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DCI Executive Director and CEO Dan Acheson joined with Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard and Visit Indy President and CEO Leonard Hoops this morning to announce a 10-year contract extension with the City of Indianapolis. The agreement will keep the DCI World Championships and headquarters offices in the city through 2028.

Since locating its headquarters in Indianapolis in 2008, Drum Corps International has brought hundreds of thousands of performers and their fans to town for World Championships Week festivities as well as for many other events throughout the year. The initial 10-year commitment has translated into millions and millions of dollars for the city in tourism, entertainment, hospitality services, retail, and multiple other economic sectors.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said, “The City of Indianapolis is proud to be home to Drum Corps International’s headquarters and annual World Championships. We are especially appreciative of the strong partnership that has developed since moving DCI here, and we are excited to continue building on that relationship over the next 10 years.”

Drum Corps International Executive Director & CEO Dan Acheson said, “We are pleased to extend our commitment to Indianapolis and continue the many mutually beneficial relationships we enjoy here. Since our founding in 1972, Drum Corps International has been furthering our mission to provide a life-changing experience for young people through the art of marching music performance. The City of Indianapolis provides the perfect environment for our performance and education organization to do just that.”

Jubal Drum & Bugle Corps took the title in the DCI International Class. The corps from Dordrecht - The Netherlands won all captions with the exception of General Effect, and achieved a score of 68.450.

The General Effect caption was won by Gita Surosowan Banten, coming second with 66.200 points. Chien Kuo came third with 64.825 points. If Jubal's score were entered into the Open Class ranking, then the corps would have come in eighth place. In the Open Class, the Vanguard Cadets maintained their lead on Blue Devils B and became champions (81.225). Blue Devils B scored 80.325. Spartans came third with 76.025 points.

For Jubal, the DCI adventure is not over yet. On Thursday, the corps will be one of the 39 corps to enter the World Championships Prelims. The Prelims are broadcast live on the internet for those who subscribe to DCI's live webcast.

The Blue Devils vaulted into first place on the first day of competition at the DCI Eastern Classic in Allentown - Pennsylvania on Friday night. On the second night, Carolina Crown emerged victorious. Less than a point separates the top four.

The Eastern Classic is one of the last major competitions of the season, and saw all 22 of DCI’s World Class corps perform over two days at the venerable J. Birney Crum Stadium. It’s a close race as corps get ready for next week's World Championship in Indianapolis. Crown scored 93.825, Blue Devils 93.725, The Cadets 93.600 and Bluecoats 93.125. So only 0.8 points between the number one and the number four.

The World Class top 12 is being shaped, with the Crossmen in 12th position with a score of 83.350. The Colts are in 13th place with 81.475. They will have to work hard in the next week to secure a position in the World Class Finals. All scores, recaps, and the Finals week schedule are available on www.dci.org.

It is still uncertain whether the webcast of the DCE European Championships will go ahead this year. The broadcast of the European Championships is getting more and more popular and professional every year, but it also costs a lot of time and money. That is why Drum Corps Europe must consider its continuation.

The live webcast of the DCE European Championships once started as a service for people who were unable to travel to the event and still wanted to follow their corps' achievements. The popularity of the online broadcast has hugely increased in recent years. All over Europe, but also in the U.S. and Asia people are watching the European Championships in the Parkstad Limburg Stadium online. There are even canteens and cafes where the webcast is displayed on big screens for whole groups to watch.

The broadcast itself has also been professionalised, with hosts in a studio and interviews from the field. DCE is very pleased that this allows the event to be brought in front of the largest possible audience. But at the same time the costs incurred are increasing. Thanks to sponsors, DCE has managed to keep the broadcast free until now, but DCE is now considering whether to stop the webcast, ask viewers for a small fee or continue on a smaller scale.

At the same time, DCE does not want to create any obstacles for promoting our beautiful activities to the largest possible audience. The organisation is therefore looking into alternative sources of income.

Cadence Drum & Bugle Corps have launched their new website. The new site has been designed to bring social media, news and updates from cadence and other relevant marching arts organisations into one place.

"We hope the new site will assist the corps in building our profile within the marching arts world and potential corporate clients a well as giving our own members a more interactive experience", says Cadence corps director Paul Riddell. "More content is being added daily including further social media integration and a merchandise page."

The corps is currently preparing for the second half of the DCUK season and their first competitive trip to the DCE Championships in Kerkrade. The URL of the website hasn't changed, it is available at www.cadencedrumcorps.org.

Vic Firth, founder of the Vic Firth Company, passed away on Sunday at the age of 85. His company has become the largest manufacturer of drum sticks and mallets.

Son of a successful trumpet player, Vic Firth he started learning the cornet at age four, turning later to percussion, trombone, clarinet, piano, and music arrangement. When he reached high school, he was a full-time percussionist, and created an 18-piece band at age the ahe of 16. He played a variety of percussion instruments such as vibraphone, timpani and the drum set.

The company began when Firth, who had been performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 12 years, was asked to perform pieces which he felt required a higher-quality drumstick than those that were currently being manufactured. Firth decided to design a set of his own sticks.

"Vic was an inspiration to all of us", the Vic Firth Company states on their website. "He was a visionary, a mentor, a leader and a friend. He always said he surrounded himself with the best people, but the truth is he brought out the best in all of us. His boundless passion for music and musicians drove every decision he made."

For the first time since 2006, a new champion was crowned during the DCI Southeastern Championship in Atlanta on Saturday. With a record-setting 18,074 spectators in the audience, Carolina Crown (1st, 91.500) ascended to the top, finishing ahead of the Blue Devils (2nd, 91.475) by a mere 0.025 points. 

Carolina Crown dethroned the Blue Devils, who had won the previous night in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The loss was unfamiliar territory for the Blue Devils, who have won eight of the nine previous times the Southeastern Championship has been hosted at the Georgia Dome.

The Cadets took third place (90.800) and were among the three corps first to break 90 points in 2015. As they did last weekend in San Antonio, Bluecoats finished in fourth (89.525). The corps from Ohio brought the audience to its feet while introducing a brand new ending to its production, 'Kinetic Noise'. The Bluecoats were assessed a timing penalty that cost them four tenths of a point, but it did not affect the overall standings.

Santa Clara Vanguard finished in fifth place, just shy of 90 points, at 89.075. Blue Knights (6th, 86.275) quickly jumped a point and a half from yesterday’s event in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and extended their lead on Phantom Regiment (7th, 84.175) to more than two points. Meanwhile, the Madison Scouts (8th, 83.475) continued to captivate audiences with their 2015 program "78th and Madison," bringing a high-energy twist to Gene Kelly and MGM classics.

Due to illness amongst members of the Cavaliers, the corps did not perform in Atlanta, instead moving ahead to its next tour stop in North Carolina. The Boston Crusaders (9th, 81.775) and Blue Stars (10th, 81.100) have been back and forth in recent placements, but tonight the Crusaders held a 0.675-point lead over the Stars. With strong performances, Crossmen (11th, 80.775) and Colts (12th, 79.000) are both competing for a spot among the top 12 corps that advance to the DCI World Championship Finals in August.

Scores and recaps ara available at www.dci.org/scores. (Text: dci.org)

Saffron Lane Stadium in Leicester has seen many DCUK spectacular events over the years and the end of the first half of the 2015 season was no exception. A report by Tony Bourdain.

The journey to Leicester was a damp and miserable one and after the excellent weather two weeks ago it looked like we were in for a wet day, however right on cue at lunch time to sun shone and we had a dry, sunny, if a little breezy, day.

First up Concord AllStars. This enthusiastic young group continue to improve their 1980’s pop music production, for such a young ensemble they produce a great brass sound and the percussion have some innovative moments. Colour Guard has always been strength for Concord and this year’s group do not disappoint. Great to see young people enjoying performing and a credit to your organisations long and distinguished history. (1st Place Junior Class – 48.75)

Moving to the Open Class sees the Comets at their first DCUK event. If they were nervous it did not show with some very accomplished musical moments - my favourite being the “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Mis. Were there really on 9 brass players? The Colour Guard came into their own with the change of tempo moving into ‘Oh What A Night’ with some very accomplished dancing. Hope you enjoyed your experience and look forward to seeing you back to future events. (9th Place Open Class – 40.05)

Next into the arena - Stafford Lancers with their distinctive blue uniforms. The show music is from War of the World’s and their performance levels were significantly improved from 2 weeks ago with some excellent vocal work and strong percussion. If the corps continues at this level of improvement this will be a show to watch in the second half of the season. (8th Place Open Class – 49.20)

Third corps in Open Class sees East Coast Elite take the field. An impressive sight with their columns bringing focus to the performance. A challenging show with members being stretched across all sections, a pity that their electrics failed at the beginning, however they did not let this hold them back and with an impressive company front clearly this corps has a strong instructional and design team behind them. (5th Place Open Class – 55.05)

Beeches enter the field with their production of The Sword In The Stone. An impressive horn line and a small colour guard performing for the first time this season. This corps has made excellent progress during 2015. (7th Place Open Class- 51.05)

Final Corps before the interval was Revolution. A show which is well designed to maximise the members abilities and thus allows for confidence to build and be exploited in the effect captions, a fitting climax to the first part of the competition. (4th Place Open Class – 57.50)

After the chance to visit the food stands and catch up with friends the show restated with 37th Kingswood. A Corps who knows how to portray a story to the audience. The show is high in demand across all sections and if cleaned for the second half of the season one to watch in September. (6th Place Open Class – 54.05)

Cadence enter the field with their distinctive red uniforms. A Corps which has progressed in recent years now bringing to the field a quality production including a huge black flag running over the whole corps - a well-deserved 3rd place. (3rd Place Open Class – 58.75)

The host corps for today The Company - from the moment the pre-show commences the atmosphere transforms you to France for a magical 18 minutes with so much innovation and showmanship on display at times you don’t know what to watch! A Corps which always aims high and today delivered. (1st Place Open Class – 76.95)

And so to the final corps of the day - the much anticipated and eagerly awaited Kidsgrove Scouts. Always a firm favourite with the audience with their own brand of demanding Drum Corps this corps never fails to deliver. This year’s show sees the stone circle with Stonehenge clearly on display. Some excellent colour guard work with impressive sunrise flags and with such a large horn line how can you fail to be impressed with the quality of the sound. Today is the final competitive performance before Kidsgrove travel to the USA for the Drum Corps Associates Championships and we wish them every success for their trip. (2nd Place Open Class – 74.95)

Thank you to the Company for hosting the show and for the audience for travelling to support the event a fitting climax to the first half of the season and can’t wait for September and Finals time! (Published with permission of DCUK)

The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps will not perform at the DCI Southeastern Championship in Atlanta today, due to a rapidly progressing, self-limited viral illness amongst the membership over the past 24 hours.

“This is certainly a disappointing decision to reach, but it’s a decision that’s ultimately best for the well-being and recovery of our membership,” corps director Mark Ackerson said. “Our medical personnel are working diligently to treat and prevent further spread of the illness.”

“Touring with 150 performing members presents a number of challenges, but the health, safety, and well-being of our membership is, and has always been, absolutely paramount,” said Dr. Brenda Brak of the Cavaliers Medical Group. “This is why our team has chosen to make this decision about our performance tonight in Atlanta, and we anticipate all our affected members will recover quickly and completely.”

Ackerson, who consulted closely with the Cavaliers’ medical team, internal representatives, and DCI executive director Dan Acheson, added that “We realize there are many disappointed friends, fans, family, and alumni who were expecting to see the Cavaliers perform in Atlanta. Above all else, we must uphold the health of our students and their experience moving into the remaining stretch of our competitive season.”

In lieu of performing in Atlanta, the Cavaliers will get an early start on travels to their next housing site in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina area. (Text: DCI)

The Company Performance Ensemble has won the DCUK contest in Leicester. In the Open Class (Premier Class) the corps from Stanfree surpassed Kidsgrove Scouts.

The Company achieved a score of 76.95 with 'Voyage Spectacle', gaining two points more than the Kidsgrove Scouts, and are therefore in the lead in the European Music Games ranking. Leicester was the last European contest for the Kidsgrove Scouts before their USA tour from 24th August until 7th September, during which the reigning DCUK champions will participate in the competition of Drum Corps Associates.

Third place in the Open Class went to Cadence with their show 'Cast Away' (58.75). Revolution finished fourth with 57.50 points, followed by East Coast Elite (55.05), 37th Kingswood (54.05), Beeches (51.45), Stafford Lancers (49.20) and Comets (40.05). In the Junior Class, Concord Allstars were the only competitor, they scored 48.75.

Scores and recaps can be found on the DCUK website. The European ranking has now been updated.

The first Irish competition took place last Sunday in Arklow, Co.Wicklow, and it looks like we have a great season to look forward to in Ireland.

The Celtic Crusaders won the Premier Class with a score of 51.80, which was just over two points ahead of Clonmel Bluehawks who scored 49.60 with their performance of 'As the Last Petal Falls'.

The Arklow performance of their production 'Mirror Image' was the first win for Celtic Crusaders in ten years. Speaking to DCE after the win, Celtic Crusaders Director Kim Magee said: "It’s amazing for the whole band and they would like to thank our committee and design, music and percussion teams. They have all worked extra hard together and have gone out and been the best they can be. We are delighted to improve on our score from Woking and would like to take this opportunity to thank DCUK and everybody for the welcome over there. It’s looking like a great season for Irish corps and we are looking forward to the Clonmel contest already!"

Last years champions, and the dominating corps in the past few years The Vikings were placed in 4th with a score of 47.90. Clondalkin Youth band were narrowly ahead of The Vikings with their performance of 'What Dreams May Come' which scored 47.60. The hosts Inbhear Mor Performance Ensemble closed the show with their production 'Apocalypse' which achieved a score of 43.35. The Cadets are the only corps taking part in the Junior Class this year, and their production 'The Yellow Brick Road' scored 33.20.

With the caption awards spread over three groups, it proves that the season could go any way in Ireland. To keep up to date with the activity in Ireland, visit the IMBA Facebook page and the revamped IMBA website www.irishmarchingbandsassociation.org.

Jubal Drum & Bugle Corps from Dordrecht - The Netherlands left for the United States on Thursday for a 25 day tour and participation in Drum Corps International contests. It is the fourth time that the corps is making the trip.

Checking in all of the additional baggage at the airport went smoothly and after everyone got through the security check, the group was able to board the plane. This started the tour that the corps had been looking forward to all year.

Jubal will be participating in seven Drum Corps International contests, before the corps participates in the Open Class Championships in Michigan City on Monday the 3rd of August. Jubal will then appear at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Thursday the 6th of August at the starting line for their performance at the DCI World Championship Prelims.

Yesterday Jubal entered the first DCI contest in San Antonio. They scores 53.500 points in the International Class.

The IMBA competition season begins today at 14.00 in Arklow Co.Wicklow. The first summer show, hosted by the Inbhear Mór Performance Ensemble, sees a strong line up of six corps competing.

Last years junior champions, The Cadets will open the show with their 2015 production 'The Yellow Brick Road'. The Clonmel Bluehalks have just returned from a US tour and open a packed line up in the Premier Class. Also in Premier Class are Clondalkin Youth Band, Vikings Drum Corps, Inbhear Mór Performance Ensemble and the Celtic Crusaders who began their season when they competed at DCUK Woking International competition where they were placed 7th with a score of 48.05.

IMBA council member Kevin Morgan said: “There are some really interesting show concepts, and the corps seem well prepared and looking forward to it. So it promises to be a great contest.” Updates from Arklow will be posted on the DCE and IMBA Facebook pages during the day.

Last Sunday Brianza Parade Band and Mosson Drum & Bugle Corps won the IMSB Championship in Lecco, in the Marching Band and Drum Corps category respectively.

Five groups took part in the Marching Band division. Brianza Parade Band finished in first place with their show 'The Gift' (87.00); Cornfield Marching Band came in second place with their production 'Super Heroes' (81.50), followed by the General Vincent Marching Band, with the show 'Air Symphony' (80,00). The performance of 'Phantom of the Opera' by Bedizzole Marching Band, was rewarded with 78.83 points and fourth place. Academy Parade Band came fifth with 'Colors of the Earth' (78.00).

In the Drum Corps division Mosson Drum & Bugle Corps received 84.33 points from the judges. Mosson will attend the DCE European Championship in Kerkrade on 26th September, under the name of Mosson Secutores. The judging panel in Lecco was composed by Paul Doop (The Netherlands), Bob Thomas (USA) and Karsten Mellon (Denmark). All the scores and recaps can be found on the IMSB website.

The Italian Championships 2015 will take place today in Lecco. The event is live broadcasted on YouTube free of charge.

Six bands will particpate, and Blue Devils International will do an exhibition performance during the event. The championships, run by the IMSB (Italian Marching Show Bands), will take place at the Rigamonti-Ceppi stadium in lecco.

The bands are divided in a marching band division and a drum corps division. The participants in the marching band division are Academy Parade Band (performing 'I colori della Terra'), Bedizzole MB ('The Phantom of the Opera'), General Vincent MB ('Air Symphony'), and Cornfield MB ('The Gift'). Mosson Drum & Bugle Corps will perform in the drum corps division with their show 'Unity'. After today's event, the corps will focus on the DCE European Championships in Kerkrade - The Netherlands (under the name Mosson Secutores).

Blue Devils International will perform in exhibition. The IMSB will broadcast the event free of charge on their YouTube channel. More information on the event and the Italian marching and show band activity can be found at www.marchingband.it and DCE's Italian news page.

Visit IMSB's YouTube channel

The first full-time executive director of Drum Corps International, Donald L. Pesceone passed away the morning of Wednesday, 8th July. He was 75 years old.

Drum Corps International owes much of its early growth and survival to the efforts of Pesceone, who served in the executive director position for more than 20 years from 1973 to 1994. Pesceone had been involved with drum corps since he was a child, playing French horn in a variety of Chicagoland groups; as a youth in Park Ridge's Mel Tierney American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps and the Skokie Vanguard, and later in Maywood's Winfield Scott Rebels Senior Corps.

"When it was time for the DCI Board of Directors to hire a full-time executive director, we felt comfortable in offering the position to Don because he had a stellar reputation as a fair judge, treating all corps the same. He gave up a good job to work for DCI," former Madison Scouts director and 1994 Hall of Fame inductee Bill Howard said.

"As the first full-time DCI executive director he was the right person at the right time,” DCI Hall of Fame member and longtime Pesceone family friend Gene Monterastelli said. “The new organization needed someone who had the interest, energy and drive to spend the time to get the organization moving.”

When Pesceone accepted the position as DCI's executive director, he and his wife Mary first ran the organization out of their home. Soon, more people needed to be hired to handle such elements as show promotion throughout the United States and Canada, public relations, and merchandising, requiring the move into DCI's first headquarters in the suburbs of Chicago.

"Don deserves a lot of credit for sticking his neck out and taking the job," Cavaliers founder Don Warren said. "None of us knew upfront if DCI was going to be successful. He did a good job during his two decades at the helm."

Like in previous years, the DCE European Championships will once again have its own logo this year. Familiar features such as the European stars, the fresh green grass and of course the DCE logo will return, but the the image is slightly different and a fresh take on previous years.

As always, the design is the work of artist Peter Franken. Drum Corps Europe is very pleased with the design, which will be used in official statements by the DCE Championships. Of course it will also be available as a patch this year, for sale from the web store and on Saturday 26th September in Kerkrade.

The DCE European Championships will once again be held at the Parkstad Limburg Stadium this year. Don’t have tickets yet? Order them here.

The Kidsgrove Scouts won the Open Class (Premier Class) at the DCUK International Summer Spectacular in Woking last Saturday. The Company and Jubal are 0.2 and 0.3 points behind.

For the first time since the start of the European Music Games, corps from three different European countries competed against each other prior to the DCE European Championships. Corps from the United Kingdom, Ireland and The Netherlands, plus special guest Blue Devils International, entered the field at the stadium of Woking FC.

Kidsgrove Scouts obtained the highest score with their performance of 'The Stone Circle' (73.90). However, the margins in the top three are very small. The Company's 'Voyage Spectacle' ended in second place (73.70), while Jubal came third with 'Beyond...' (73.60). The other competing international corps, The Celtic Crusaders from Ireland, did well with 7th place (48.05).

Thurrock Marching Brass topped the Junior Class with a score of 46.90. Scores and recaps can be found at www.dcuk.org.uk. Interested in what effect the show in Woking has on the EMG ranking? Visit www.drumcorpseurope.org/ranking for an actual overview.

Beatrix from Hilversum is taking a different path. The corps will not return to the contest fields in the near future, but nevertheless retains 'drum corps influences'.

Having decided not to bring a corps onto the field, a committee consisting of members, staff, volunteers, directors and people from outside the association wrote a plan for the corps' future. The committee has identified the needs of the current members and staff.

The result is that this winter a product will be introduced that will serve as a showcase and grow to a full programme in summer. “The new product will be crowd pleasing, more theatrical, and will be written in a way that will allow it to be performed in many areas and locations”, the corps announced. “We also want to leave plenty of room for modern developments and techniques. So we will retain much of the drum corps style, but no longer meet the drum corps manual.”

After the summer break, an open day of Beatrix’ 'new style' will be held and the new concept will be rolled out.

With the slogan "Ja! Wir sind wieder da!" ("Yes! We're back!"), the Heartliner are celebrating their return to the renovated corps home located in Ludwigshafen-Oppau - Germany.

After requests from local residents, the corps will organise a community party, supported by mayor Eva Lohse from Ludwigshafen. Work on a gas line of the chemicals group BASF in Ludwigshafen caused a huge explosion in October last year. The explosion took place next to the corps home of the Heartliner. The rebuilding work is now almost done.

The corps home went through a time-consuming restoration and does now have a brilliant new look. Heartliner invite everyone to celebrate with them and explore the new premises. 'Heartliner Day' will be on 4th July and is officially opened by Dr. Eva Lohse and district mayor Udo Scheuermann at 11.30 am.