rdbc05 Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 For the first 3 years of high school, I had a director who didn't mind drum corps. She would play the championships dvds in the band hall and even took a bus full of kids to the DCI san antonio event in 2003. She marched BK and Sky Riders. Unfortunatly, at that time, nobody in the band had any interest in the activity. I was the first to go for it and march between my junior and senior year. During that summer, the school recieved a new director, and he really didn't care for any kind of marching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman1084 Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 My assistant band director was (and is still) Tom Aungst, so, uh.... yeah. Supported. The music department head, on the other hand, was both supportive AND unsupportive of drum corps while in high school. Part of me felt like he didn't like kids participating in drum corps while in high school because of a change in their playing style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyboy Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 My freshman year the BD marched Bucs, and from sophmore on the new guy loved DCI and even worked for Drum Corps World as a photographer. To bad both were really clueless about drumming, but they both supported corps. My senior year me and a girl from my school tried out for a corps, and as far as I know we were the first from the school to march DCI. College on the other hand......ugh. The percussion professor HATED drumcorps, and drumline for that matter. He worked with the pit daily and gave the battery a few hours of attention during band camp. Halfway thru the season he walked onto the field and said "you guys suck", to which I replied "F$%$ you Harvey". I'm not a bitter person, but he was a real jerk. Heck, that year we had a few corps people in the band, and the rest of the band called us "corons", short for drumcorps-morons. Needless to say we slammed the guy on his year end evaluation and he never taught the drumline again. I quit the band that year, but within a few short years the school hired a great director from Umass, and a drum guy that teaches at the top of Div 1 in DCI. I was really hard to believe a university let the crappy band program go on for so long, but the past 12 years or so the new people have made the whole state proud. Side note: The jerk proffs son ended up marching Div2, and last I heard the guy finally came around and saw what drumcorps is really about.....kids and music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OboeBrad Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Our Director supports it. But we don't have a marching band...so it can't interfere with what doesn't exist... I will be the first kid from my school to march DCI, or in fact, march anything ever...I graduate in '09. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 I don't know whether to say I was fortunate or unfortunate for never having marched in a school band. All I ever knew from day 1 was Drum Corps. Bands were on a different planet and we weren't exactly best friends. But hey - that was a long time ago. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CloudHype Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 My h.s. director liked corps but discouraged it to people that wanted to march in most situations. The assistant director was a former Trooper. Basicly I talked with the Head Director after I marched and his reason was that if he thought the student wasn't mature enough to march, he wouldn't let them. I audition (and made but didn't march) while in high school and he had no big problem with it. Now I work with the same school (visual designer/staff) and most kids come up to me with questions. In most cases, they are not ready (maturity), and I will tell them such but I also tell them to go try out for the experience. By no meens do we downplay drum corps however. Band arranger is a corps guy ( 10 of his books has been played in Div I finals), the drum line host a clinic in which a DCI Hall of Fame member is the featured clinician. That being said I only knew of one member before me that marched (Spirit/ Soprano), and two after me (Spirit/ Bari and Cavies/Pit). I graduated my senior year :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxmanjames7 Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 my first and second band directors all were corps alum, and so for my first 2 seasons they were very supportive. then i moved... to a school where my band director had marched troop's pit in the eighties and he didnt let me march my jr year of HS cuz i HAD to go to drum major camp and be at band camp. i was the first member of my high school to march. and now there are 15!!!! i graduated in 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PioSop06 Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 So far, I'm the only one from my school that has marched corps, but hopefully that will change, and my band director is supportive. He even came up to me during the San Antonio lot and told me I was the only section leader that he didn't care if they missed band camp because I was marching corps. And I've asked him if I could be a DM and miss DM camp because of corps and, once again, he doesn't mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mersinger3 Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 My director is pretty cool about it , he marched florida vangaurd back in the day. he is a b.a. trumpet player , more of a jazz guy though. if anything , hes a more old school drum corps kinda guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil-galad Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 My Director supports it, and tries to emulate it with our band. It's a very good standard to try to reach for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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