News dal sito DCE

The web team of Drum Corps Europe is working on the construction of a completely new website. Both the website itself and the back-end will be given a full makeover.

The existing site has been in use for over three years now. But the digital world is changing rapidly, and Drum Corps Europe wants to keep up with the developments and be able to use new technologies in order to further improve the website for its users. The new website will be accessible on all devices. At the moment, mobile users are still presented with a separate website.

DCE expects the new website to be in use as of the first quarter of 2016. It will be the fifth version of the website since the start of DCE fifteen years ago.

On the last day of the year, the editorial team of the DCE website has created a list of the most popular news items of 2015. What news item were the most popular in 2015? The News Top 50 is a great way to look back at 2015 and reminiscence about the most memorable things that have happened over the past year.

50. Southern Knights are WGUK Open Class champions, Kidsgrove second (2558 views)
6 April 2015

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. Read more. -->


49. DrumSpirit impresses and wins IPE European Championships (2586 views)
3 April 2015

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). Read more. -->


48. Seven countries represented at DCE Championships 2016 (2615 views)
14 December 2015

Drum Corps Europe has published the list of participants for the DCE European Championships. A record number of seven countries will be represented next year at the Parkstad Limburg Stadium in Kerkrade - the Netherlands. Read more. -->


47. Beatrix are CGN Open Class Champions (2672 views)
31 March 2015

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. Read more. -->


46. Kadoudal is working hard on a comeback for 2016 (2672 views)
21 April 2015

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. Read more. -->


45. Drum Corps World features European reports (2689 views)
11 October 2015

The latest edition of the online drum corps magazine Drum Corps World features reports on both the DCUK and DCE Championships. The magazine is now available online. Read more. -->


44. The Company announces two-week tour to DCI in 2017 (2691 views)
9 October 2015

The Company Performance Ensemble will be travelling to the USA for a two-week tour in late July and early August 2017 to take part in the Drum Corps International World Championships in Indianapolis - Indiana. Read more. -->


43. Indoor Music Games and SoundSport show in Middelburg (2788 views)
18 October 2015

The Indoor Music Games are coming to Middelburg - The Netherlands, on Saturday 23rd April 2016, with a contest to be run in collaboration with Juliana Drum & Bugle Corps. Read more. -->


42. Federatieband to participate in DCN contests again (2795 views)
8 April 2015

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


41. Help us keeping the DCE live webcast on air (2809 views)
27 August 2015

Drum Corps Europe has started a crowdfunding campaign in order to keep the live webcast of the DCE European Championships going. Earlier this summer, DCE sounded the alarm about the costs of the popular webcast. Drum corps fans can help by sponsoring the webcast and buying airtime. Read more. -->


40. Beatrix will not field a corps this year (2898 views)
22 March 2015

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


39. American Bret Kuhn is a judge at IPE contest in Sweden (2936 views)
8 March 2015

The American Bret Kuhn, whose roles have included percussion caption head for the Cavaliers, is one of the judges at the IPE contest in Sweden today. The contest will kick off the season for Indoor Percussion Europe. Read more. -->


38. The programme of the DCE Championships 2015 (2942 views)
24 September 2015

The programme of the DCE European Championships has been published. After the DCUK Finals, the order of the Premier Class Prelims and the Junior Class Finals have been determined, based on the European ranking. Read more. -->


37. New version of DCE Video Vault released soon (2944 views)
22 June 2015

The Video Vault, the video platform by Drum Corps Europe and Color Guard Netherlands, will see a new version soon. The platform will get a new design, and will be faster and more user friendly, especially on mobile devices. Read more. -->


36. Drum corps vet breaks drum roll world record (3014 views)
20 May 2015

Jayson Brinkler, an eight time DCUK champion and snare drummer with the Dagenham Crusaders and Blue Eagles, broke the Guinness World Record on Saturday 16th May in Dartford - England to beat the world's longest individual drum roll of 12 hours and 3 seconds, to set a new record time of 12 hours, 5 minutes and 5 seconds. Read more. -->


35. Blue Devils International coming to the UK (3039 views)
4 May 2015

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. Read more. -->


34. First SoundSport and DrumLine Battle events in France (3052 views)
1 June 2015

The third European SoundSport event will be held in Marquise - France. The event will take place on 11th July in fron of the town hall, and also includes a DrumLine Battle. Read more. -->


33. Black Knights withdraw from summer competitions (3071 views)
4 March 2015

After 23 consecutive seasons the Black Knights will be indefinitely withdrawing from summer marching band competitions with immediate affect. The corps has published an announcement on their Facebook page. Read more. -->


32. Blue Devils International Corps goes to Leeuwarden (3126 views)
16 March 2015

The Blue Devils International Corps (BDI) will perform at the Cambuur Stadium in Leeuwarden on 27th June. The corps has been brought to Leeuwarden exclusively for the Netherlands by the new event concept Proud, which will be housing the Blue Devils for nearly a week in the Frisian capital. Proud works together with Drum Corps Netherlands. Read more. -->


31. Restoration measures proceed in and around Heartliner’s corps home (3170 views)
3 May 2015

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. Read more. -->


30. Blue Devils announce new programme ‘Ink’ (3175 views)
8 May 2015

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


29. The Vikings to take part at DCA Championships in 2017 (3176 views)
2 May 2015

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. Read more. -->


28. International corps enter ‘Summer Spectacular’ in Woking (3218 views)
13 March 2015

The Dutch corps Jubal from Dordrecht and Juliana from Middelburg, and the Celtic Crusaders from Mullingar, Ireland, have registered for the Woking show on Saturday 4th July. The show is hosted by Cadence Drum & Bugle Corps, in association with Drum Corps United Kingdom, and they are proud to present the 'International Summer Spectacular' - a European Music Games Regional. Read more. -->


27. Ticket sale for the DCE Championships starts Friday! (3285 views)
30 April 2015

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. Read more. -->


26. New look for DCE crew members and judges (3317 views)
29 May 2015

Drum corps fans who were at the Drum Corps Netherlands show in Roosendaal last Saturday have probably noticed: both DCE crew members and judges have new outfits. Read more. -->


25. DCE appoints Andy Hewlett as European coordinator SoundSport (3329 views)
27 April 2015

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. Read more. -->


24. DCI season will start where it ends (3414 views)
8 June 2015

For the first time ever, the annual Drum Corps International Tour will get its start exactly where it will end. when an exciting lineup of six World Class groups march into Lucas Oil Stadium on Wednesday 17th June for the DCI Tour Premiere. Read more. -->


23. Starriders unveil new uniform (3509 views)
11 June 2015

The Starriders from Bad Münder have unveiled their new uniform. The new look has been designed by the Dutch artist Peter Franken. Read more. -->


22. DCE Super Seats almost sold out (3531 views)
28 May 2015

Want to enjoy the luxury of a Super Seats at the DCE European Championships 2015 in Kerkrade - The Netherlands? Act now, as the Super Seats are almost sold out. Read more. -->


21. Nexus withdraw from the 2015 drum corps season (3574 views)
22 May 2015

Nexus Drum and Bugle Corps will be withdrawing from all drum corps shows for the 2015 season. With a reduced membership and spiraling costs, it has been decided by the Nexus Performing Arts Management Committee, that committing to the summer circuits would seriously put the group at risk of closure. Read more. -->


20. Jubal and Johan Friso top first contest European Music Games 2015 (3690 views)
24 May 2015

The European Music Games 2015 have started! Jubal from Dordrecht topped the DCN Premier Class last night in Roosendaal - The Netherlands. Johan Friso from Middelburg won the Junior Class. Read more. -->


19. Drum Corps World offers inside look at Blue Devils International (3835 views)
4 June 2015

The latest issue of Drum Corps World that came out today features an inside look at the Blue Devils International Corps as they head to Europe. Read more. -->


18. Music video Janina Gavankar with Jersey Surf (3892 views)
12 April 2015

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. Read more. -->


17. The Company, Beatrix and European X at UEFA Champions League (4244 views)
13 June 2015

Drummers of The Company, Beatrix and European X have performed together at the opening ceremony of the UEFA Champions League Final. The performance took place at the world famous Kraftwerk building in Berlin. Read more. -->


16. DCE continues live webcast of the DCE Championships (4252 views)
23 September 2015

DCE will have a live webcast of the DCE European Championships this year. There was some uncertainty about whether the online broadcast could be continued, but thanks to a crowdfunding project, the live webcast has been made possible. Thank you! Read more. -->


15. DCI unveils new online presence (4258 views)
16 June 2015

Drum Corps International has re-launched their website and online store, in addition to the new DCI Live! streaming video service. To do so, DCI has forged a strategic partnership to leverage the expertise the content-delivery platform of NeuLion. Read more. -->


14. The new Video Vault is available: better, faster and mobile (4322 views)
26 June 2015

Drum Corps Europe and Color Guard Netherlands have launched the new Video Vault. The new version adds a lot of new functionality to the video platform, and loads pages and videos much faster. The Video Vault is also optimised for mobile use. Read more. -->


13. New logo for DCE European Championships (4820 views)
8 July 2015

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. Read more. -->


12. Free webcast of the Italian Championships for marching bands (4951 views)
12 July 2015

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


11. Kidsgrove Scouts take the lead in DCUK (5027 views)
14 June 2015

The Kidsgrove Scouts have won the Open Class at the first DCUK show today in Featherstone. The corps scored 65.95 with their programme 'The Stone Circle'. Read more. -->


10. Kidsgrove Scouts are European champions (5096 views)
26 September 2015

After a thrilling final, the Kidsgrove Scouts are the European champions. Although the British corps was behind The Company in the Prelims, in the evening it overtook its opponent. With 91.25 points, the corps won the title. Read more. -->


9. Blue Devils International Corps will tour five European countries (5172 views)
3 March 2015

The Blue Devils International Corps will travel to the Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Switzerland this summer. The tour will be from 24th June until 26th July. Read more. -->


8. Blue Devils International lands in Europe (5177 views)
25 June 2015

With the Drum Corps International tour well underway in the United States, another group, Blue Devils International, is preparing to take the stage in Europe. The group's members landed in Frankfurt, Germany on Tuesday to commence a 28-day tour that will take them to five different countries. Read more. -->


7. Cadets make it count during Indianapolis opener (5186 views)
19 June 2015

The 2015 Drum Corps International Tour officially kicked off on Wednesday with six corps debuting their competitive productions at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Cadets kicked off the season with a score of 69.850 resulting in a first-place finish. Read more. -->


6. Mosson Secutores present their 2015 show ‘Unity’ (5252 views)
15 June 2015

The adventure of the four Italian formations that have joined the project called Mosson Secutores continues. Read more. -->


5. Heartliner celebrating return to corps home (5787 views)
1 July 2015

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. Read more. -->


4. Kidsgrove Scouts top DCUK Woking, Company and Jubal close (6512 views)
6 July 2015

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. Read more. -->


3. Juliana and Starriders top European Music Games shows (6654 views)
28 June 2015

This weekend saw two shows in the European Music Games series. Juliana topped the show in Leeuwarden - The Netherlands, while the Starriders won the contest in Rastede - Germany. Read more. -->


2. Beatrix is taking a different path (6887 views)
4 July 2015

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'. Read more. -->


1. Former DCI executive director Don Pesceone passes away (7649 views)
10 July 2015

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. Read more. -->

Winter Guard International has opened a virtual education and evaluation platform called '1 on 1'. Groups can ask for any advice for a fixed fee per recording.

WGI 1 on 1 is a virtual tool kit designed to deliver consulations with top indoor designers and technisicians. Groups can ask for advice on anything to improve their programme at any time during the season. All consultations are done in a virtual environment. Groups can simply upload what they wish to share with an expert, and within 72 hours they will receive a recorded response to all questions for $74.95 per recording.

The new platform also allows instructors the opportunity to receive commentary from WGI certified adjudicators. Groups can upload a video of a local performance or rehearsal run through and they will be assigned a judge to evaluate your programme in a caption of their choice though a digital recording, as if they are being evaluated in a live competition.

The WGI 1 on 1 platform can be found at www.wgi1on1.com. Registration is free.

Jubal Drum & Bugle Corps will have a new drum major next year. Viktor van Maanen will take over from Floriaan Bilderbeek as the drum major of the corps from Dordrecht - The Netherlands.

At the end of the 2015 season, Floriaan Bilderbeek announced that he would leave his position of drum major. Following talks with some potential candidates, Viktor van Maanen was chosen to take over from Bilderbeek in 2016.

Van Maanen has been a Jubal member since October 2010. In his first season - the association's 100th anniversary - Viktor was part of the 7 man cymbal line. In 2012, he played tenor and in recent years he was part of the bass line.

Registration for the 2016 Drum Corps United Kingdom season is now open. The season will start om Sunday 19th June in Barnsley.

The board will allow non DCUK member Corps to compete during the year but will not allow non members to compete at DCUK Championships event unless they are based outside the UK and are part of the DCE Certified Partners network of Corps (i.e. DCN, IMBA, German Open and Rasteder Musiktage). Only a DCUK member corps can be crowned British Champion.

The process matches that put in place for the past four seasons and the registration form includes full details of this online only facility, including details of the costs. Any corps that would like further information please email admin@dcuk.org.uk or complete the online form on www.dcuk.org.uk.

At the December meeting of Drum Corps Associates earlier this month, elections were held for all positions of the DCA executive team. With the retirement of Gil Silva, a new President has been elected, Allen Buell.

Buell has been the Vice President for the past four years, served as operations director for the six previous years and will now serve as President of Drum Corps Associates for the next two years.

Glen Johnson, who has served as secretary for the past several years will leave this post and has been elected Vice President. Lou Tierno will continue as the Treasurer and Amber Roeker, formerly the Business Manager for the Govenaires will join the team as the Secretary of DCA.

After 3 months 'off air' the UK Fan Network (UKFN) will be back with you once more from Monday 21st December, bringing the best in UK Drum Corps and Winter Guard. The UKFN team haven’t been resting these few months, they have been working on a brand new site, which will bring you an improved viewing experience.

There are also 2 new subscription options and new lower prices. Subscribers can choose from Winter Guard or Drum Corps only for £9.99, or get a 25% discount and buy our combo package for just £14.99 for 12 months. Your subscription will also now run for 12 months from your subscription date, not on a fixed date.

From 9am on 21st December just go to the new website – www.ukfannetwork.org - and sign up and get access to just under 1,000 videos including both the DCUK & WGUK 2015 Championships events.

What's more fun than gifting someone the DCE Championships 2015 for Christmas? Order the DVD and get it delivered before Christmas, so that you can keep enjoying drum corps shows during the dark winter days!

DVDs that are ordered by this Thursday 17th of December, will be delivered before Christmas. Order it as an original Christmas gift, or keep it for yourself, so you can relive that fantastic drum corps day in September! There are DVD sets for the Premier Class Prelims, Junior Class Finals and the Premier Class Finals.

Ordering is easy via the DCE online store. Order now, and Drum Corps Europe will ensure a timely delivery!

Drum Corps Europe has published the list of participants for the DCE European Championships. A record number of seven countries will be represented next year at the Parkstad Limburg Stadium in Kerkrade - the Netherlands.

22 corps from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Ireland, France and Belgium will participate in the DCE European Championships 2016, of which 16 corps will compete in the Premier Class and 6 in the Junior Class. 22 corps is the maximum number that can be admitted to the event.

Beeches Performance Ensemble from Birmingham (UK) will enter the European Championships for the first time in 2016. Next year we will also see a comeback o Kadoudal Drum & Bugle Corps from Quiberon (France), Showband Calypso from Zwevegem (Belgium) and Millennium Drum & Bugle Corps from Verdello (Italy).

“It’s great to see that a record number of countries will be represented at the DCE Championships next year”, says DCE Chairman Marcel Matthijsse. “We have never been quite as European as we will be next year. We look forward to another great drum corps day in Kerkrade on Saturday 24th September.”

The list of participants in alphabetical order is as follows:

PREMIER CLASS
37th Kingswood, Bristol (UK)
Beeches, Birmingham (UK)
Blue Diamonds, Nienhagen (DE)
Cadence, Guildford (UK)
Calypso, Zwevegem (BE)
Jubal, Dordrecht (NL)
Juliana, Middelburg (NL)
Kidsgrove Scouts, Kidsgrove (UK)
Millennium, Verdello (IT)
Mosson Secutores, Mosson/Besana (IT)
Revolution, Queensbury (UK)
Starriders, Bad Münder (DE)
Spirit of 52, Rastede (DE)
The Company, Chesterfield (UK)
The Vikings, Tallaght (IE)
Wölper Löwen, Neustadt am Rübenberge (DE)

JUNIOR CLASS
Diamond Cadets, Nienhagen (DE)
Johan Friso, Middelburg (NL)
Jong Beatrix, Hilversum (NL)
Jong-Holland Junioren, Zwijndrecht (NL)
Jong Jubal, Dofrdrecht (NL)
Kadoudal, Quiberon (FR)

Actor Dwayne Johnson and his Seven Bucks Productions will produce a documentary featuring the rivalry between Allentown’s Cadets and The Blue Devils from California in the competitive world of Drum Corps International.

The documentary 'Hard Corps' which has been green lit by Fuse TV, will give audiences “an insane/fascinating in-depth docu-series into the greatest marching bands in the world,” Johnson wrote on his Facebook page.

“I had no idea how incredibly complex and inspiring the Drum Corps culture is until we produced this series,” he says. “The entertainers have incredible tenacity, drive and a hard core commitment to excellence. Viewers will be on the edge of their seats seeing who comes out on top.”

Production began in November and cameras will follow the two corps during the 2016 DCI Summer Tour. The series will culminate at the DCI world championships in Indianapolis in August 2016.

Winter Guard United Kingdom has announced the 2016 membership. This season there are 36 units representing 17 different organisations.

Whilst there are a couple of notable absences, Moonlight and Thurrock Academy - both long time participants in the winter, WGUK welcomes four new groups who will be competing on the circuit. They are Beeches from Birmingham (A Class), Commodores from Cheshire (Junior Class), Imperial Winterguard from Bristol (A Class) and Waterloo Academy from Northampton (Junior and Cadet Class).

There will be 1 unit in World Class, 4 units in Open Class, 9 units in A Class, 11 units in Junior Class, and 11 units in Cadet Class. Details of the entries into each contest will be announced very shortly as the countdown to WGUK 2016 officially starts.

Dennis Naaktgeboren is resigning as public relations manager at Drum Corps Europe. He has held the management position since 2003.

“I am leaving because I am getting increasingly busy at work (at a national Dutch newspaper) and it is becoming more difficult to give it 100 percent. When I do something I want to do it right, and that is being compromised. In addition, after twelve years I think it's time for a new face. I am leaving with a heavy heart, because I still want lots more people to discover our beautiful activity. What’s more, DCE consists of an amazingly great group of people who are not in it for their own ego, but out of love for drum corps.”

Chairman Marcel Matthijsse says it’s a shame that Naaktgeboren is leaving. “In the team, we like to work with people who not only have affinity with their position, but can fulfil their role in a professional way. Dennis is obviously a real media professional with a huge amount of experience and talent. Although it is very regrettable that he is leaving the team, we are very grateful to Dennis that he has used his knowledge and skills for DCE and the drum corps activity in general.”

Naaktgeboren is not saying goodbye to drum corps. “I will be at the next DCE European Championships as always, but I will be in the stand this time. To be honest, I am really looking forward to experiencing this fantastic event as a visitor!”

The Italian Marching Show Bands Association (IMSB) has announced the dates and places for their competition events in 2016: the Color Guard & Percussion Day and the IMSB Italian Championship. Corps from outside Italy are welcome to participate.

The sixth edition of the indoor event will take place in the Palace of the Sports Center Palaporada-Trabattoni of Seregno (MB), a very large, modern and well-equipped sports hall, suited to host an event like the CG&PD. The event will be held on Sunday, 3rd April 2016, in the afternoon.

The IMSB Italian Championship, the key event that finalises the Italian marching season, will be held at the historic Rigamonti-Ceppi Stadium in Lecco. The town council offers the stadium, located between the Lario Lake and the Alps of Lombardy, free of charge for the event that is not only a sportive appointment, but also a cultural and educational one for everyone who will take part. This makes it a unique event in Italy. The championship will take place in the evening of Saturday 9th July 2016.

"We are excited to be able to accommodate our two national events in two exceptional facilities like the Sports Palace in Seregno and the Rigamonti-Ceppi Stadium in Lecco", the IMSB stated. "We would like to thank the town councils with whom we tighten or renew a collaboration, knowing that the Italian groups will entertain the audience in a marvellous way."

The opening of the registration period at the two championships will be announced soon. "We hope that many Italian groups will participate, and bring exciting performances to the events. We also invite all European groups to join as well, they can write to the President Felice Cattaneo at info@imsb.it for more information. We will be happy to open the doors to our international friends to take part in the Italian circuit; they will certainly receive a festive and warm welcome."

The registration period for the DCE European Championships has ended. There has been a lot of interest in participating in the event. More corps have registered than the number of available places.

The DCE European Championships can accommodate up to 22 participants. Corps could register for the event in the month of November. There has been a lot of interest, with Drum Corps Europe receiving more entries than there are places available.

The top ten of the Premier Class and the top three of the Junior Class are automatically entered into the competition. Wild cards are issued for the remaining places. Corps will be notified on 9th December whether they are a wildcard contestant. As every year, the list of participants will be announced on the DCE website on 14th December.

There will be no Blue Devils International Corps in 2016. Two months ago, a second European tour was announced by the Californian corps, but the audition information has now been removed.

In September of this year, the Californian corps announced their second tour to Europe in July and August 2016 with approximately 100 performers made up of brass, battery percussion and color guard. The audition information page has now been replaced by the message 'There is no Blue Devils International Corps planned for 2016. Thank you for your interest.'

BDI debuted this year in Leeuwarden - The Netherlands on 27th June, and also performed in England (DCUK Woking show), Italy and Switzerland.

Showband Calypso from Zwevegem - Belgium will be introducing a large alumni corps next year. The corps with former members of the show band already has more than 100 musicians and guard members.

The alumni corps will be created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Showband Calypso. The goal is to do a concert performance in their own city next year, on Saturday 2nd July. There was a lot of interest in the first meeting, early September this year, and rehearsals for the brass, percussion, pit and guard have started this month.

The show band recently announced that it is going all in for the 2016 competition season, participating in Drum Corps Netherlands, Drum Corps Europe and the Indoor Music Games.

The Blue Barons will not only participate in the Indoor Music Games/SoundSport competition next year, they also run an IMG event themselves. Drum Corps Europe asked Greg Small from the Blue Barons about the vision and future of the group.

Hi Greg, can you tell us a little bit about the history of the Blue Barons?
The Blue Barons Drum and Bugle Corps founded in 1979 by a group which broke away from the band of the 3rd Glasgow Boys Brigade. Two brothers Derek and Colin Dobbins were highly influential in directing the new corps towards the DCI style of performance. Legend has it that the corps was to be called the Red Barons but for the lower cost and availability of blue material for uniforms. The corps visual emblem of a yellow chevron on a blue shield originates from a stained-glass window design which was common in the windows of homes in the area where corps was formed.

The new corps quickly established a competitive drive and joined the fledgling DCUK in 1982, finishing a credible thirteenth out of almost thirty competing corps. In 1983 the Barons jumped nine places to finish 4th at the DCUK Championships and featured on the ‘Bands of Gold’ television programme. The Blue Barons travelled extensively throughout the UK and in 1984 visited Belgium for a 2 week camp which was subtly disguised as a holiday, but was driven by our US instructional staff. . That season firmly established the corps amongst the top echelon in the UK and built the foundation for even greater success.

Then came the 1985 season. Since its formation the corps had worked hard and spent a huge amount of time and effort in learning the rehearsal fundamentals needed to reach the top. Practicing long hours in inclement Scottish weather, the corps took to the competition field in June of 1985 and quite simply blew the opposition away. The rest of that year is a bit of blur but the statistics are worth mentioning: being undefeated all season; winning every caption award; and achieving the highest points score to that date at the DCUK Championships. On a personal note I still receive positive comments surrounding our 1985 show and believe there were few more memorable moments than "the wall" of sound in McDuffy’s March where our powerful brass section excelled.

Why did you decide to bring the Blue Barons back to life?
Myself and a good friend Iain MacMillan have stayed abreast with the drum corps scene over the years and have tried on a few occasions to light the flame of interest in the activity in Scotland. Drum corps has changed a lot since the heady days of the 1980s and we saw this new format as a good vehicle to spark up the alumni and re-establish drum corps in Scotland.

What do you think of SoundSport and the Indoor Music Games?
I am truly excited about this format. The only way I can see any chance of a future "field corps" being established in Scotland is to reach out to younger people and successfully deal with the wet Scottish weather. I think we would struggle to grow the corps if we insisted on a full field corps operational model at this time.

Can you share some details about the IMG/SoundSport show in Glasgow?
After last year’s successful rebirth, the corps members wanted to step up a gear and are working hard to energise the drum corps spirit amongst our alumni. We are determined to produce a great event in Glasgow as a fitting finale to the season. We intend to follow the IMG/SS approach and have various classes of ensembles entertaining us.

What plans do you have with the Barons in the future?
One of the reasons drums corps diminished in Scotland was the increase in travel costs. I wish to grow the activity and assist other units to form and participate in a Scottish competitive circuit, with opportunities for other nations’ corps to compete here and enjoy our famous Scottish hospitality.

Is there anything else you would like to share?
I would like to extend an invitation to all marching and musical units to come to Glasgow on the 21st of May 2016 and enjoy ‘A Night Out With The Barons’.

Drum Corps Europe would like to thank Greg Small for this interview. More information about the Blue Barons Mini Corps can be found on their Facebook page.

Drum Corps International has announced the 2016 summer tour, including a long-awaited return to the Sunshine State. During the run of the 52-day summer season, the 44th annual DCI Tour will showcase more than 60 drum corps at events in 39 states.

DCI has strong ties to the Florida region. Behind Texas and California, annually, more drum corps members hail from the Sunshine State than any other. Drum corps history also runs deep in Florida cities with the 1983 DCI World Championships held at Miami’s Orange Bowl and Orlando playing host to the season-ending series of events four other times including 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2003. The DCI Tour last came to the Sunshine State in 2012.

The Florida shows are scheduled between 9th and 12th July. The full tour dates have been published on DCI's website.

A new initiative has started in Italy to encourage Italian musicians and guard members to join an American drum corps. The project is called 'Italians in DCI & DCA'.

The idea, based on the 'Dutch in DCI' foundation in The Netherlands, comes from Nicola Esposito of the national music organisation Italia Marching Show Bands (IMSB), which aims to promote the marching music activity in Italy. He remembers having difficulties when he wanted to audition for a DCI corps in 2007". Despite the help of fellow corps members, he didn't know how to contact corps and staff, what to expect from an audition weekend, how to get a visa, how to arrange medical tests necessary to obtain documents.

'Italians in DCI and DCA' is not only available to members of the IMSB, but to everyone who wants to march a DCI or DCA corps. The goal is to increase the Italian precense in foreign competitions, support ambitious people who want to march abroad, and to increase the awareness and technical level of Italian individuals and groups.

Interested parties can get more information about the Italians in DCI & DCA initiative on Facebook.

Drum Corps International has announced the first 2016 dates of SoundSport events. The current schedule has four European performance opportunities and five US showcases on tap thus far, with additional dates being added on an ongoing basis.

Following two enormously successful European events last spring, SoundSport will also be featured in the Drum Corps Europe Indoor Music Games (IMG) event series in 2016. A series of four events in as many Western Eurpoean countries, the IMG aims to engage area music ensembles in winter performance opportunities during Drum Corps Europe’s 'off-season'. Each event will consist of two categories, including SoundSport and IMG participants respectively.

Both formats are aimed at encouraging new or formerly existing bands, corps and ensembles to form or reform, providing them with 'right-sized' performance opportunities to help guide their success and enjoyment. These opportunities are also being utilized by groups pursuing a rebuilding process, as the demands are far less rigorous than those of more typical competitive drum corps or marching bands. IMG/SoundSport shows will be held in venues similar to those used for winter guard events, although the current European season runs from February until May in order to allow groups also wishing to compete in the summer season to do so.

“We’re excited to expand the SoundSport concept through this wide-ranging series of events”, said John DeNovi, DCI’s Senior Director of Global Business Development. “SoundSport was created to allow groups of all shapes, sizes and instrumental configurations worldwide the opportunity to take their place on stage in a low-cost, low-barrier to entry marching music performance experience, all with a significant focus on audience engagement and entertainment.”

In addition, the US SoundSport events will also feature DrumLine Battle competitions, creating an additional exciting, high-energy and entertaining element for participants and audience members as teams of talented percussionists face off in a skillful display of showmanship. Additional international events are expected to add to the 2016 SoundSport schedule in the coming months.

Registration for U.S. based SoundSport events will open in early December and will be launched on www.soundsport.com. Registration for the European Indoor Music Games/SoundSport events has already started, more information can be found at www.drumcorpseurope.org/img.

The 2016 SoundSport copmpetition schedule:

SoundSport Dublin, Ireland
Saturday, 27th February

SoundSport Thurrock, England
Saturday, 19th March

SoundSport Middelburg, The Netherlands
Saturday, 23rd April

SoundSport Glasgow, Scotland
Friday, 21st May

SoundSport Central Florida, Lakeland, Florida
Saturday, 9th July

SoundSport Whitewater, Wisconin
Saturday, 16th July

SoundSport San Antonio, Texas
Saturday, 23rd July

SoundSport Atlanta, Georgia
Saturday, 30th July

SoundSport Indianapolis, Indiana
Saturday, 13th August