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Indoor Percussion Europe will be adding an extra sports hall to the IPE European Championships in Wevelgem on Sunday 20th March. The additional hall is within walking distance of the De Schelp arena and offers participants the opportunity to warm up.

The additional hall, De Vlaschaard, can also be used by groups to get changed and to store instruments. The hall where the event itself is held does not offer these facilities, so the extra hall is a welcome addition to the facilities offered to groups during the championships.

Next year the event will have a new announcer: Hans Kloppert will be talking the audience through the performances in English as well as French and Dutch. The first groups registered for the Scandinavian IPE Regional and the IPE Championships have been published on www.indoorpercussioneurope.org.

The 2016 show production of Beeches Performance Ensemble is entitles 'Aqua'. The American David Reeves will write the muscic arrangements. The corps has decided to go open age.

The corps is planning on marching both BYBA and DCUK next year, as well as hoping to compete at the DCE European Championships in Kerkrade - The Netherlands at the end of September. They have secured all their staff from last year, with a few additions: Chris Law and Nicole Cook (visual), Kim Bright (guard), Ian Freeth and Jason Ball (brass), Barbara Leach and Julian Powell (front esnemble), Brendan Ball, Steve Hunt and Scott Downes (battery).

Beeches will go open age next year. Anyone who is not currently committed to a corps and are interested in finding out more are requested to contact the corps via email at BeechesPE@hotmail.com or contact corps director Andrew Dallison.

The DVDs of the DCE European Championships will be available this week. If you order now, you will still be one of the first people to get your DVD delivered!

You can experience that beautiful sunny day at the end of September at the Parkstad Limburg Stadium in Kerkrade from the comfort of your living room. All competition performances of the DCE European Championships were recorded by no fewer than five cameras from The Video Vault team. So not only the Finals performances, but also all of the Prelims performances will appear on the DVDs. During each show you can switch between the edited version and high camera only. The DVDs come in a beautifully designed package from Peter Franken.

The purchase of a DVD not only provides you with a beautiful tangible reminder of the day, you will also be supporting the drum corps activity in Europe when you buy it. All profits will go to the further development of drum corps and media productions of Drum Corps Europe.

Order now, and the order will be shipped as soon as possible without any shipping costs! Click here to go to the DCE webshop.

Nico Owen will lead the battery of European X next season, in preparation for their tour to Winter Guard International. Owen has a lot of experience in the American drum corps activity.

The instructor who currently lives in Brazil played in the snareline of Blue Knights Drum & Bugle Corps and the indoor percussion ensemble of the Blue Knights in 2009, and then marched three years with the Cavaliers, who won the award for best percussion in 2011 at the DCI World Championships. He is now part of the management of the famous Tcha Degga Da drumline in Brazil.

Owen is coming to the Netherlands early December to share his knowledge and experience with the members of European X. “We are very pleased to have Nico as our battery coordinator”, said Michel ten Brummelhuis of European X. “We are confident that with Nico and our other instructors, we have an amazing education team that will allow us to get the best out of our cast members and production on our historic journey to Winter Guard International 2016.”

Since the organisation’s founding in 1967, Santa Clara Vanguard has yet to send an ensemble overseas. That is, until now. This December, select members of the corps travel to Taiwan to perform as part of the Taoyuan International Band Festival.

The festival has been hosted in Taiwan since 2004 and has become one of the most important activities in the city, which is one of the largest in the country. The trip is set to take place over three days from 10th - 12th December, during which the Vanguard ensemble will participate in a variety of media events, educational demonstrations and DrumLine Battle events.

“We are proud of our performance ensembles and honored to be representing DCI as invited guests to this prestigious event,” Santa Clara Vanguard Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Fiedler said.

During their visit to Taiwan, the Vanguard ensemble, which will consist of current corps members, alumni and staff of the organization, will serve as marching music ambassadors representing the highest levels of achievement on the international stage. Approximately 40 performers will make the trip. (Text: dci.org)

The Starriders have published a professionally looking promo video for the 2016 season. Videographer and Starriders member Jonas Weckschmied shot the video.

Instead of using existing footage from rehearsals or performances, Weckschmied decided to do a video shoot with the corps members using a black backdrop. "We wanted to create a short video trying to capture the essence of the drum corps experience, the feeling of energy and adrenaline during rehearsals and competitions", Weckschmied said. "It was a lot of fun shooting the video. Of course it was a totally different experience from actually performing in front of an audience, but everyone did a great job."

The video was shot at night early October, when the corps got back from the last performance of the year. The Starriders consider publishing more videos in this style during next season, highlighting different sections of the corps. "We have some pretty awesome ideas", Weckschmied said. The video can be watched below or on Starrider's promo website www.starriders2016.de.

The registration for both the DCE European Championships 2016 and the Indoor Music Games (including SoundSport) 2016 has opened. Registration is possible through the DCE website.

Traditionally, 1st November is the start of the DCE registration, but this time it's also the kick off for the Indoor Music Games and SoundSport. This series of events will run between February and May, with shows in Ireland, England, The Netherlands and Scotland. The IMG and SoundSport are aimed at encouraging new or former bands/corps to form/reform and get involved in the activity, at a level that is more achievable for them at this point in time. It can also be used by groups who are going through a rebuilding process as the demands are less than that of normal marching band/drum corps competition.

Registering for the DCE European Championships is possible during November, and the registration for the Indoor Music Games / SoundSport is open until 28 days before the events. Drum Corps Europe is looking forward to yet another great drum corps year!

After the DCA Fall meeting in Maryland, DCA President Gil Silva will end his tenure as DCA President. Drum Corps Associates have announced Silva's retirement on their website.

Silva’s involvement in the drum corps activity dates back to 1957 when he joined the Holy Rosary Caballeros from Providence, Rhode Island where he played tenor drum and bass baritone bugle. He served as Vice President of DCA from 1991 until 2003 when he took over the Presidency after the passing of Michael Petrone. Silva made a promise to himself that when he took over DCA, that he would leave it better than when he first got it. He feels that the biggest challenge facing DCA is to remain relevant. Finding ways to increase the fan base, working on answers to financial issues, and adding more corps to the South and Central regions will help.

Next DCA season Silva hopes to continue Chief Judging as being on the field with the corps members is the best part of his job. He will still be involved in DCA in an advisory position as he has no second thoughts with his decision to have stepped down. In his opinion, the time was right for a change in leadership and Allen Buell in his opinion will build upon what he has done and take it further.

The registration for the Indoor Music Games and SoundSport 2016 series will open this Sunday, 1st November. The first season will see four events in Ireland, England, the Netherlands and Scotland.

Each show will feature two sections: the DCI SoundSport section and the Indoor Music Games section. Both formats are aimed at encouraging new or former bands/corps to form/reform and get involved in the activity, at a level that is more achievable for them at this point in time. It can also be used by groups who are going through a rebuilding process as the demands are less than that of normal marching band/drum corps competition. The season is a spring activity with events running from February until May. This allows groups that wish to go on and compete in the summer season to do so.

Groups can enter as many shows as they wish, so it's possible to enter just one show, a few shows or all the shows in the series. The show dates are Saturday 27th February (Dublin - Ireland), Saturday 19th March (Thurrock - England), 23rd April (Middelburg - the Netherlands) and 21st May (Glasgow - Scotland).

Thurrock Marching Brass are pleased to confirm that they will bringing DCI SoundSport to Essex on 19th March and will be commiting to the Indoor Music Games circuit to showcase their new Winter Theatre production. Thurrock Marching Brass Chairman, Paul Morgan comments "We are absolutely thrilled and delighted to be adding the IMG and SoundSport to our hosting portfolio which will be billed as DCI SoundSport Essex, keeping it in line with our already established DCUK Essex show during the summer period. This new winter circuit already looks to be setting the stage for new and existing groups to come along and showcase all that is good about music and performance. Something we need to be shouting about a lot more than we do to new audiences across the UK and Europe."

Registration for the Indoor Music Games and SoundSport shows is open until 28 days before the event through the DCE website which opens this Sunday. Here is a video item from the DCE webcast on the SoundSport pilot in Bristol earlier this year:

Winter Guard International will expand the 2016 WGI Color Guard World Championships scheduled for 7th-9th April into the Oxford - Ohio area. Millett Hall located on the grounds of Miami University has been chosen to serve as one of the contest venues for the world championships.

Located 55 miles from the University of Dayton Arena, the 6,400-seat college basketball arena will host preliminary and semi-finals competition on Thursday 7th April and Friday 8th April. The arena offers wide concourses, theater-like lighting and convenient parking. The addition of this full-scale arena is part of providing the best possible experience for participating groups, says WGI.

“We are on pace to have this year’s championships break records in terms of participation”, said Executive Director Ron Nankervis. “The use of Millett Hall will enable us to provide another arena for the groups coming to Dayton and hopefully will improve the performance schedule. We have been thrilled with using this arena for Percussion the past two years and are sure that its’ use will impact the event in a most positive way.”

The drumline of Jubal Drum & Bugle Corps won the 'Grand Prize' at the DrumLine Battle in Lithuania on Saturday. The drummers from Dordrecht - The Netherlands were up against Eastern European competitors.

Jubal looks back on a successful weekend in Panevėžys, where it hosted workshops and performances during the first 'marching event' in the Baltics. The organisation of the event was in the hands of Artspark, an initiative led by Daniel Ray, that introduces young people of Lithuania to marching arts. Music groups from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland came to the Cido Arena in Panevėžys.

"It's really great to see that the activity that we enjoy so much at Jubal is also steadily growing over here," said Jubal on Facebook. To conclude the event, the Jubal drumline gave a demo performance with pieces from their 'Beyond' programme.

Drum Corps Europe and Drum Corps International are pleased to announce the dates for the 2016 Indoor Music Games and SoundSport events. 2016 will see four events in four different countries. The dates and places are:

Saturday 27th February - Dublin, Ireland
Saturday 19th March - Thurrock, England
Saturday 23rd April - Middelburg, The Netherlands
Saturday 21st May - Glasgow, Scotland

Each show will feature two sections, firstly the highly successful DCI SoundSport category, followed by the Indoor Music Games section. Both formats are aimed at encouraging new or former bands/corps to form/reform and get involved in the activity, at a level that is more achievable for them at this point in time. It can also be used by groups who are going through a rebuilding process as the demands are less than that of normal marching band/drum corps competition. Groups have to have a minimum of just five members. All shows will be held in venues similar to those used for winter guard events, although the season is a spring activity with events running from February until May. This allows groups who wish to go on and compete in the summer season to do so.

DCE Chairman Marcel Matthijsse explained "By combining the Indoor Music Games and SoundSport into one event, we feel that we have catered for every group that wishes to compete in the indoor activity. SoundSport will continue to use the system that proved so successful at our pilot show in Bristol last March (i.e. the gold, silver, bronze system) where the main criteria is entertainment. IMG will use a linear scoring system, similar to that used in the European Music Games during the summer. Groups in this category will be expected to perform a full marching show and will be marked accordingly."

DCI SoundSport co-founder John DeNovi added "We’re excited to expand the SoundSport concept to Europe through this series of events,” said John DeNovi, DCI’s senior director of global business development. “SoundSport was created to allow groups of all shapes and sizes worldwide the opportunity for a low cost, low barrier to entry marching music experience that meets the needs of participants while placing a significant focus on audience engagement and entertainment.”

All groups will perform in the same arena and there will be one results ceremony at the end of the show where the results of both sections will be announced. Registration for these events will open next week through the DCE website. Further information is available from Andy Hewlett at andy@drumcorpseurope.org.

Time will be the theme of the new show by Starriders Drum & Bugle Corps from Bad Münder. The production from the German champion and thirteen times DCE finalist is entitled 'About Time'.

“We all know that feeling: sometimes time goes fast and sometimes it’s slow. A moment can be endless for one person, while for another it passes in a second”, the Starriders explain the idea of the theme in a press release. The music pieces that will be supporting the theme include 'Mass' ('La Fiesta Mexicana', H. Owen Reed), 'Earth' ('Symphony No. 1', Philip Sparke), 'Mariage d'Amour' (Paul de Senneville), and 'Dash' (Anthony O'Toole).

An international design team will be working on the visual and musical translation of the theme in the coming months. The team will remain largely the same, but there are two major changes. After being away for a year, Thorsten Heintz returns as programme coordinator and succeeds Volker Tonn. Fabian Lippmann is taking over drill design from Gareth Skipp who has been the resident choreographer of the Starriders for years. Skipp will continue to support the design team as a Visual Consultant.

The Blue Barons embark upon their second year of performances with a strengthened membership and are relishing the opportunity to meet and compete with a range of new groups in the European Indoor Music Games.

In confirming the Barons’ planned appearance at the season-opening competition in Dublin, Corps Director Greg Small says “We are excited to visit the great city of Dublin, hosted by our friends at Inbhear Mor. This competition will allow us to perform to a new audience and help promote our strengthening indoor activity.”

The Blue Barons will run a show in Glasgow - Scotland on 21st May to conclude the 2016 competitive season. Greg Small adds: “I would like to extend an invite to all performing groups to visit Glasgow on 21st May to conclude the 2016 competitive season.”

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.

The Indoor Music Games are a series of contests from February to May which will be held in several European countries. The shows are aimed at groups who wish to enter competitions without having to jump in the deep end straight away, as well as groups that want to get advance feedback on their programme before participating in the summer competition. The judging system of the Indoor Music Games is based on the European judging system of the European Music Games, with DCE certified judges.

The show in Middelburg will be organised in collaboration with Juliana. On 23rd April, Juliana will also hold its annual preview evening, and the two events will be interwoven creating a spectacular programme for the audience. “We fully support the initiative of the Indoor Music Games ”, said Juliana chairman Hiels Oving. “It's a good way to involve more groups and people in our activity.”

The first show of the Indoor Music Games 2016 is on 27th February in Dublin (Ireland), and the season will end on Saturday 21st May in Glasgow (Scotland). The complete season will be announced soon.

The live webcast of the DCE Championships 2015 has been watched in 91 countries. Nearly 13,000 viewers watched some or all of the European Championships in Kerkrade.

Most viewers were from the UK (42%), followed by the Netherlands (29%), USA (9.8%), Italy (5.7%), France (2.2%) and Germany (2.1%). Less obvious countries where drum corps fans have also watched the online broadcast include the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Belarus, Qatar, Libya, Honduras and Kuwait. Of course, the lion's share of the viewers came from countries where drum corps exists as an activity.

Altogether people spent over 453,000 minutes watching the final of the European Music Games. The average viewing time was 35 minutes. In Germany the fans spent the most time watching, averaging at 98 minutes, surprisingly followed by Nigeria with an average of 73 minutes.

The DVDs of the DCE European Championships will be released at the end of this month, both the Prelims and the Finals. Pre-order your DVDs now and be one of the first to receive your DVD set in the mail!

All performances from the DCE European Championships 2015, both Prelims and Finals, have been recorded by five cameras in HD and superb sound quality. Three DVD sets will include the performances in the Premier Class Finals, Junior Class Finals and Premier Class Prelims.

If you order now, you can be sure that your DVDs will be in the first batch of shipping. Ordering is easy through the DCE webstore.

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.

Publisher Steve Vickers and Greg Jewell from Drum Corps World were in Europe themselves to watch and write about their experience. Richard Wersinger came over to Europe as well for the beautiful photography. Eleven pages of the October edition have been dedicated to the European drum corps activity, with reviews and pictures from all performances.

This was Steve Vickers' third time to attend the European Championships. "The quality and variety of performances has significantly improved over the years", the publisher wrote in the magazine. "For anyone who appreciates corps at all levels, I highly recommend taking in the DCEurope Championships one day."

A subscription to Drum Corps World is free of charge. Just visit www.drumcorpsworld.com and subscribe with your email address for instant access to all editions of the magazine. It is available as desktop and mobile version.

Artist Peter Franken has designed the logo for the new Indoor Music Games. The logo will be used for all events of the new indoor competition in Europe.

The IMG logo shows similarities to the logo of the European Music Games, the European summer competition. “I tried to design the logo in the style of the European Music Games, but at the same time give it its own identity”, Franken explains. “The text on the logo moves into the stars from left to right, referring to indoor, and the interwoven O's are a nod to the Olympic Games logo. The stars refer to Europe obviously.”

The Indoor Music Games are intended for groups who are interested in performing in a competition setting, but for whom the summer competition is (still) a step too far. However, the Indoor Music Games can also serve as preparation for the summer season, to get advance feedback from DCE judges.

Between February and May 2016, competitions are scheduled in several countries. More information will soon be available. If you have any questions, please contact Andy Hewlett, at andy@drumcorpseurope.org.

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.

The corps will perform in a number of competitive shows in the weeks leading to championships weekend and will also participate in the Drumline Battle and Soundsport events run by Drum Corps International.

Further detailed information will be released shortly about the Company PE’s roadmap and plans for 2016/17. "The corps continues to enhance its growing reputation as a leading marching arts organisation creating unforgettable memories for both performer and audience", The Company states in a press release. The tour will be as the corps currently operates open to all ages and they welcome people into the organisation both young and experienced.