Drum Corps International's voting membership met in Indianapolis Sept. 18-20.
Individuals from Drum Corps International's 22 World Class voting member units and a representative from DCI's Open Class corps, met with DCI senior staff members in Indianapolis last week to close out the 2014 season and discuss next summer's tour. Preliminary plans call for the 2015 national tour to take place over 53 days, with 90 or more competitive events scheduled prior to the week of the DCI World Championships. The season-ending series of events will kick off with the Open Class Prelims in Michigan City, Indiana on Monday, Aug. 3. The season will conclude with the crowning of the 44th DCI World Champion on Saturday, Aug. 8, at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis. The complete 2015 DCI Tour schedule is tentatively slated for release on Wednesday, Nov. 19. With varied topics discussed during the two-and-a-half-day session, corps directors received updates, briefings and reports on a number of business issues including governance, membership affairs, business development, systems and policies reviews, Open Class participation, competitive issues, music licensing and ongoing strategic initiatives. "Whenever we have the opportunity to bring together the directors of our member-organizations to plan for the future, the passion for the activity we share is obvious," said DCI Executive Director and CEO Dan Acheson. "We covered a lot of ground in our productive general session and board of directors meeting in just a few short days. We're pleased to be building off of the continued momentum we've experienced the past few seasons to further bolster our current efforts while looking ahead to cultivating additional growth and fostering increased participation in our programs." Representatives from both competitive divisions will come together in February for Drum Corps International's annual winter business meetings. Photo courtesy Conrad Piccirillo.