Drum Corps-experience of a lifetime!

Posted on 24. May, 2010 by Raquel in Drum Corps, Historical, Music, Thoughts

Warming up after some sprints!

So I recently attended a drum corps move-in camp and I have to say I was amazed at the physical challenges those kids embrace. I vaguely remember my own corps summer and I can’ t believe I was able to get through it! I do remember being in the shape of my life afterwards though! According to Wiki:

A drum and bugle corps or drum corps or just corps is a musical marching unit (similar to a marching band) consisting of brass instruments, percussion instruments, and color guard. The activity originated in the United States and Canada, but has spread to parts of Europe and Asia. Typically operating as independent non-profit organizations, drum corps perform on-field competitions, parades, festivals and other civic functions. Participants range in age beginning as early as 8 or 9 in Cadet Corps, and extending well into the 60s and 70s in ‘Alumni Corps’, however the majority of members are between the ages of 13 and 21.

Competitive corps participate in summer touring circuits. Competitions occur on football fields and are judged based upon general effect, visual performance, and musical performance. Every year, each drum corps prepares a single new show, approximately 8–12 minutes (Drum Corps International shows are required to be 11-13 minutes) in length, and carefully refines this throughout the entire summer tour. This focus on a singular show takes advantage of the large amount of time needed to hone and refine a modern drum corps program, with a momentum that continues to build up toward the last performance of the season. Musical repertoires can vary widely among various groups, including symphonic, jazz, big band, contemporary, rock, wind band, vocal, Broadway, Latin music and many other genres. Junior competitive corps regularly dedicate 8–10 weeks on tour, practicing and performing their program full-time. Less All-Age and Alumni corps have less demanding schedules, allowing members to participate and still have a little free time outside drum corps.

I have a couple of trumpet students marching this summer (Blue Stars & Cavaliers) and I know they will come back with memories that will last a lifetime. I know I will never forget my own experiences with the Star of Indiana organization in the summers of 1992, 1995-96, 1998-99.  I know I would not be the player and person I am today if it were not for those experiences. That being said, I have a Star of Indiana alumni camp this weekend. I will buy a water jug, black towel, and some sun tan lotion later today. I will post some pics and write-up over this camp on a future post. Time to go stretch!

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_and_bugle_corps_%28modern%29

http://www.dci.org/

Tags: drum corps, star of indiana