Did your HS band director support or hate Drum Corps

[marimbaman89]

I'm a senior in high school, and my band director loves drum corps-he's a drum guy who marched Caballeros and is a percussion judge in DCI. Unfortunately, I'm the only person in my high school to ever march drum corps. Hopefully that'll change soon.

[TommySopranoContra]

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.

I was forced to go to Drum major academy, where I missed a few days of drum corps (took a lot of string pulling).

Let me tell you, you would have shot yourself coming straight from tour to the "detail atten hut" band geek mass with George N. Parks.

His conducting sessions meant very little to the marching band, because we are a Drum Corps style marching band, Parks conducts as he were conducting 144 bpms for a concert band. Marching band these days need precise stuff, as you would learn much more from Drum Corps than Marching Band.

My director marched from 1990-1993 and my assistant director marched 1998-2000. They both support the activity, actually my school has about 6 other kids besides me in Drum Corps.

Every year they give a speech to the Drum Corps kids, of how it is very different to come back to marching band from a summer of corps.

[PioSop06]

Every year they give a speech to the Drum Corps kids, of how it is very different to come back to marching band from a summer of corps.

Yeah, it's been a culture shock, but my director doesn't mind if I do a few little drum corps things with the trumpets, like trail and all. But the other section leader does care....

[Vanguard07]

My band directer abosolutely despised drum corps. He tried out for the blue devils some time in the 80s and didn't make it. When he found out I was marching corps he treated me like garbage. Not sure why?

[MajorScoutsFan]

both my directors were skyriders and urged me to audition

so i did

yay for them

[sburstall]

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.

To my knowledge I'm the only one that marched drum corps from my high school. That could have changed though since I haven't had any contact with my old h.s. in decades. Someone I graduated with from was the band director of Chesning and also instruct Les Etoiles for a couple years (Matt Taton), but he never marched corps.

[JimF-LowBari]

Not quite OT: Last night my non-competative corps played a concert with (and I mean with) the Gettysburg (yeah the Civil War G-burg) HS band. It was Gettysburgs Fall Concert and the order was:

Gettysburg High School Marching Band

Hanover Lancers Drum & Bugle Corps

Combined band and corps play "America the Beautiful" arranged and diredted by our horn instructor who is BD at another HS.

Yeah, we can get along in South Central Pennsylvania. :)

[EOAutobahn]

There are now a few more kids at my high school that do drum corps, but I was the first one in awhile to go march--most of the corps kids in my town come from the other high school and are marching Colts, Cavaliers, etc.

I've had four band directors, and they were a team. I had the unique experience of only seeing them at marching band rehearsal since, as a color guard member, you didn't have to take band as a class to be in the marching band. During my first three years, one seemed to be indifferent--he just wanted our band to do the best we could. The other seemed to be very supportive of Divison 1 corps...he seemed disappointed that I was marching Division 2 when I told him I would miss a few rehearsals because of tour; he sounded like he thought I could do better, telling me I was the only professional in our band (when I was 15 or 16). His brother was the drum major for Cavaliers for awhile. He did wish me well, as did my guard staff--a Cavaliers alum.

During my last year of high school, I had two more band directors. I don't know the corps stance of one of them, especially since I wasn't marching corps at that point, but he was an energetic guy that wanted people to do their best at whatever they tried. The other director was a little bit younger--I'd actually seen him as a DM for Patriots when I had first marched. When he found out I marched corps, he was my buddy (granted, I didn't run into him often since I still wasn't taking band)....he never tried to get me to march again, but it's like he knew that he and I had a special interest in common that nobody else in the building understood, something that set us apart. We Had Marched.

This was 2000. A few more kids have gone on to march, but I don't know what it's like at that high school.

[DrumCorpsLives]

If there are still college or high school instructors out there that don't like corps and in particular say you lose your chops by marching a corps all summer or you can't play on a G horn all summer and then switch back to Bb and keep up (that still gets me as one of the G to Bb arguments -B.S.)....

just tell them about Al Chez of the Letterman Show (former Cadet) and Chris Martin principal trumpet for the Chicago Symphony (Spirit alum). There are others.

[Piper]

Today it seems like there are more and more band directors/instructors who have Drum Corps backgrounds. Makes a big difference.