Eddie Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 The 41st Annual Kanto Regional Marching Band & Baton Twirling Contest will take place November 3rd, 4th, and 5th at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan. On Sunday, November 5th, the independent marching bands and drum & bugle corps will face off in one of the largest gatherings of competative units in Japan. SOKA Renaissance Vanguard are back in competition this year after being a full time exhibition group last year, and the Utsunomiya Sound Company shrinks down to the small group class. The Sonic Lancers are in the middle of the small group class line-up, giving them a fair opportunity for a competative placement. All groups are performing for a spot in the 2007 All-Japan Contest in January. In order to move on, each group must receive a gold rating for their performance. ▼Marching Band/ Independent Class（Small Groups） 534 .......Tokyo..........Cherry Blossoms Drum & Bugle Corps..........14：59〜15：09 535 .......Saitama........GENESIS.....................................15：09〜15：19 536 .......Tochigi........Utsunomiya Sound Company....................15：19〜15：29 537 .......Saitama........Sonic Lancers Drum & Bugle Corps............15：29〜15：39 538 .......Kanagawa.......Cycle.......................................15：39〜15：49 539 .......Ibaraki........MARCHING BAND COURAGE.......................15：49〜15：59 ▼Marching Band／ Independent Class（Large Groups） 540 .......Tokyo..........SOKA Renaissance Vanguard...................15：59〜16：09 541 .......Kanagawa.......YOKOHAMA ROBINS.............................16：09〜16：19 542 .......Kanagawa.......THE YOKOHAMA SCOUTS Drum & Bugle Corps......16：19〜16：29 543 .......Kanagawa.......YOKOHAMA INSPIRES Drum & Bugle Corps........16：29〜16：39 544 .......Tokyo..........TOKYO PHOENIX Drum & Bugle Corps............16：39〜16：49 http://www.m-bkanto.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickCogley Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 (edited) Yesterday, I went to the school festival of "Kanto Gakuin" Jr and Sr High in Yokohama, where their marching band did an exhibition, and they mentioned in the announcements that they were competing in this show. KGMB were incredible, with outstanding M&M technique, great soloists, and lots of power. They did Sousa on the way into the school stadium, then a standstill with "When a Man Loves a Woman" and a couple others (I think Greatest Love of All?), then a field show of "Fiddler on the Roof". They explained as Eddie has before here on DCP, that the field shows are done inside, mostly, on a court about half the size of a football field. They have 128 members, and the field show looked a little crowded due to the smaller size of the field, but it was really well marched. The initial Fiddler theme was very nice, done in the woodwinds; the guard was great (no drops at all!); really great sop section, wow; and a huge 15 person pit. Oh, I should mention they finished off with a modified Bottle Dance. I was hoping the guard'd go down for the full Cossack-looking rendition of it, but they stayed standing, arms locked above their heads. When I saw them set it up, I yelled "yessss!" :-) Man, it was 45 minutes of pure 80's drum corps tune bliss for me, and I gather the other 500 people watching enjoyed it too! Thanks Kanto Gakuin, and good luck today. Edited November 4, 2006 by RickCogley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 Yesterday, I went to the school festival of "Kanto Gakuin" Jr and Sr High in Yokohama, where their marching band did an exhibition, and they mentioned in the announcements that they were competing in this show. KGMB were incredible, with outstanding M&M technique, great soloists, and lots of power. They did Sousa on the way into the school stadium, then a standstill with "When a Man Loves a Woman" and a couple others (I think Greatest Love of All?), then a field show of "Fiddler on the Roof". They explained as Eddie has before here on DCP, that the field shows are done inside, mostly, on a court about half the size of a football field. They have 128 members, and the field show looked a little crowded due to the smaller size of the field, but it was really well marched. The initial Fiddler theme was very nice, done in the woodwinds; the guard was great (no drops at all!); really great sop section, wow; and a huge 15 person pit. Oh, I should mention they finished off with a modified Bottle Dance. I was hoping the guard'd go down for the full Cossack-looking rendition of it, but they stayed standing, arms locked above their heads. When I saw them set it up, I yelled "yessss!" :-) Man, it was 45 minutes of pure 80's drum corps tune bliss for me, and I gather the other 500 people watching enjoyed it too! Thanks Kanto Gakuin, and good luck today. Rick, I saw this group at the Japan Cup in September, and they di the full Cossack ala SCV there. I almost jumped out of my seat when I saw it. The choreography of the guard is amazing and they imitate a sunrise/sunset well with the flags. Weapons are good and the Soprano Sax has a wonderful cadenza. I give props to their drummers too... all in all, a wonderful show, but only the tip of the iceberg in what Kanto has to offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 (edited) No surprises, but a few upsets at Kanto Regional The 41st annual Japan Marching Band & Baton Twirling Association's Kanto Contest was held at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan this past weekend. Over 180 units ranging from elementary school bands to independent drum corps took part in one of Japan's oldest and largest pageantry contests for a chance at a spot in the All-Japan Nationals this winter. On Sunday, 11 drum corps and marching bands from Eastern Japan competed in the independent marching band class. It was no surprise that the Soka Renaissance Vanguard took first with their 2006 program, "Excelsior ~ Dream of Flight," with arrangements by the who's who of North American drum corps, including Wayne Downey, Ralph Hardiman, Karl Lowe and various others. Yokohama Robins followed in second with their production of Twilight Fantasy, with the DCJ drum corps Yokohama Inspires, Yokohama Scouts and Tokyo Phoenix taking the 3rd, 4th and 5th spots. Utsunomiya Sound Company, a participant in the 2005 All-Japan Nationals, fell short of making it this year by only a few 10ths of a point. In order to advance to the All-Japan Nationals, units must at least receive a gold rating (score of 90 or higher) at a regional contest sanctioned by the Japan Marching Band & Baton Twirling Association. Complete Results: 1st - (L) Soka Renaissance Vanguard* 2nd - (L) Yokohama Robins* 3rd - (L) Yokohama Inspires Drum & Bugle Corps* 4th - (L) Yokohama Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps* 5th - (L) Tokyo Phoenix Drum & Bugle Corps* 6th - (S) Utsunomiya Sound Company 7th - (S) Genesis 8th - (S) Marching band Courage 9th - (S) Cycle 10th - (S) Sonic Lancers Drum & Bugle Corps 11th - (S) Cherry Blossoms Drum & Bugle Corps (L) - Large Unit Category (S) - Small Unit Category * - advances to All-Japan Nationals The 34th Annual All japan Marching Band & Baton Twirling Championships will take place on December 16 and 17 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and January 13 and 14 at the Japan Budokan in Tokyo. Independent Class groups will be competing on January 14. Japan Marching band & Baton Twirling Association - http://www.ajmba.org Kanto Marching Band & Baton Twirling Regional Contest - http://www.m-bkanto.org Edited November 7, 2006 by bari_benzo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InspaDave Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 I am not surprised by the results except at Utsunomiya not making it. It will be interesting to see All Japan. This year will be my first time to see it live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 I am not surprised by the results except at Utsunomiya not making it. It will be interesting to see All Japan. This year will be my first time to see it live. I guess they are smaller this year, though still having 70 people. They were sandwiched between us and Genesis, which may have been a factor in their score. Genesis had a good run though. Their show is a lot better and a lot cleaner than last year. They performed after Cherry Blossoms, who have been having balance problems all season due to unmatched numbers in various sections (i.e. no bass line). I thinks Blossoms had a 78.something and Genesis got an 88.something... so the quality level showed, but I think that Genesis had a show that matched the quality which Sound Company has been producing, which is why they were only a point ahead of Genesis. That's just my take on it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.