Jump to content

How did Carolina Crown's hornline rise to dominance so fast


Recommended Posts

In 2007 their Brass score was .6 behind 1st and 2009 they took the Ott. I'd say they've been near the top in Brass for about seven years, so it's not like they just improved recently. Attracting better players and playing some challenging music well, from a very good staff, has also helped.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It didn't happen overnight, Harloffs first year was WAY back in 2003, their distinct sound really emerged around 2006, and the rest is history. Just lots of hard work and a consistent staff that knows their stuff.

agreed. the shift in Crowns fortunes turned in 2003, with a show i still love to this day. from there, it's been a steady climb.

now really, just one piece of the puzzle that needs to take that next step

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How did their hornline get so good so fast?!

Crown did slip from 1st in Brass and 1st in Analysis in 2012 & 2013, to 2nd and 3rd respectively in these captions in 2014. 2014 was also the first year in 3 years that Crown did not win the Brass Caption at Finals. That said, while the trend line in Brass took a bit of a fall ( ever so slight ) in 2014, its still a Brass line that is outstanding in so many ways, imo. Crown has good writers, good instructors, not a lot of instructor turnover in Brass, and these are some critical things that have allowed them to put out excellent Brass lines of late.

Edited by BRASSO
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The big thing that shifted in the brass section at Crown in 2003 was the attitude towards retention. The new staff came in with the mindset that they wanted to create a place that people would want to stay, rather than to get experience and then move up after a few years. Obviously this is hard to do with a drum corps that was recently out of finals as Crown had been, but that was the priority in building the new culture there. It seems that it has worked.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The big thing that shifted in the brass section at Crown in 2003 was the attitude towards retention. The new staff came in with the mindset that they wanted to create a place that people would want to stay, rather than to get experience and then move up after a few years.

I think this is one of the keys for not only Crown's rise, but also for any Corps that hopes to move up into elite status.

Retention.

Its seems so easy an answer in theory, but not so in practice, imo.

Corps that are constantly viewed as essentially feeder Corps for the top 3 or 4 Corps, are in an almost impossible competitive no mans land. Without good retention and/ or a stoppage to becoming an uncompensated feeder Corps up the food chain to their competitors above them, its pretty much impossible to rise up into the elite status. So few Corps now are able to break that annual cycle of being a feeder Corps. Carolina Crown to their credit were able to break thru that glass ceiling. Star of Indiana is the only other Corps that did it in the last 35 years. The overwhelming vast majority of the others however, seem stuck in what has become a willing permanent purgatory for themselves, unable to shed their long held status and assessment as an uncompensated feeder Corps to the elites at the top.

Edited by BRASSO
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd say it came down to these areas:

1. New staff in 2003 that had a clear vision, great educations, and solid concepts on the techniques that would be used.

2. Retention

3. Michael Klesch taking over the brass writing, and writing in a way that works with the system taught to the members.

As for the lower scores the past few years, I still believe they're at the top of the game. Besides, the corps that have caught up/passed them in recent seasons aren't light years ahead, the top hornlines are all rather spectacular, IMO.

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...