Scholarship recipients lauded at DCI World Championships

As Drum Corps International's corps came together for their last few days of competition at the DCI World Championships in Lucas Oil Stadium this past August, a number of corps members received special awards and scholarships, recognizing their dedication to the drum corps activity. The following scholarships were awarded following the DCI World Championship Semifinals on Friday, Aug. 9. Dean Patterson from Phantom Regiment and Jenna Wojdula from Legends received the Jim Jones Leadership Award, named in honor of the former director of the Troopers and founding member of DCI who passed away in 1994. The award is given each year to one World and one Open Class drum major who exhibit unparalleled leadership qualities. Selections are made by a committee of DCI Hall of Fame members. Patterson, in his third and final year with the corps, said that the award is both flattering and gratifying. "Ever since I started drum corps, this award is something that I've always worked toward," Patterson said. "I'm just so proud, but I couldn't have done it without the spectacular people I was surrounded by. It's not all about one person; it's about that person and everyone around them." Wojdula, in her fifth and age-out year with Legends, said that she hopes to one day become a band director and inspire students in the same way that she was inspired to join a DCI corps. Other honors given out during the 2013 World Championships included the annual George and Patsy Bonfiglio Scholarship, created by the 27th Lancers Foundation, to Daniel Hoffman from Boston Crusaders and Michael Courey, Jr. from the Bluecoats. The Dutch in DCI Foundation, started in 2006 to support talented young performers from the Netherlands who participate in DCI corps, awarded four scholarships in 2013. Baritone player Erwin de Jong from the Colts, bass drummer Maarten van Walraven from Spirit of Atlanta, trumpet player Koen Otten from Blue Knights, and color guard member Talitha van der Wijngaard from Carolina Crown were all honored. The Jim Ott Scholarship, given each year by the California nonprofit organization Sponsors of Musical Enrichment, celebrates a drum corps member pursuing higher education in the music field and who demonstrates leadership qualities. The 2013 scholarship was awarded to Dominic Zanaboni from Phantom Regiment. The Friends of DCI Scholarship is awarded to corps members to use toward college tuition and fees. After an application process that required answering essay questions and providing letters of recommendation, a panel of Friends of DCI members selected Ethan Munger from Santa Clara Vanguard and Brady Gaskin from Phantom Regiment as the 2013 recipients. Also administered by the Friends of DCI program, the Richardson's Scholarship, given to members who are pursuing a degree in music education, was awarded to Scott Downs from the Blue Devils and Mario Trejo from Boston Crusaders. Earlier this year, Drum Corps International formed a landmark strategic partnership with Motif Music, a music education consulting firm based in Shanghai, China. Through this partnership, DCI and Motif Music are working together to establish programs in marching music education throughout China. The cultural exchange created by this partnership gives DCI and Motif Music the unique opportunity to bring a wealth of experience and best practices to a vast new group of students and those who instruct them. Motif has created a new fellowship program that will provide young American teachers the opportunity to teach SoundSport and DrumLine Battle programs for one year in Shanghai elementary and middle schools. This year, the Motif Music/SoundSport China fellowship was presented to Russel Zavalla, a staff member with the Jersey Surf.

Watch the awards presentations at the 2013 DCI World Championship Semifinals