New events, new venues and new formats will be among the highlights of the 2011 Drum Corps International Tour, which will again bring together the world’s most elite marching music ensembles in a coast-to-coast series of spectacular competitions. At least 46 World and Open Class corps are expected to take part in this year’s Tour, along with as many as 12 all-age corps. Two International Class groups are also planning to hit the road with Marching Music’s Major League?„? in 2011, including Jubal (Netherlands), the 2009 Drum Corps Europe Champions and the Yokohama Scouts (Japan), a corps that last toured the United States in 2007. Scheduling the annual Drum Corps International Tour is a complex undertaking, requiring the coordination of calendar dates and availability of event locations, while drawing upon historical attendance data, along with the unique travel, logistical and competitive needs of each of the participating corps. “We were already discussing the 2011 schedule months before corps hit the road for last year’s Tour,” said DCI Director of Events Susan Kuehnhold. “While some of the current dates, locations and lineups may fluctuate slightly as we get closer to the summer, the majority of details for this version of the schedule were hammered out during a meeting of all the member corps back in September in Indianapolis.” By the numbers, the 2011 DCI Tour will span 57 days from June through August, featuring 115 competitive events in 40 states.
June
Ball State’s Scheumann Stadium
Saturday, June 18 will be the official start of the 2011 season, and also the start of a brand new event series featuring eight of the top corps from last season. Dubbed the “Tour of Champions,” this eight-event series produced by DCI within the larger summer tour, will feature the Blue Devils, Blue Stars, Bluecoats, Cadets, Carolina Crown, Cavaliers, Phantom Regiment and Santa Clara Vanguard. Proposed as an “experimental series,” plans for the TOC include a new interactive and entertaining competitive event format currently being developed by the eight participating corps. “While this version of the Tour of Champions will not be quite the same as the series of events we produced in California with the same name in 2004, these eight corps are taking the lead to program these special events with nonstop action and interactive entertainment,” said DCI Executive Director Dan Acheson. The eight TOC events will take place throughout June, July and August in various locations including Omaha, Neb., Houston, Texas, and Murfreesboro, Tenn. Other June highlights include a new early-season Indianapolis event on June 21 organized with the Indianapolis Public School System, which has partnered with DCI to provide housing to many of the corps visiting the Circle City during the week of the World Championships. Other new Premier Events are slated for Muncie, Ind. (June 24) and Grand Rapids, Mich. (June 25). The Muncie event will coincide with Music For All’s annual Summer Symposium camp for music students, which will move to the campus of Ball State University this summer after being held in Central Illinois for more than a decade. Among other notables for the month of June will be a West Coast tour by the Cadets and Phantom Regiment, a June 25 DCI Premier Event in Washington D.C. hosted in conjunction with MENC: The National Association for Music Education’s Music Education Week, and the annual DCI West show at Stanford University in California also on June 25.
July
The Georgia Dome
The “meat” of DCI’s summer schedule sandwich will sizzle in July, with events in the north, south, east and west booked solid across the calendar. Anchoring the July schedule will be some of the biggest events of the entire summer. They’ll take place on successive weekends beginning with July 9 in Denver, Colo. for Drums Along the Rockies. Saturday, July 16 will mark the return to Minneapolis, Minn. for the second DCI Minnesota Premier Event. After epic, torrential downpours put an early end to last year’s event, all 26 corps set to attend will be hoping for clear skies and the chance to once again perform at the impressive TCF Bank Stadium. Only one week later, Saturday, July 23, all eyes will turn to the DCI Southwestern Championship in San Antonio. “After the unforeseen scheduling conflict we ran into last summer securing the venue, we have every intention of returning to the Alamodome in 2011,” said Kuehnhold. On Sunday, July 24, several thousand World Class corps members will converge on downtown Alamo City for an Individual & Ensemble Competition. After a successful test run last season, this popular event will once again be held as a mid-season fete. A string of Premier Events, including a new competition in Little Rock, Ark., as well as Dallas, Texas, Hattiesburg, Miss. and Gadsden, Ala., will line the schedule leading into the best-attended Premier Event of 2010: the DCI Southeastern Championship in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday, July 30. This Georgia Dome showcase will feature the performances of all 23 World Class corps in addition to special exhibitions by local all-age groups. Capping off July will be a jaunt for five corps from Atlanta to Orlando to perform on Sunday, July 31 within the familiar confines of the Citrus Bowl. Returning to the schedule after a year off in 2010, the Citrus Bowl has hosted many incredible Championship years including 1996-1998 and 2003.
August
Michigan City’s Ames Field
2011 Premier Event Schedule
Indianapolis, IN
Tuesday, June 21 Northwest High School
Muncie, IN
Friday, June 24 Ball State University
Grand Rapids, MI
Saturday, June 25 Venue TBA
Stanford, CA
Saturday, June 25 Stanford University
University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium
Washington, DC
Saturday, June 25 Wakefield High School
Denver, CO
Saturday, July 9 Invesco Field at Mile High
Minneapolis, MN
Saturday, July 16 TCF Bank Stadium (University of Minnesota)
St. Louis, MO
Monday, July 18 McKendree University
Denton, TX
Thursday, July 21 CH Collins Complex
Odessa, TX
Friday, July 22 Odessa High School
The Alamodome
San Antonio, TX
Saturday, July 23 The Alamodome
San Antonio, TX
World Class Individual & Ensemble Competition Sunday, July 24 Downtown San Antonio
Dallas, TX
Monday, July 25 Lake Highlands High School
Little Rock, AR
Wednesday, July 27 Venue TBA
Hattiesburg, MS Wednesday, July 27 University of Southern Mississippi
Florida Citrus Bowl
Gadsden, AL
Friday, July 29 Gadsden City High School
Atlanta, GA
Saturday, July 30 The Georgia Dome
Orlando, FL
Sunday, July 31 The Citrus Bowl
Allentown, PA
Friday, Aug. 5 & Saturday, Aug. 6 J. Birney Crum Stadium
Tour of Champions Series
Saginaw, TX
Saturday, June 18 Saginaw High School
Austin, TX
Sunday, June 19 Round Rock High School
Omaha, NE
Sunday, July 10 Millard South High School
Middle Tennessee State University’s Floyd Stadium
Rockford, IL
Sunday, July 17 Boylan High School
Houston, TX
Friday, July 22 Berry Athletic Center
Murfreesboro, TN
Friday, July 29 Middle Tennessee State University
Charlotte, NC
Sunday, July 31 Memorial Stadium
Piscataway, NJ
Sunday, Aug. 7 Rutgers University
2011 DCI World Championships
Open Class Prelims
Michigan City, IN Monday, Aug. 8 Ames Field
Open Class Finals
Michigan City, IN Tuesday, Aug. 9 Ames Field
World Championship Hall of Fame Kickoff Party
Indianapolis, IN Wednesday, Aug. 10
World Championship Prelims
Indianapolis, IN Thursday, Aug. 11 Lucas Oil Stadium
Lucas Oil Stadium
World Championship Semifinals
Indianapolis, IN Friday, Aug. 12 Lucas Oil Stadium
World Championship Parade
Indianapolis, IN Saturday, Aug. 13 Streets of Downtown Indianapolis
Open Class Individual & Ensemble Competition
Indianapolis, IN Saturday, Aug. 13 Indiana Convention Center
World Championship Finals
Indianapolis, IN Saturday, Aug. 13 Lucas Oil Stadium
