From a Capital Regiment press release: November 19 to November 21 was a very busy and exciting drum corps weekend for Capital Regiment. On Friday evening, 2004 members, staff, volunteers and friends gathered at Villa Milano in Columbus, Ohio, for a banquet celebrating the success of the 2004 season. A 14th-place finish in Denver capped a season of continued growth and success for the corps and was certainly cause for much celebration Friday evening by everyone associated with the Capital Regiment.

Capital Regiment members hit the gym floor this past weekend.
While the banquet was taking place, excited new recruits began checking in at Walnut Ridge High School in Columbus. After the banquet, the vets joined the recruits for the start of the 2005 season. At midnight, the new season was ushered in with "Midnight Madness." The midnight kick-off began with a high-energy video assembled by 2003 age out Andrew Hoover. The late-night session included an informational meeting and meetings with section staff. After a bit of sleep, rehearsals began Saturday morning at 8:30. It was evident from the first sessions on Saturday morning that it was going to be a very productive camp. Attendance was excellent, with more than 200 prospective members auditioning at the camp. The horn line, under the direction of brass caption head Derek Gipson, worked on a variety of exercises in the technique book and also learned a parade tune, and the first half of the opening movement of the 2005 production, "Chiaroscuro." Jay Bocook's arrangement of Robert Sheldon's composition was met with rave reviews by everyone in attendance. "The horn line was on fire!" reported trumpet section veteran Scotti Smith. "We got the first minute and half of the opener and it is going to be amazing. This is my third year with Capital Regiment, and the other first camps have never been like this. I felt like we were at a March or April camp. The talent level is much higher than it's ever been." The color guard, under the direction of Capital Regiment's new color guard caption head Budd Williams and his staff, spent much time over the course of the weekend focusing on equipment and movement technique, which culminated in a routine that was performed at Sunday's show-and-tell session. Brenda Scott, who is auditioning for a color guard position, enjoyed her first Capital Regiment experience. "I had fun at this camp and I'm really looking forward to coming back in a few weeks. It's amazing how much your technique can improve in just two days. Thank you color guard staff!" Percussion caption head Kevin Murphy and his staff likely had the toughest job of the weekend. With more than 100 percussionists, including some 60 snare players, in attendance at the first camp, it was a huge job for the staff to make sure they had a good read on each percussionist in attendance. 2004 percussion section leader Will Stephenson was impressed with the prospective members. "The talent level of the percussionists was outrageous at the camp. There was a great turnout this weekend and I think the percussion section will impress many and will continue to take leaps forward this summer." The camp drew prospective members from as far away as Japan. Last year, three gentlemen from the Netherlands marched with the corps. This year two young women from Osaka, Japan, traveled some 6,800 miles each way to audition for the corps. Capital Regiment director Rick Bays was pleased with the weekend. "It was an extremely solid start to 2005 season. In all sections, there was a definite sense that the upcoming season holds much potential." Program coordinator Wayne Dillon was also liked what he saw and heard. "We had a talented and motivated group of kids in for camp who performed very well. The staff did an exceptional job working with them. This is going to be a stellar year! I would suggest that anyone interested in marching this summer come to the next audition camp because we hope to fill most positions by the end of the year." The second 2005 Capital Regiment audition camp will be held from December 10 to 12. Anyone interested in becoming part of Capital Regiment in 2005 should plan on attending the camp. For more information about the camp, visit capitalregiment.org.