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The Blue Devils have announced their new show programme. The show of DCI's current world champions is entitled ‘Ink’.

Music pieces in the programme are 'Dark Forest' (Dave Glyde), 'Sweeney Todd' (Stephen Sondheim), 'The Giant Attack' (Stephen Sondheim), 'The Mad Hatter's Tea Party' (Gordon Goodwin), 'I Like You' (GOT7), 'Children Will Listen' (Stephen Sondheim) and 'Last Midnight' (Stephen Sondheim).

"Ink travels from paper to pattern and brings music and magic into an exhilarating existence of drum and bugle corps passion" the Blue Devils state in a press release. "From the legendary Stephen Sondheim to Grammy award winner Gordon Goodwin, the Blue Devils traverse the musical terrain of endless possibilities. Through graceful composition the palate of discovery brings choreography and form into stunning realism and design becomes a living, breathing experience."

As part of their 2015 European tour, the Blue Devils International Corps will be performing at the DCUK Woking 'International Summer Spectacular' show on Saturday 4th July.

The full schedule for the Blue Devils International Corps (BDI) tour was released at the beginning of May and includes performances in Holland prior to coming to the UK and then onto Italy and finally eight days at the world renowned Basel Tattoo in Switzerland.

Whilst in Holland, BDI will be performing at the Drum Corps Netherlands contest, in association with Proud Event, in Leeuwarden on Saturday 27th June. The Corps will be arriving in the UK on Wednesday 1st July and spending time in London before travelling to Eastleigh in Hampshire on the evening of 2nd July where housing and rehearsal facilities have been organised for the remainder of their stay in the UK.

BDI will be running an instructional clinic at the Kingfield Stadium in Woking prior to the DCUK contest on 4th July and full details of the content of this and how to register will be announced soon.

Later that afternoon the DCUK contest, a European Music Games Regional, will be hosted by Cadence Drum & Bugle Corps, in association with Drum Corps United Kingdom with 15 corps in competition including units travelling from Holland and Ireland to make the event a truly international spectacle and will culminate in a performance by the Blue Devils International Corps.

After the tragic explosion last year, which left Heartliner's corps home in Ludwigshafen completely devastated, the restoration is at full speed, now that the surrounding neighborhood apartments have been renovated.

The building was stripped to the core. The focus of measures is on new electricity and water installations. The soil outside of the building, which was heavily destroyed by chemicals from the extinguishing water, was removed and will be renewed.

Heartliner's initial plan to return to the site with their annual Family Day on 1st May had to be put aside. Even though a speedy process was demanded, the contracted companies were picked in a time-consuming procedure. "Nevertheless, a couple of weeks won't ruin the project", the corps said.

Work on a gas line of the chemicals group BASF in Ludwigshafen caused a huge explosion in October last year. One person died and dozens were wounded. The explosion took place next to the corps home of the Heartliner.

The Vikings Drum Corps have announced that they will be travelling to the USA in 2017. The corps from Tallaght will compete in the DCA circuit.

The year 2017 will become a very special year for The Vikings. They want to take part in the Drum Corps Associate World Championships, which take place at the Rhinos Stadium in Rochester - New York. The American adventure is part the organisation's 40th anniversary tour.

The Vikings changed from a marching band to a drum & bugle corps in 2014, and they have been very succesful in the Irish and European competition. Last year they were the first Irish group ever to make the Drum Corps Europe Premier Class Finals. They will again compete at the DCE European Championships this year.

The ticket sale for the DCE European Championships will start tonight at 8 pm GMT / 9 pm CET. We know from experience that the tickets will sell incredibly fast in the first few hours, so be on time if you want to secure a seat in the middle of the stand.

Every year thousands of drum corps fans come to the DCE European Championships for the best that Europe has to offer in drum corps. Are you coming too this year? Order your tickets tonight via the DCE website and enjoy 30 amazing drum corps shows at the Parkstad Limburg Stadium in Kerkrade on Saturday 26th September.

Prices for seats range from 17.50 to 30 Euros, and tickets give access to the stadium throughout the day and evening. If you want to attend the event in complete luxury, you can order a Super Seat for 125 Euros, with overnight stays at the stadium hotel as an optional extra. In addition to your own seat with a great view on the field, a Super Seat also offers complimentary refreshments, lunch, dinner and a free subscription to the DCE Video Vault.

Orders can be paid using PayPal, credit card (via PayPal), iDeal (The Netherlands), Mister Cash (Belgium) and SofortBanking. The DCE Ticket Shop will open at exactly 8 pm GMT / 9 pm CET.

Drum Corps International and Drum Corps Europe have announced that Andy Hewlett has been appointed as the European coordinator for DCI SoundSport. Andy organised the first UK SoundSport show in Bristol in March.

After the Bristol show, representatives from Drum Corps International and European organisations talked about developing the SoundSport activity on this side of the Atlantic. Shows across Europe are now in the pipeline for later this year and the coordination will be in the hands of Andy, who had previously been a DCE board member from 2005 until 2011.

"We're extremely happy that Andy has accepted the position of European coordinator for DCI SoundSport events", said DCE chairman Marcel Matthijsse. "We know from his time on the DCE board how dedicated Andy is to getting more people into the marching music activity. That is exactly what we need if we want the marching music activity in Europe to grow and DCI SoundSport can play an important part in helping us achieve that."

Andy said "I'm delighted to have been given this position and I'll work as hard as I can to promote SoundSport across Europe. My job will be to liaise with DCI, DCE and the National Organisations, as well as potential show sponsors and the SoundSport teams to develop this exciting new aspect of the activity."

DCI SoundSport will engage not just the active marching ensembles in the Europe, but will also provide new performance opportunities to ensembles that don't currently have an outlet from which to showcase the talents of their performers. Information on DCI SoundSport can be found at www.soundsport.com.

The ticket sale for the DCE European Championships has started for VIP members. VIP Members can order tickets before the general ticket sale starts on 1st May. No VIP Member yet? Join now and secure the best seats at the Parkstad Limburg Stadium in Kerkrade on 26th September!

Drum Corps Europe introduced their VIP Membership in 2013. For a fixed amount per year, drum corps fans will get free access to video platform The DCE Video Vault and the opportunity to order tickets (up to 2 per person) for the DCE European Championships before the official ticket sales start.

The VIP Membership is the perfect opportunity for those hard core drum corps fans to enjoy watching European top drum corps both at home and in the stadium. You can be a VIP Member for only 29.95 euros per year. Get the VIP Membership now! You can then order tickets for this year by emailing to info@drumcorpseurope.org.

As always, the standard ticket sales for the DCE European Championships will start on 1st May at 8pm (Ireland/UK time).

Become a DCE VIP Member now - click here!

The fact that Kadoudal Drum & Bugle Corps from Quiberon will not participate in the competition this year does not mean that the corps is not active. They are working hard in France to make a comeback in 2016.

Last week from Sunday until Wednesday, the members of Kadoudal have been working hard on the new programme. In Nantes, under the leadership of the American colour guard instructor Elana Siegel (Santa Clara Vanguard and Colts), among others, they were rehearsing the show 'Samourai'.

Kadoudal made its debut in 2010 in the DCE Junior Class and achieved excellent results. In 2012, the junior corps from Quiberon was the first non-Dutch participant to get second place in the Junior Class. They are using this year to regain their strength and lay a foundation for the new show.

“The competition remains our main objective,” said corps director Yvan Boscher earlier. “But we must also think about the education of our members and the future of the corps. We'll be back!”

Rhythm X became the first champion of the International World Winds Class at Winter Guard International. This season, the Winds Class was included in the competition circuit at Winter Guard International for the first time.

This first season, four groups participated in the Independent World Winds Class. Rhythm X from Dayton - Ohio, scored 94.125 points, 1.5 points ahead of Orange County from Huntington Beach - California (92.750). In total, spread over the various classes, twenty ensembles participated in the Winds competition.

Rhythm X also did well in percussion, ending in second place in the Independent Marching World Class. The title went to RCC. All scores and recaps of Winds and Percussion can be found on the WGI website.

Brianza Parade Band, from Italy, has announced their 2015 production ‘The Gift’, with which the group will attend the WAMSB World Championships in Copenaghen, on July 5th, and the Italian IMSB Championship, the next Sunday. The original hornline music was written by Key Poulan, percussion by Lee Beddis and Ray Donato and Francesco Ferrini, drill design by Nicola Esposito, and color guard choreography by Lisa Camiolo.   “It is well to give when asked,  but it is better to give when unasked,  through understanding;  […] All of what you have shall some day be given;  Therefore give now,  that the season of giving may be yours  and not of your inheritors'.”    (From “On giving”, G. Kahlil Gibran)    The group explains the show theme as follows: "The joy surrounds us, to see it is up to us. Also, is up to us to build one every day, even if small, because only by joining our joys and our forces we will give life to happiness. Big actions are not required: on the road to happiness we won't find encumbering and big things, because everything that is physically large cluttered our path; small and generous gestures are the furnishings that make the road to happiness magnificent, and the simple and good things are the real gems studded on the most important jewel we have: our life. A small thing, an innocent desire, a simple gesture that comes from the heart, all this is inside the seed of wonder, and wonder is the characteristic of children, the thing that we lose when we become adults."   Today Brianza wants you to return children, giving you a drop of wonder. "We will take a child, we will add an innocent desire and a free act of love; we will add all with that which could seem a poverty of possessions, but is actually the greatest wealth in the world, namely the condition that some people have of needing help from others, and the ability for others to be useful to them: and this makes the joy. This is our gift to you: today we give you the hope that we could have a better world, the knowledge that together we can do something, even just giving each other a little joy, which is in realty a true gift of love."

Janina Gavankar, an American actress and musician with Dutch roots, has made a music video in which the DCI corps Jersey Surf plays a leading role. Gavankar made the video to draw attention to drum corps in front of a large audience.

Gavankar made a drum corps version of the song 'Don’t Look Down' by Martin Garrix with 50 members of Jersey Surf. The choice for this version is not entirely coincidental. Gavankar has long been a big drum corps fan and once auditioned for the pit of Phantom Regiment. Her mother is of Dutch-Indian descent and emigrated to America.

The musician was looking for a drum & bugle corps to make the video, and came into contact with Jersey Surf through DCI's John DeNovi. Arranger Colin Bell from Jersey Surf wrote a drum corps arrangement based on Gavankar's ideas. “Everyone just loves drum corps so much,” Gavanker says in an interview. “And because it was so inspiring on the day, it just made up for all the challenges that we had.”

In the music video, Gavankar herself plays on snare and marimba, together with the members of Jersey Surf. The video can be watched below, as well as the “making of” version.

The Federatieband will be returning to the competition of Drum Corps Netherlands. The band has made a successful comeback.

After quite a number of years of absence, and even a few years where the band went inactive completely, the Federatieband will return to the place where they feel most at home: on the field. The return has been faster than the club expected. “What we all wanted to achieve in five years, has now been done in just three. That is why the Federatieband has decided to register for the DCN contests.”

This year's show of the Federatieband is based on music by Elton John, and inspired by the story of the Federatieband over the last five years, the forced stop in 2010 ('Funeral for a Friend'), the subsequent years in which the group wants to perform but is unable to ('Love Lies Bleeding'), the plans for the comeback ('Your Song'), the re-launch in 2013 ('Circle of Life'), and now the premiere of the new show in 2015 ('Saturday Night's Alright Party Time').

The Southern Knights became champions in the Open Class on Saturday during the Finals of Winter Guard United Kingdom. The guard from Brighton and Hove managed to win after thrilling battle against the Kidsgrove Scouts, who achieved the highest score in the Prelims.

The Kidsgrove Scouts once again had a strong season after their debut year in 2014 where they won the Open Class title. In the Prelims, Kidsgrove were still ahead of the Southern Knights by 1.70 points (78.70 and 77.00 points respectively). In the Finals, however, the Southern Knights upped their score by more than three points to 80.20, and as a result the guard from Brighton/Hove finished slightly above the Kidsgrove Scouts (79.60).

Oracle finished third in the Open Class with 76.15 and the Avengers closed the ranks in the Open Class with 63.45 points. Mayflower was the only guard to participate in the World Class and scored 80.75 points. The title in the A Class went to Northern Academy (81.10), the Junior Class was won by Southern Knights, and the Anchormen Cadets were top in the Cadet Class.

Scores and recaps are available on www.wguk.org.uk.

DrumSpirit from Dadizele won the European Open Class title at the IPE European Championships on Sunday with the impressive show 'In Flanders Fields'. Other champions included Strängnäs (A Class), Unik Star Concert (Concert Class) and Evolution Juniors (Junior Class).

Event hall De Schelp in Wevelgem - Belgium was the backdrop of the eighth edition of the IPE European Championships. A record number of groups from Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Sweden, France and Italy played in front of a full stand. European X scored big in the Open Class (88.17), but had to give way to their Belgian colleagues at DrumSpirit (91.33). Percussion Unlimited came third (83.83), followed by GOT Motion (80.33), Unik Star (78.67) and yMe (71.83).

Strängnäs and Beverly Percussion Ensemble were evenly matched in the A Class. Strängnäs managed to win the title by a narrow margin (scores 80.83 and 80.67 respectively). Harpe Davids took third place (76.50), Liberty Drumcorps came fourth (75.83) and Music Black Show finished fifth (73.67).

The Concert Class had three participants. Unik Star managed to win with a big lead (85.50). New Spirit came second (76.50) and Blue Night Revolution ended in third place (70.50). As the only participant in the Junior Class, Evolution Juniors scored 72.25 points.

Scores and recaps can be found at www.indoorpercussioneurope.org.

Representatives from Drum Corps International met with officials from DCE, DCUK and IMBA during a recent visit to Ireland and England. The focus of the meeting was to expand existing relationships and to increase communications on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, ultimately resulting in greater participation in the marching arts and related activities around the world.

Set against the backdrop of the first-ever SoundSport and DrumLine Battle events held in Europe, meeting attendees expressed their enthusiasm for increasing collaborative efforts to foster increased interest and participation in various musical events and performance ensembles.

According to Dan Acheson, Executive Director and CEO of Drum Corps International: “We are simply thrilled at the response we’ve received from our friends in Ireland and the United Kingdom in staging these inaugural events, and are extremely interested in continuing to broaden our partnership with our colleagues throughout Europe and around the globe. We are focusing on the common goals of engaging more people in the exciting world of the performing arts and helping to foster their pursuit of excellence through their involvement.”

Accompanying Acheson at the meeting in Bristol were John DeNovi, DCI Sr. Director of Global Business Development and Eric Hjellming, Business Development Programs Manager responsible for SoundSport and DrumLine Battle events. The trio was joined by Drum Corps Europe (DCE) Chairman Marcel Matthijsse, as well as DCE Secretary Marco Janssen, and Mark Bassett, DCE Adjudication Manager. Representing Drum Corps United Kingdom was Alan Thompson, Chairman of Marching & Performing Arts United Kingdom, and Andy Hewlett of the Kidsgrove Scouts. Also in attendance was Oisin Molly of the Inbhear Mor Marchers of Arklow, Ireland.

“We are very grateful to Colm Bolger and the Ravens Drum and Bugle Corps for staging a fantastic event in Athlone, Ireland, at an incredible multi-stage historic location on the banks of the River Shannon. We’re very much looking forward to a reciprocal visit from the Ravens in the United States in the future,” Acheson said.

“We’re also grateful to Andy Hewlett and our friends from the Kidsgrove Scouts for putting together an excellent program in Bristol,” he added. “It was simply wonderful to see so many generations of performers coming together at both events to celebrate marching music. This meeting signals a new sense of opportunity for our common interests, and I have no doubt that our partnership will become stronger thanks to the time we were able to spend together this weekend.”

DCE Chairman Marcel Matthijsse echoed Acheson’s sentiments. “The organizations which comprise Drum Corps Europe share a remarkable passion for the marching arts with our American counterparts,” Matthijsse said. “We have come together to provide opportunities for people from throughout Europe to enjoy the drum and bugle corps activity and to help the activity to grow. Our meeting today in Bristol was extremely productive and will undoubtedly pave the way for future discussions, sharing of resources and growth of the movement on both sides of the Atlantic. The prospects for the future are very bright indeed.”

Speaking on behalf of MPA:UK, established to promote both the drum corps and color guard activities in the United Kingdom, Chairman Alan Thompson added: “Today’s co-sponsored event signals the start of the next chapter of the continuing growth of the marching and performing arts in the U.K. We join with our partners at DCE and DCI to focus our efforts on bringing more great performers to fields, floors and stages far and wide.”

Beatrix from Hilversum won the 2015 Open Class title of Color Guard Netherlands on Saturday in Eindhoven. The guard also topped the Prelims and stayed ahead of The Pride from Huizen by almost a full point in the evening.

After three years in the World Class, Beatrix participated in the Open Class again this year. With the exception of the contest in Wijchen, the guard from Hilversum remained unbeaten this season with their programme 'Untitled', and scored 85.05 points at Finals. The Pride came one point short of the title with 'Qwerty', finishing second (84.15), and Sensation had to make do with a third place. Their version of 'Daylight Kisses Everything' was rewarded with a third place and 80.80 points.

Not only was there a great atmosphere and a large audience on Saturday at the Indoor Sports Centre in Eindhoven, but the enthusiastic audience encouraged everyone on the floor. The Kids Class was won by Advendo Kids. In the Cadet Class, The Pride was declared champion. The Junior Class was won by The Pride Junior. In the Regional A Class, the title went to Mozaic. In the A Class, The Pride were the winners.

The Indoor Winds Open Class experienced its debut at the CGN Championships on Saturday. Showband Concordia Zevenhuizen has the historic honour of being the first winner in that class. The judges rewarded the performance of the band from Groningen with 66.45 points.

European X triumphed in the Percussion Marching Open Class (87.58), with a comfortable lead of more than three points over Percussion Unlimited. The title in the Marching A Class was a tie between NFPC and Sternse Slotlanders. The Sternse Slotlanders Juniors (73.23), Trommelgroep West Nederland (75.05) and Unik Star Concert (80.40) participated in the Marching Cadet Class, Percussion Prep Class and Concert Open Class respectively.

Drum Corps World has launched an electronic book titled “'2014: A Season in the Life of the World’s Greatest Youth Activity'. Nearly 1,000 images are included covering the worldwide movement, with 22 pages of European corps.

Each of the Drum Corps International corps have a two-page spread that contains 10 to 12 representative photographs. Also showcased are two-page layouts of the Drum Corps Associates corps, one-page displays for the most active alumni groups and single-photo collections of additional alumni corps, DCI SoundSport participants and other alumni groups in the United States and Canada.

Non-American corps are also part of the presentation, with one-page offerings for each of the European units that took part in the Drum Corps Europe Championship in Kerkrade, plus additional pictures with groups in Europe that competed at the Drum Corps United Kingdom, Drum Corps Nederland and British Youth Band Association events during the fall season.

The book also provides a collection of photographs from South Africa, The Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Far East, with single shots to show fans that the drum corps activity has spread literally around the world over the last 35 years since becoming established outside North America in the late 1970s.

A copy of the digital book can be ordered on this page.

The Blue Barons from Glasgow have won the 'Gold' award at SoundSport Bristol. The event, which was held on Saturday, served as a trial to roll out this new form of music and show events in Europe.

The Blue Barons won gold and their award was presented to them by DCI director Dan Acheson, who had flown over from the United States with John DeNovi and Eric Hjellming to attend the launch of SoundSport in Europe. SoundSport Bristol featured a wide variety of performances from nine ensembles representing England, Ireland and Scotland.

The performances of Cinderford Academy, Inbhear Mor, Liberty and Tin Soldiers were rewarded with silver, and 37th Kingswood, Senators Juniors and The X Men won bronze. The event was organised by Andy Hewlett and Kidsgrove Scouts, with support from DCI, DCUK and DCE.

Beatrix Drum & Bugle Corps from Hilversum will be inactive this year. This was reported by the association on its website.

The decision was made as a result of various circumstances, as the board of Vereniging Beatrix Korpsen states. “We will now focus on the future and look ahead to next season”, the board says.

After 1979, Beatrix switched to the drum corps style and has since been the Dutch Champion eighteen times. In 2004 and 2005 the corps was crowned European Champion at Drum Corps Europe. In 1979, 1988, 1991, 2000, 2004 and 2008, the corps from Hilversum entered the competition of Drum Corps International.

The junior sections of the association, Kids in the Band and Jong Beatrix, will remain active.

Color Guard Netherlands unveiled their new logo at the contest in Franeker. The old one “badly needed to be replaced”, said the organisation.

The new logo, in which the three elements of CGN (guard, percussion and winds) have been brought together, has been designed by Peter Franken. Franken has by now built up a large portfolio for similar organisations in Europe. Previously, he designed logos for DCE, DCN, the European Music Games and Video Vault.

“The logo with the flag is no longer fit for purpose, and hasn’t been for many years”, says Niels Merkx, who is responsible for marketing within CGN. “And that's not just because of indoor percussion, which has been part of our activities for years, or even indoor winds. The color guard performances have become dance performances, so much more than just ‘flags in a gym’.”

Peter Franken was therefore asked to design a new logo, obviously in close consultation with people within CGN. “We are very pleased with the outcome,” says Merkx. “The logo has been given a fresh look. What’s more, we have now also made clear agreements with each other on the exact colour in which the logo will be used.”