Following his performance in Atlanta, Ga. on July 14, 21-year-old Carolina Crown trumpet player and horn sergeant, Chad Brinkman, talked with DCI.org's Christina Mavroudis about his last year with the corps and what he plans to do once the season is over.

Chad Brinkman
CM: How do you like your show this year? CB: I think we have a really great show and it's been very cool to see it unfold and come along so far. I really feel like we're doing very well musically and visually, and all of our performances are getting better and better. CM: How has it felt to become such a fan-favorite corps this year? CB: It's been great, and also especially neat to win all the "Hot Chops" awards; that was a really enjoyable experience. I really hope we can continue to be the crowd favorite for all of our other competitions and also continue to have great shows and move up competitively. CM: What are you studying in school right now? CB: I'm studying music education at Butler University in Indianapolis, and I really enjoy that. CM: What do you plan on doing after you graduate? CB: I plan to become a middle school or high school band director, hopefully in the central Indiana area. I really want to help inspire students to get involved with music. CM: How has it been to march with Carolina Crown for four years? CB: It's been such a pleasure to be a part of this horn line and this drum corps. I love it here and I can't imagine going anywhere else. CM: What are your thoughts on "aging-out" this year? CB: I have some mixed feelings about that, because part of me is really sad. I remember going to my first rehearsal camp when I was 17 and being scared to death and afraid that I wasn't going to make the line. Now I look back and I can't believe that I've come this far. I'm really looking forward to finishing my drum corps career off with this corps.