< PreviousThe Company repeats September 30 as Drum Corps Europe 2017 championstext by C.J. Cornelius, Drum Corps World staff (tubacainan@outlook.com)photography by Arjen Scholl, Drum Corps World staff (ariescholl@hotmail.com)The 2017 Drum Corps Europe championships in Kerkrade, The Netherlands, was a contest of two halves, with torrential rain hampering proceedings in the daytime, then making way for near-perfect conditions in the evening. Twenty drum corps and performance ensembles, representing five European countries -- the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Ireland -- competed in this year’s event over two performance classes.The Premier Class groups opened the morning preliminary competition, with the Junior Class having their finals late in the afternoon, followed by the night show featuring the top 10 groups.It was a full day and a wide range of temperatures that tended to affect intonation for most of the performers during the daytime hours. Weather conditions thankfully improved for the evening showcase event for all of the European corps.I must offer apologize to the two groups from Ireland, Inbhear Mor (left) and The Vikings (below) drum corps, as I missed both of their performances due to a late arrival (my satellite navigation doesn’t speak Dutch, I’m afraid), so I was late arriving and getting press credentials sorted out. Ensconsed high up in the press box, the first corps I saw was CorrectionIn the September issue on page 13, the photos were not credited. The photos of the late Skip Prokop of the Toronto Optimists were by Don Daber.Blue Diamonds (right) from Nienhagen, Germany. Their show, titled “Dream On,” presented the different facets of dreams. The corps demonstrated a nice display of dynamics from the brass section throughout. The guard was very effective in visually telling the theme of the show. To me, the highlight of this particular corps was the drum line, specifically the battery.From Hilversum in The Netherlands (Holland), the return of a long-time Drum Corps Europe participant, Beatrix (below). After not fielding a corps for the last few seasons, the Beatrix Corps Association has once again fielded a unit in the DCE Premier Class. Gone are the familiar blue and silver hues the corps has been known for. This year’s edition has fielded, in unfamiliar shades of brown, orange and tan, their 2017 production called “ Charlie Chaplin -- Modern Times.” The corps is v small, but when you hear them play, there is no doubt that the quality can only come from a long-established organization like this. First of the British contingent was Revolution (right) from Queensbury, U.K. This is a corps that I have enjoyed watching grow throughout the season. Their 2017 production, “Jekyll and Hyde,” is a program that the young members of the corps could latch onto and sell. The horn line is reasonably-sized and very solid. It is easy to forget just how young this group actually is. Being British, they naturally brought the rain with them as the conditions became noticeably worse while they performed in the morning. To their credit, this did not deter them in any way, as there were only a couple of slips that I noticed. The corps has a very solid drum line and a very impressive color guard. Having seen this corps numerous times throughout the season, I was very impressed by the maturation of the brass line, playing with a nice, rich sound and good intonation. Unfortunately for them, however, someone has to miss finals and this year that cutoff point happened to Revolution. That being said, this is a corps that is certainly going in the right direction and I have no doubt they will once again return to the ranks of DCEurope finalists soon.The first corps to advance to the evening’s finals was Cadence (below) from Guildford, U.K. Founded in 1991, this organization has become a mainstay of the European drum corps scene making finals for the third year in a row and, regardless of their placement, has improved dramatically over the last few years. The corps has won two Drum Corps United Kingdom Championships in 1996 and1999. This year’s production, “The Theory of Everything,” is a vastly more technical offering than what has been presented in the past. The show takes its theme from the film of the same name. The show started off quietly, but quickly ramped up in intensity. I did notice some intonation issues in the quieter passages, but some of this could have been put down to the weather conditions, as the temperature seemed to vary wildly with www.demoulin.com1251892 2017yearsOfficial Uniform SponsorThe Faithful.The Fallen.The Forgiven.each passing shower. Overall, however, it was a nice performance that scored well enough to get them into the evening performance. Wölper Löwen (left) from Neustadt am Rubenberge, Germany, brought their show titled “Behind BLUE Eyes” for the entertainment of the audience. Conceptually, this was a considerable step up from previous year’s offerings. The show explores the concept of “fitting in” and what we will and will not do in order to do so in modern society. This was a fitting idea for an activity that is welcoming to all, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or gender. The concept is brilliantly displayed by a solo dancer in the guard. Whilst the rest of the guard wears striking white bodysuits, the soloist was wearing a brightly-coloured tie-dye affair. As the show begins, we see her sitting alone on a chair in the middle of the brass line, feeling different from everyone else. Progressing onward throughout the show, we see her fall into and out of the various sections -- brass, percussion and guard -- but she never can seem to quite get it “right” and, as such, each individual section shuns her. This shunning is most prominent during the ballad, Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel, when she is seen with her head in her hands, totally distraught. The next piece is an upbeat jazz number with two particularly strong trumpet soloists and our misunderstood friend finally finds her place by displacing the drum major and directing the whole corps, for which she is rewarded with a corps uniform jacket. She then falls in with all the same sections and, as if by magic, she's accepted, not by her ability, but rather, sadly, by the clothes she wears. The closer sees her realize the superficialness of her acceptance and she throws off her uniform and is finally happy in her own skin. All-in-all, a great show and one of my personal favourites of all the programs I enjoyed today.Spirit of 52 (left) from Rastede, Germany, was up next. Their show, titled “Ecc 3:8,” included musical selections such as Why So Serious, Between the World, Gate to Heaven and Way to Hell. The concept was to tamamarching.comNewly minted DCl World Class performers, Genesis Drum and Bugle Corps, will be hosting a clinic and performance at the 2017 Texas Bandmasters Associations Convention in San Antonia, Texas Friday July 21st. We are proud to sponsor this incredible drum corp as they help students gain access to a World Class experience while sharing the Genesis experience with them.Stop by TAMA BOOTH 21 to talk gear with one of our TAMA representatives. 2017 TEXAS BANDMASTERS ASSOCIATIONS CONVENTIONGENESIS CLINIC & PERFORMANCEtake the Old Testament verse -- “A time to hate, a time for war, a time for love and a time for peace” -- and make it into a living story. It was very well-performed and, up to this point, was by far the most polished so far. Leading the way was their very strong percussion section (they placed third in the evening show) and a solid hornline and guard. The overall theme of the show was sold very well musically. Visually they were very solid and the contrasting colour scheme between the musicians and guard really worked well for me. Overall, a nice, solid product.Hailing from Great Barr in the U.K., Beeches Performance Ensemble (left) entertained the crowd next with their show named “The 5 Senses.” After merging with another British corps, Nexus from nearby Bedford, the corps came to Kerkrade with a significantly larger group this year. They have several members of Madison Scouts’ staff amongst their educational and design team and this year’s product was a step up for the corps. There are a lot of D’CIesque design elements in the show from both a drill perspective as well as uniforms. About the time they came out, the rain was coming down especially hard and while I did notice a few slips and trips, the overall end product was nice to see. I must admit to worrying a bit about this group early-on in the season from a visual perspective, but it's very clear this is an area they have been working on throughout the year as this performance was miles better than when I last saw them in July. The show explores the five senses, through both the music and visual programmes. I particularly liked the flute (yes, I said flute) soloist in the guard during the ballad. The horn line produced what can best be described as a wall of sound for a group their size. Overall, considering the conditions, a very solid performance in both prelims and at the night finalsThe last of the German corps to come on during the prelims show today was Starriders (left) from Bad Münder. Their show is called “SHDW” and contained some rather interesting props . . . three large white tarps with lighting behind them. The corps used these to create shadows that coincided with the show title nicely. As always with this corps, their guard was probably the highlight for me, although I must say they did seem to have a bad case of “the drops” on the dayof the show, which I would put down to the weather (If you haven't guessed by now, the conditions today were atrocious). I particularly liked their musical selections, especially the two Imogen Heap songs, Hide and Seek and Aha!. I would also point out that their balance and intonation in the horn line was very nice. The surprise corps -- by a country mile -- this year was Unity (top of next page from Mosson and Besana in Italy, presenting their production called “Sides.” This FJM_Halftime Mag ads.indd 267/7/17 8:37 AMcorps has literally come out of nowhere, being only two years old. They have new striking uniforms and, if there was an award for the most clever use of props, this corps would win it, hands down. The brass line of 16 was doubled visually with an additional 16 lifesize cutouts of members in full uniform (look in the background) that they were used to fantastic effect throughout the show. Inspired by Joni Mitchell’s song Both Sides Now, the corps treated the crowd to a musical and visual production that belied their size. I actually found myself halfway through the show actually counting the brass players because there was no way in the world that sound was coming from a horn line of 16 players . . . they sounded at least three times their size. An amazing fact about this corps is that they have a grand total of ZERO-udged drum corps shows under their belt before coming to Kerkrade, as there is no drum corps circuit in Italy. It's basically “one and done” for this corps. I can only imagine how good they would be with a few shows worth of judging feedback to work with.At this point the crowd started getting loud as the first of the “big two” Dutch corps entered the stadium. Presenting their 2017 show “Magnetico,” Juliana (below) from Middleburg, The Netherlands, got the crowd worked up into a frenzy. An interesting mix of music in this show that included Avici, Emily Sandee and New Era Metropolis’ Rush Hour. They somehow took an eclectic mix of music and made it work. I did find that there were times in both the morning and evening shows where they seemed to be “fighting” tempo, but thanks to their solid battery section, nothing ever “tore.”The visual programme was very solid, with good, clean feet all around. I was particularly struck by their guard that very cleverly used magnet props to move the corps to and fro, seemingly at will. Very nice show all around and one that got the crowd very excitedAs if the crowd wasn't worked up enough, the next corps up was local favourite and four-time Drum Corps Europe Champions, Jubal (top of next page) from Dordrecht, Netherlands. They went absolutely crazy, both in prelims and finals. Their show is titled “Never Grow Up” and was a display of power and finesse, including a fantastic use of colour. Featuring a number of large picture frame props spread over the field, the corps members used these to present a number of visual “snapshots” depicting scenes of play. I must admit that my only other viewing of this show was early-season and they Next >