Drum corps takes real commitment

As the lights shine brightly in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the faces of all the young performers light up, too, for they have entered the Drum Corps International World Championships, and only one corps can claim victory. But really, drum corps is much more complex than simply putting on a uniform, picking up an instrument and marching, and there are more components needed to put together a successful program.

For one thing, drum corps is not to be confused with marching band. Drum Corps International, or DCI, often is referred to as the "major league of marching" for a reason, and that includes a show that's usually twice as long as the typical marching band show, with a much more difficult drill (the places on the field that the performers must get on during their show). Unlike marching band, there aren't any woodwinds, just brass instruments, percussion, color guard and the front ensemble (referred to as the "pit"). Since 2008, the various corps are divided into two classes, open and world. World corps travel around the country (sometimes overseas) and are the most rigorous groups, while open corps travel in a few states and are less demanding, but are no less competitive.

Peter Funtila, a 2011 graduate of Beyer High School, marches second soprano (trumpet) for the Blue Devils B, the open-class counterpart to the renowned Blue Devils. Corps practices in Concord last 12 or more hours, and he does an additional two to three hours a day at home, in order to "place in the top 12 drum corps overall, like the Blue Devils."

Although BDB has won open-class championships for two straight years, Peter said, "We strive to be better than the BDB of last season by memorizing music and drill quicker than ever."

Daniel Moreno, another Beyer grad of 2011, plays cymbals in the Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets, the open-class version of the revered Santa Clara Vanguard. He feels the corps "has a very strong ensemble and that we have a very good chance of getting in the top three in open class." Daniel practices in a grueling three-day camp every month, but said, "To become better at cymbals, you need to have other people watch you. It's hard to see if you're messing up something on your own." Despite the hard work, Daniel joined the Vanguard organization because it "has a history of being very intense and valuing tradition."

The instructors of drum corps are just as important as the performers. Blake Underwood, a 2004 Beyer graduate and previous member of Fever (Modesto's former drum corps) and the Blue Devils (where he won world championships in 2007), is a technician for the Mandarins, a world-class corps based in Sacramento. When asked about the Mandarins' outlook on the season, he said they're "on track for success, but they have a long way to go. You can't track success based on placement in DCI. It's based on individual growth per member in the ensemble."

On his drum corps experience, Blake said, "Without the info I got from BD and Fever, I would not be anywhere near the instructor I am today" because "they taught me not only how to march technically, but how to perform at the highest level possible."

One last perspective is from Vanguard Cadets instructor Nate Bourg, who played in the front ensemble with Vanguard from 1999 to 2002. When asked about what young people gain by doing drum corps, he said, "The meaning of hard work, and how to achieve great things in uncomfortable travel, living and rehearsal conditions." He added that the experience is "humbling."

Nate's greatest satisfaction in working with corps members are "knowing how far they've come, the sacrifices they've made to be a part of this group" and "the feeling of euphoria that I had when I performed that they are now experiencing," which is "the main reason why I've continued to work in this industry for going on 14 years now."

Geoffrey Jacobs is a freshman at Modesto Junior College and a member of The Bee's Teens in the Newsroom program.