wanting to take the donated instruments (I guess it was pride); I wanted the pride in saying I did it all by myself and it’s all mine– but if I took the donated instruments it would have cost less than $100, and one doesn’t have to be a teacher to do what I did, one can just a minimum wage job working at McDonalds (because I know someone else who did something similar and he was a custodian).

[dasboot]

Just throwing this out there for the OP, but Don't set yourself on working exclusively in Drum Corps. You should consider becoming a band director and then enlightening your students about drum corps. One of the ways you could do that, is by trying to get them to go to a local show, or suggesting they go to audition camps. Little food for thought since I use to have the same ideas, but now my goals have changed

[Stu]

It doesn’t have to be expensive to start a drum corps or at least a winterguard styled venue. I remember when I was working as a teacher and didn’t have instruments at first, I started out with just a drumline. I bought some wood at home depot and had it cut into squares and bought some drumsticks. All of that together costed under $50 and I play the piano and compose so thus, I did all brass sounds with the keyboard-midi and it turned out VERY cool. We did a show with that at my school, got standing ovations and when word got out about what we had, then was when we started getting phone calls from schools that vowed to donate and/or let us borrow instruments. Then, the year after that, I taught a few kids simple keyboard, guitar, and bass guitar (I got the guitars from the pawn shop) and they played what I taught with the drumline and that worked out and was cool. And I was ready to add trumpets too (the same pawnshop had trumpets for sale for aroundr $100 – I never bought them but they were available too); we had something very decent going, but eventually when I had to change jobs and didn’t have time to keep the ensemble going, but to start what I had, costed between $300 and $400, but that’s because of me not wanting to take the donated instruments (I guess it was pride); I wanted the pride in saying I did it all by myself and it’s all mine– but if I took the donated instruments it would have cost less than $100, and one doesn’t have to be a teacher to do what I did, one can just a minimum wage job working at McDonalds (because I know someone else who did something similar and he was a custodian).

For a small scholastic program or an inner city youth program this is idea fine. But, in the world of today's drum corps activity this, imo, is not the way to start a modern 'drum & bugle corps'.