(dci.org)
A month and a half following the conclusion of Drum Corps International’s 50th anniversary celebrations at the DCI World Championships in Indianapolis, corps directors are already back to work looking ahead to and planning for next summer.
Their annual September planning meeting returned to an in-person format this fall, as delegates from each of DCI’s World Class ensembles, along with members of the DCI Board of Directors, representatives from DCI’s Open Class corps, and DCI staff members converged in Las Vegas September 28-30.
Corps welfare check
As DCI organizations continue to navigate out of their COVID-19 shutdowns, continued emphasis has been placed on evaluating the ongoing organizational strength and the physical health and wellbeing of all participating corps, their members and leadership.
Since the conclusion of the summer tour, DCI leadership including CEO Dan Acheson and Chris Komnick, chair of the DCI membership, met individually with corps managers prior to their arrivals in Las Vegas in an effort to help set the discussion topics for the fall meeting.
“There was a very collegial atmosphere throughout these meetings,” Komnick said. “Rather than a typical meeting format filled with departmental status reports, we opted to use our time together to further invest in our collective and each other. We reaffirmed our commitment to create a safe, engaging, and educationally appropriate environment for everyone.
“A continued focus on the quality of the member experience was a common thread in many of the discussions throughout our three days together,” Komnick added.
2023 tour schedule
A sizable chunk of the annual fall meeting focuses on the upcoming summer season’s tour schedule, as the collective works to determine which corps will travel where and for which events.
Early drafts of the schedule indicate that the shape and form of the 2023 DCI Tour will mirror that of the 2022 summer season relatively closely, with minor changes throughout, based on venue availability and other logistical and scheduling considerations.
The 2023 DCI Tour schedule is anticipated to be released in its entirety to the public just prior to Thanksgiving on Wednesday, November 23.
Preliminary results of corps member research project
Following the 2022 season and 50th Anniversary Tour, DCI launched one of the most comprehensive surveys of participating corps members in the history of the organization. The in-depth research project covered a wide variety of topics relating to participant satisfaction with the length and format of the DCI Tour, member education and their future career plans, effectiveness of corps and DCI diversity efforts and outcomes, health and wellness issues/initiatives, and more.
Corps directors were presented with initial findings from the survey. Notable bullet points included:
- More performers than ever (97%) are the first member of their family to participate in the drum corps art form.
- 74% of corps members are 18 years old or older.
- More than half of those performing in 2022 are or will be studying music education and/or performance at the collegiate level.
- The three most common ways that current performers are introduced to drum corps are:
- Viewing performances online
- Recommendation of a band director
- Referral from a friend
Adjudication reviewCorps directors spent time meeting with DCI judge administrator John Phillips and DCI director of competition Lee Carlson along with members of the Artistry and Competition Steering Committee in a Wednesday evening session. After the first return to a competitive format since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 season saw its fair share of challenges and successes. The judging community ushered in a number of new adjudicators and welcomed the return of seasoned veterans, all of whom resumed the process of ranking and rating drum corps and providing essential feedback on a regular basis after considerable time off.
The next step in the off-season planning cycle will be DCI’s annual winter business meetings which will provide for additional discussion on a number of important strategic topics of concern to each of the participating organizations. That gathering is slated for January 5-8 in Indianapolis.
