And the Beat Goes On: Drum Corps Show Returns to McKendree July 16
Lebanon, Ill. — Marching Music’s Major League™ returns to McKendree University this
summer as part of Drum Corps International’s (DCI) 2012 tour.
One of the most popular Midwestern stops on last year’s schedule, the university will
host “DCI St. Louis” on Monday, July 16, at 7 p.m. The show will take place at Leemon
Athletic Field on campus, adjacent to the Hettenhausen Center for the Arts, at 400
N. Alton St. in Lebanon, Ill., 25 miles east of downtown St. Louis.
Over 1,000 of the country’s top young brass musicians, percussionists and dancers
will present an entertaining competition of artistry and showmanship, executed with
speed and precision. The nine-ensemble line-up includes some of DCI’s elite corps:
Carolina Crown from Ft. Mill, S.C; the Cascades from Seattle; the Cavaliers from Rosemont,
Ill.; the Crossmen from San Antonio.; Music City from Nashville, Tenn.; Phantom Regiment
from Rockford, Ill.; Pioneer from Milwaukee; Teal Sound from Jacksonville, Fla.; and
the Troopers from Casper, Wyo.
Ticket prices range from $20 to $45 for premium reserved seating. Purchase seats online
at www.dci.org/tickets. Groups of 20 or more qualify for discount seating in select
sections. Advance orders will end approximately one week before the event. Tickets
may be purchased from the stadium box office on the afternoon of the show for an additional
$5.
“We are very proud and happy to once again host such a prestigious, nationally known
event on our campus. Last year was the first time a drum and bugle corps show was
presented in the St. Louis metro area in six years,” said David Boggs, director of
bands at McKendree. He is a past member of the Chicago area Cavaliers and a former
instructor for the Cadets of Bergen County, N.J.
Proceeds from “DCI St. Louis” will support the McKendree University’s Music Department’s
interactive, hands-on “Music in Our Schools” program for pre-K through 12th grade students.
According to the DCI website, participation in drum corps allows members, ages 14
to 22, to develop as musicians and learn self-discipline, leadership and teamwork
in the process. Membership in the top corps is highly competitive; auditions for 40
spots draw up to 800 young musicians from all over the world. During the summer tour,
each elite ensemble travels over 10,000 miles and rehearses an average of 10 hours
a day. The DCI tour culminates at the world championship held in August in Indianapolis.
-McK-
McKendree University, founded in 1828 in historic Lebanon, Ill., ranks among the top 25 percent of regional
universities nationwide in U.S. News and World Report’s 2012 “Best Colleges” report.
Drum Corps International, based in Indianapolis, Ind., is the non-profit governing body which operates the
North American drum and bugle corps circuit for junior corps. Founded in 1972, it
has developed into a powerful, global youth organization with far-reaching artistic
and educational influence.
