The Academy Academy executive director Mark Richardson announced several appointments to the corps' visual staff during a recent open house on Dec. 13. Leading the new and returning staff members will be visual caption head Matt Ray. Read more at ArizonaAcademy.org.
Boston Crusaders With veteran member retention up 200 percent from last season, the Boston Crusaders report a strong outlook as they approach the conclusion of their second round of brass and percussion auditions. "We are very pleased with the candidates we've seen at our first round auditions. We've invited over 70 percussion musicians alone back to round two, and narrowing them down further will be very challenging," said percussion caption head Omar Carmenates. Read more at Crusaders.com.
The Cadets As a holiday treat for fans, the Cadets posted a short audio clip recorded at a recent audition/rehearsal camp in Woodstown, N.J. The clip previews a section of the corps' 2009 production, "Lenny," which will feature some of the greatest works of composer Leonard Bernstein. Listen in at YEA.org.
Capital Regiment Capital Regiment recently announced its complete roster of 2009 staff members. The corps continues to make strides toward a 2009 return as a DCI Open Class corps pending the final outcome of an evaluation from the Drum Corps International participation review committee. View the complete list at CapitalRegiment.org.
Carolina Crown Carolina Crown announced that Adam Sage and Michael Townsend will lead the corps' color guard staff for the 2009 season. Read more about all color guard staff members at CarolinaCrown.org.
Cascades With plummeting temperatures down to a frigid eight degrees in the Pacific Northwest, the Cascades recently recorded its coldest winter rehearsal camp to date. Pending the outcome of an official review of organizational operations by the Drum Corps International participation review committee, the Cascades look to return to the 2009 DCI Summer Tour after not fielding a corps last season. Read more at SeattleCascades.org.
The Cavaliers The Cavaliers recently added a handful of new staff members to its percussion, color guard and visual captions. See who's on the list at Cavaliers.org.
Colts The Colts have cancelled their winter rehearsal camp scheduled for this weekend as a result of winter storms. The corps will reschedule its audition weekend to Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, and will add a make-up rehearsal and audition camp from Feb. 20 to 22. Read more at Colts.org.
Jersey Surf With a blustery weekend in store for the Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey areas, the Jersey Surf administration is staying on top of the weather reports. As of 6 p.m. on Thursday night, all systems are still "go" for the corps' rehearsal camp this weekend. "We are always conscious of the safety of the members, volunteers and instructional staff, and we will continue to be conservative when holding camps in the cold weather months," said Brian Prato, director of operations for the Jersey Surf. Keep an eye out for updates at JerseySurf.org.
Madison Scouts As an extension of its educational mission, the Madison Scouts have started an internship program to give music education and business students an opportunity to get first-hand experience working with the corps. "We have renewed our focus on the educational components of the organization," said executive director Jeff Spanos. "Our internship program will offer the opportunity to work directly with our world-class staff and provide a real-world experience that will be invaluable to the students involved." Read more at MadisonScouts.org.
Mandarins Gearing up for the new year and their recently announced 2009 production "Absolute," the Mandarins have released a winter video newsletter to give fans an inside look at the latest happenings within the organization. Watch the video at Mandarins.org.
Pacific Crest Pacific Crest encourages you to join past and present low brass corps members for the Anaheim, Calif. "TUBACHRISTMAS" event on Sunday, Dec. 21 at Downtown Disney. Organized by the Harvey Phillips Foundation, a nonprofit music arts foundation, TUBACHRISTMAS events can be found each December in more than 120 cities nationwide in addition to several international locations. Learn more at Pacific-Crest.org.
Phantom Regiment Phantom Regiment has announced a new partnership to exclusively play Jupiter brass instruments in all of its field and stage performances.
Read more at Regiment.org.
Oregon Crusaders With many schools in the Pacific Northwest calling off scheduled activities due to weather, the Oregon Crusaders have canceled their December rehearsal camp for this weekend. Read more at OregonCrusaders.com.
Teal Sound Teal Sound recognized the 2008 accomplishments of its corps members at a recent awards banquet commemorating the organization's 10th anniversary season. Several awards were given out including those for outstanding and most improved color guard, brass and percussion members. Read more and view photos from the event at TealSound.org.