Drum and Bugle Corps

(www.mercurynews.com)

Drum and Bugle Corps Show. Twelve marching groups from California and beyond will perform at the fourth annual Firebird Classic Drum and Bugle Corps Show. 5:30-9:30 p.m. July 16. Fremont High School football field, 1279 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, Sunnyvale. $15; $10 students/seniors; free for children 4 and under. Benefits Fremont High School Band Boosters and Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps. (408) 245-1064, www.firebirdmarchingband.com.

(desmoinesregister.com)

The precision-driven sights and sounds of drum and bugle corps return to Ankeny at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

For more than two decades, the city has been home to a Drum Corps International drum and bugle corps competition called Celebration in Brass.

The nonprofit youth organization serves junior drum and bugle corps around the world. During the summer when younger musicians are on break, drum and bugle corps travel the country participating in competitions that also entertain the public. Musicians belonging to these corps range in age from 14 to 22. The summer-long competitions culminate at the world championships in August.

Corps slated to perform at Celebration in Brass in Ankeny include the Blue Stars, Colt Cadets, Colts, Crossmen, Kiwanis Kavaliers, Pioneer, The Cadets and The Magic. The Ankeny Chamber of Commerce hosts the event, with local businesses serving as financial supporters.

(news.cincypost.com)

One of the most fascinating and entertaining events of the summer takes place this Sunday in Fairfield with the “Summer Music Games.”

It’s part of the Drum Corps International tour event, conducted throughout the United States. The closest event takes place at Fairfield Stadium.

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Corps participating this year in Cincinnati are Carolina Crown from Fort Mill, S.C.; Boston Crusaders from Boston; Glassmen from Toledo, Ohio; Crossmen from Allentown, Pa.; Spirit from JSU from Jacksonville, Ala.; Southwind from Lexington, Ky.; and Lake Erie Regiment from Erie, Pa.

The competition will not include a drum corps from Greater Cincinnati, but many tri-staters from both Ohio and Kentucky have joined the Southwind group from Lexington.

The “Summer Music Games” in Cincinnati is one of more than 120 musical events leading up to the 2005 Drum Corps International World Championships to be held at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., Aug. 9-13.

The championships are the culmination of a summer of competition by drum and bugle corps composed of young people between the ages of 16 and 21. (To honor an individual’s committment to the corps, most groups host an “aging out” ceremony for retiring members.)

Competing corps consist of brass, percussion and color guard. Their musical routines embrace a variety of styles, including jazz, symphonic, new age, pop and show tunes - all set to precision marching formations on a “stage” the size of a football field.

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Gates will open at 5:30 p.m., and the competition begins at 7 p.m. Sunday.

But you might want to arrive early to see the Cincinnati Tradition, a local senior corps, perform about 6:40 p.m., Brown said.

Originally called the “Queen City Classic,” the competition has taken place at several tri-state sites. It has now settled into Fairfield Stadium, which is the old high school football field located behind the Fairfield Freshman School at 5050 Dixie Highway.

Advance purchase ticket prices are $18, $14, $10; gate prices are $20, $16, and $12; by phone at 513-858-DRUM.

For more information about “Summer Music Games” visit www.summermusicgamesincincinnati.org. For more information about Drum Corps International, visit www.dci.org.