Celebrating the Season: APR for Drum Corps International

Drum Corps International will celebrate its 45th anniversary throughout the summer, as the world’s most elite marching music ensembles entertain thousands across the United States.

The 2017 Summer Tour will kick off once again in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Opening night has become the newest tradition of DCI and fans all over the country can share in the excitement of the first show of the year on June 22 while experiencing the live broadcast in movie theaters nationwide. Find the theater nearest you and get in on the action — fathomevents.com/events/ dci-tour-premiere-2017.

You can also follow the progress of every corps all season long at dci.org/ scores or download the mobile app to your phone to see the latest scores.

Celebrating Service

Since 1985, the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame has honored outstanding achievements of marching music’s creators, administrators, instructors, judges, and others with significant contributions to the activity. This year, three highly talented inductees will join the 123 current members of the prestigious Hall of Fame.

TJ Doucette – Blue Devils color guard instructor for 30 years, winning an unprecedented 18 color guard caption awards during her tenure and contributing to 12 of the corps’ DCI World Championship titles.

Paul Rennick – Percussion instructor and arranger for Carolina Crown, Phantom Regiment, and Santa Clara Vanguard, altering the landscape of marching percussion in the modern era and winning multiple Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Awards at the DCI World Championships throughout his career.

Bruno Zuccala – Director/assistant director of the Cavaliers, serving the “Green Machine” for 27 years as well as the Cadets and the Boston Crusaders while teaching students and colleagues life skills that transcend music and movement.

These individuals have touched countless lives through their years of arduous work, innovation, and direction. Without dedication like theirs and so many like them, marching music excellence would not be possible. Their formal induction ceremony will take place during the 2017 World Championships in August.

Celebrating Milestones

Several of the corps are observing anniversaries of their own in 2017. Santa Clara Vanguard is marking 50 years as a performance ensemble, along with being one DCI’s founding groups, winning six DCI World Championship titles. Vanguard also holds the distinction of being the only drum corps to make World Championship Finals every year since DCI formed in 1972.

To commemorate the corps’ milestone, Friday night’s semi-finals at the World Championships will conclude with a very special performance by a group of Santa Clara Vanguard alumni for the organization’s 50th anniversary. No doubt it will be a spectacular sight! Several of the corps will be celebrating individual achievements in many ways. Follow your favorites online and on the field to see what they will be doing.

Coming to a City Near You

For 52 days, beginning that Thursday night in June in Indianapolis, the 2017 Drum Corps International Tour will feature more than 55 corps competing across 110 competitive events in 37 states. Make sure you are a part of this very special year. Find out when DCI will be in your part of the country at dci.org/schedule. It’s show time!

Barbara Nash, APR, is president of Barbara Nash & Associates, LLC and supports Drum Corps International through fully integrated strategic communications and market engagement services. She has a broad background in music and performance, and has two sons who each marched with DCI.