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Besana secutores Drum & Bugle Corps will not appear on the contest fields this year. The corps does not have sufficient members to put on a show. 

No show also means no participation in competitions, including the DCE European Championships. The year 2014 started as usual with the writing and rehearsing of new music, a new show and guard choreography, but ultimately it proved impossible to “guarantee DCE standards”, says to the corps.

The corps is preparing for a comeback in the competition. Three members of the corps are active in Drum Corps International this year, and will bring back knowledge and experience to Besana Secutores. The corps is entering into a number of partnerships and will prepare for a comeback to the drum corps competition.

Drum Corps Europe would like to wish Besana Secutores all the best, hopeflly see you back on the contest field soon!

Many corps have signed up for the German Open in Hameln this year. No less than twelve corps will be seen in action at the German drum corps championships.

All the top German drum corps will be appearing at the starting line on Saturday the 6th of September in the Weserbergland Stadium. In the Premier Class, the Blue Diamonds, Heartliner, Spirit of 52, Starriders and Wölper Löwen will participate. The Junior Class has two participants: the Diamond Cadets and the Starriders Cadets.

The third class of the German Open, the Concert Class, has five corps: Carpe Diem, Brass & Drum Corps Kriftel, the Blue Bandits, Fanfarezug Weyhausen and the Red Stars. A packed programme this year for the German contest in the European Music Games.

Ticket sales have now started. Tickets can be ordered via e-mail for 10 Euros per person (children 7 Euros). More information about ordering tickets can be found at www.germanopen-online.eu.

The Company continues to lead in the British drum corps competition. The corps stayed ahead of the Kidsgrove Scouts on Sunday during the DCUK contest in Leicester. Many corps managed to significantly improve their score. 

With a score of 76.15, The Company was once again the strongest in the Open Class (Premier Class) of Drum Corps United Kingdom. The Kidsgrove Scouts caught up by 0.1 point in this contest, but must make up for the difference of 1.3 points in the second half of the season (74.85).

Ten participants took part in the contest in Leicester, of which nine in the Open Class. The Black Knights improved their score significantly by more than five points and finished third (68.90). East Coast Elite finished fourth with 57.90 points. Revolution reduced the gap with East Coast Elite to just 0.75 points (57.15), followed closely by Cadence (56.80).

Liberty (49.90), Nexus (45.35) and Spirit of Coventry (43.45) finished in seventh to ninth place. Concord was the only participant in the Junior Class this time and put down a score of 49.55 points.

The European Music Games are almost halfway. The next contest is on Sunday 3rd August in Ballygar, Ireland.

The box office for the 35th British Drum Corps Championships, being held on Saturday 20th September at the Select Security Stadium in Widnes - Cheshire, has opened.

Prices of admission vary from £17.00 for the Gold Seating area to free for children under 13 in the Bronze Seating area. The Silver seats are £14.00 and the Bronze seats are £10.00. Orders wcan be placed online using Paypal or by post using the order form which is available to download via the DCUK website.

More information can be found here. Any queries regarding ticket orders can be sent to boxoffice@dcuk.org.uk. The presale closes on Thursday 18th September.

The observant drum corps fan will already have seen the logo in a number of publications. The European Music Games now have their own logo.

Peter Franken, who is also responsible for the new DCE logo and the annual logos of the DCE Championships, has created the logo for the European Music Games. This replaces the 'DCE Certified' logo that was used for a few years.

"We think that Peter Franken has created a subtle and distinctive design", says DCE Chairman Marcel Matthijsse. "This logo is intended to give the European Music Games an identity as a European competition circuit and really bring it to people’s attention."

It was a busy weekend in the competition of the European Music Games. Contests were held in the Irish town of Arklow and in the German town of Rastede. The Vikings and Beatrix were the respective winners in the Premier Class. 

Beatrix won the contest during the Rasteder Musiktage with a score of 70.30 points. As a result, the corps from Hilversum retains fourth place in the European rankings. The Starriders managed to improve their score compared to last week in Huizen, and remain in fifth place in Europe with 66.45 points. After the contest in Huizen, Spirit of 52 saw their score increase by more than four points in Rastede from 60.40 to 64.70 points and put themselves right behind the top six. The Wölper Löwen increased their score in Rasetede as well: 52.60 points.

The Irish competition in Arklow started at the same time. The Vikings (the new name for the Tallaght Youth Band Marching Vikings) won with 54.35 points, closely followed by the Clonmel Bluehawks who are back in the competition after a year's absence (54.25). The Irish top corps are now eleventh and twelfth in the European ranking. The Celtic Crusaders came third (44.05) and the Inbehar Mór Marchers, who hosted the competition day, placed fourth (43.60). In the Junior Class, the Tallaght Youth Band Cadets scored 37.85 points, good for eighth place on the European ranking.

The next contest of the European Music Games is on Sunday the 13th of July in Leicester.

Scores: www.drumcorpseurope.org/scores
Ranking: www.drumcorpseurope.org/ranking
Contest schedule: www.drumcorpseurope.org/schedule

Jubal will be touring the United States again in 2015. The corps from Dordrecht - The Netherlands is making the trip for the fourth time in its history. The aim is to participate in as many contests as possible in the last three weeks of the DCI competition. 

Jubal previously participated in 2002, 2006 and 2011, when the 100th anniversary of the Corps was celebrated. Like all foreign participants in the DCI circuit, Jubal will compete in the Open Class. There are also a number of contests scheduled for the top of the DCI World Class. Free days are also planned, giving the corps time for sightseeing in big cities.

Jubal’s American adventure will start around the 17th of July next year, when the members, staff, board, and a number of drivers and support staff cross the Atlantic. The coaches and trucks of Jubal caravan will then travel thousands of miles through several states. Like the previous tours, the journey home is scheduled for the day after the World Class Finals.

DCI is very happy with Jubal’s return. DCI’s CEO Dan Acheson called the participation of the Dutch corps "great news".

Three Irish corps have recently announced their 2014 production: The Clonmel Bluehawks, the Celtic Crusaders and the Inbhear Mór Marchers. The IMBA season starts today.

The programme of the Clonmel Bluehawks is called 'As the Last Petal Falls...'. Having taken a break for the 2013 season, the 11-time Irish champions now look forward to competing in the circuit of the Irish Marching Bands Association this summer. The 2014 programme looks at the theme of forbidden love, and features music by John Williams, Michael Kamen, Alan Menken, Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. The corps are delighted to be working with design team of Eoin O' Keeffe, Jon Bilby, Mike Fanning and Remco Groenewegen.

The Celtic Crusaders, the marching unit of Mullingar Town Band, have announced their 2014 production, 'Against the Clock'. Founded in 1879, the Mullingar Town Band has enjoyed success for 135 years at home and abroad. The show features original music by Eoin O’Keeffe, along with arrangements of 'Eternal Flame' by Anna Hoffs, Tom Kelly & Billy Steinberg, and 'I am the Doctor' by Murray Gold. The Celtic Crusaders will this year work with the design team of Eoin O'Keeffe (brass, woodwind and keyboards), Aidan Magee (drums), and Paul Brakewell (visual), and will compete in the IMBA circuit in Ireland.

The Inbhear Mór Marchers have announced 'Romeo and Juliet' as their 2014 field show. The corps have been working hard in recent weeks, including a band camp with Eoin and Aoife O'Keefe. The Inbhear Mór Marchers will host the first IMBA competition, which takes place in Arklow today.

The Blue Devils are looking for talented musicians and dancers to travel to Europe in 2015. This will be a separate performing ensemble from the Blue Devils A Corps.

The Blue Devils international corps will consist of approximately 100 performers made up up of brass, percussion and guard. The corps will be in Europe from the last week of June and the entire month of July (exact dates are to be decided).

Members will pay between $500 amd $1,000, which will cover all flights, hotel, meals and transportation in Europe. The age range of members will be 18 to 25. There will be auditions this fall.

One day after Jubal won the DCN contest in Huizen in the Premier Class, The Company has taken over the lead in the European Music Games. The British corps scored 72.25 points at the DCUK contest in Woking on Sunday. 

The difference between the British and Dutch leaders is less than one point. The Kidsgrove Scouts are also in the top with a score of 70.85, only 0.6 points behind Jubal. The top ten in the European ranking currently also consists of Beatrix, Juliana, Starriders, Black Knights, Spirit of 52, Heartliner and Jong-Holland. In the Junior Class, the top five consists of Dutch corps, led by Jong Jubal. Thurrock Marching Brass won the Junior Class during DCUK contest in Woking on Sunday and is now sixth in the European ranking.

However, the season is still young. Of the fifteen contests (DCUK, DCN, IMBA, Rasteder Musiktage, German Open and DCE), four have now taken place and not all European corps have come into action yet. The next contest will be held on Saturday at the Rasteder Musiktage, where a DCE certified contest will be part of the music festival for the first time. On the same day, the IMBA will have their first show of the season in Arklow.

European scores and recaps can be found on the score page.

Curious about the shows of the 16 corps that participated in the DCN contest in Huizen on Saturday? All videos can be viewed in the DCE Video Vault now! 

Video Vault cameraman Bass Vernes has once again beautifully captured all of the shows. The images are all online. You can watch short preview videos of all performances for free. For € 19.95 you can get a whole year of unlimited access to all videos, including the DCE Championships of previous years.

The DCE Video Vault can be found at http://dce.videovault.eu.

Jubal Drum & Bugle Corps won the DCN contest in Huizen on Saturday. The corps was the first to pass the 70 point mark during the European Music Games 2014 with a score of 71.45. 

With 67.45 points, Beatrix stayed ahead of Juliana (65.55), and is now second in the European rankings. Fourth to sixth place in Huizen were taken up by German participants. The Starriders are very close to the top three, just 0.25 points away (65.25). Spirit of 52 (60.40) and Heartliner (57.25) follow closely behind.

Jong Holland came seventh with 55.75 points, followed by Wölper Löwen (51.15), Con Spirito (49.45), Blue Diamonds (48.25) and Spirit of Music (37.00). Jong Jubal topped the Junior Class (67.60). Johan Friso came second (66.55), Jong-Holland Juniors ended in third place (60.70) and Confetti closed the ranks (55.55).

Hundreds of spectators enjoyed top shows in Huizen. Sixteen corps competed against each other in front of the jury. “It was impressive,” said DCN Chairman Marcel Matthijsse. “For various corps, the music was accompanied choreographies which contained complete story lines. The audience feasted their eyes and ears.”

All scores can be found on the score page. The European ranking is available here. Today, DCUK holds its second contest in Woking.

The programme for the Drum Corps Netherlands contest in Huizen, this Saturday, is online. Sixteen corps will travel to sports park De Wolfskamer for a major European contest.

All participants taking part in the DCN Championships will also be on the starting line in Huizen. It is a long drum corps day starts as early as 3 pm. The Premier Class will follow at 6 pm. Jong Beatrix will perform in judged exhibition because they can't get to Huizen in time for the Junior Class competition because of a performance during the Dutch Veterans Day in The Hague.

Germany is well represented with no less than six participants. During this contest, the ranking of the European Music Games will really take shape. The programme is available at www.drumcorpsnederland.nl.

This year, the DCE European Championships will be held on artificial turf. The pitch of the Parkstad Limburg Stadium in Kerkrade is currently being replaced. The turf must be down by the end of July. 

The work to remove the grass has started. In the first week of July, the rolls of artificial turf must be laid. The job has to be completed in late July, in time for the start of the new football season.

This means that, for the first time since the start of Drum Corps Europe, the European Championships will be held on artificial turf.

Yesterday, five of Drum Corps International’s World Class corps came together in Indianapolis for Opening Night '14. The Cadets topped the first contest.

As the corps buses rolled into the parking lot of Ben Davis High School, grey clouds rolled in right along with them. Rain showers and an occasional flash of lightning were enough to delay the start. By 7.30 p.m., the rough weather had passed, corps began warming up, and eager fans lined up at the stadium gates to enter the stadium.

The Cadets kicked off their season with a first-place finish with a score of 72.10, sweeping the captions and bumping last year’s defending World Champion, Carolina Crown, into second place. Carolina Crown members earned a second-place (70.80) finish with their show 'Out Of This World'.

Phantom Regiment placed third (68.30) with its show 'Swan Lake'. The Cavaliers performed their sinister program, 'Immortal', earning them fourth place (67.30). A high point on the score sheets for the Green Machine was third in percussion, outscoring Phantom Regiment by half a point.

The Troopers from Casper, Wyoming had the honor of presenting the first notes of the summer as they opened the show in Indianapolis. Drum Major Justin Anderson led his corps as they performed their show 'A People’s House', earning fifth place with a score 61.70.

Scores and recaps will be available on www.dci.org.scores.

The competition of Drum Corps United Kingdom 2014 started well on Sunday. The Company and the Kidsgrove Scouts are neck-and-neck at the top, with a difference of only 0.7 points between them.

Seven corps appeared at the starting line in Bradford on Sunday, including six in the Open Class (Premier Class). The Company won the contest with 66.95 points, closely followed by the Kidsgrove Scouts (66.25). East Coast Elite ended in third place with 50.35 points, followed by Revolution (48.30), Cadence (46.60) and Liberty (42.35). In the Junior Class, Concord scored 41.90 points.

Earlier in the day, there was a contest of the British Youth Band Association. In the Championship Division, Trinity School Showband won with 50.0 points. East Coast Elite won the Associate Division with 60.22 points.

In the Premier Class ranking of the European Music Games, Jubal is still in the lead. Three weeks ago, the corps scored 67.45 points in Roosendaal, and that still remains the highest score this season in the European competition.

Three more days to go until the start of the drum corps season in the United States. On Wednesday, the 'DCI Opening Night '14' will take place with the first contest performances of five corps. 

The DCI Opening Night is a new event. In the stadium of the Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, Carolina Crown, The Cadets, Phantom Regiment, The Cavaliers and the Troopers will appear on the field for the first contest. The location is just 15 kilometers away from Lucas Oil Stadium, where the DCI World Championships will be held less than two months later.

After the opening, there will be no less than eight contests in three days during the weekend of 20th to 22nd June. More than 100 contests are scheduled in the coming months. As usual, almost all of the contests will take place in the eastern half of the United States and on the west coast.

This summer the UK Fan Network will be recording the performances at the DCUK contests and bringing them online within 24 hours after the show. The first DCUK show is this Sunday in Bradford.

Besides the contest recordings, there will be an enhanced coverage of the 2014 DCUK Championships from Widnes. More information about that will be available later in the season. Subscribers to the DCUK Fan Network can enjoy the 2014 season, as well as watch the extensive archive of UK drum corps and winter guard.

A subscription to the UK Fan Network is available for a yearly fee of 25 dollars. More information can be found at http://uk.thefannetwork.org.

A group of around 30 musicians and dancers of the Field Band Foundation from South Africa will tour in Flanders from June 18th to 26th. They are all students of the Field Band Academy that were selected for this tour based on their accomplishments in the FBF.

DrumSpirit Percussion Ensemble will host the group. During the second week of their stay, the FBF members will be in host families in the region of Limburg. The initiative of this tour comes from Carglass Benelux (Bart Lambrechts) and the tour is sponsored by a grant of the Belron World Conference Foundation. Belron is the parent company of Carglass and was founded by Bertie and Ronny Lubner. Bertie Lubner is also the founder of the Field Band Foundation and has by this initiated a movement that creates life opportunities for children from townships all around South Africa through music and dance. Vlamo (Flemish Organisation of Amateur Musicians) will provide logistical support for the this exchange program.

The Field Band Foundation is the central guest to a conference on Corporate Social Responsibility, which is organized by Carglass in cooperation with six other companies. The event will take place at the historical site of Bokrijk and will include performance of the Field Band, testimonials from the Field Band members and lectures about CSR and the profits for both business and favoured parties. The Field Band will also tour in Flanders and give some performances. Please consult the Vlamo website for further details. Vlamo will profit from this occassion to organise, in cooperation with several music groups, some workshops for the FBF members in continuation of the exchange and learning program they have been providing since 2007.

Seeing a Field Band at work is something unique. The dancing is triggering and pure African. The musicians perform with passion and natural sense of rhythm. As a public, you will be excited and touched by the valuable message that this Field Band brings.

Tickets for the DCE European Championships on Saturday the 27th of September are once again selling extremely quickly. In addition to Sections A, B and C, all Super Seats are now also sold out. There are still tickets available, but the sooner you order the better your seat will be! 

In line with tradition, Sections A and B were sold out in no time and Section C was full soon afterwards. Now the extra comfortable Super Seats are also sold out to drum corps fans. There are still plenty of seats left in Sections D, E and F, but even Section D is starting to fill up now.

Secure a seat to see the crème de la crème of Europe in action and order tickets from the DCE Ticket Store.