Our friends at Athens High School in Troy asked us to share the following:
Drum Corps International – Marching Music’s Major League™ – brings its big sound, precision marching, and beautifully crafted choreography to a performance in Troy at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 29.
Nearly 1,000 performers in six drum and bugle corps from across the U.S. will compete at the Legends Drum Corps Invitational, presented by the Legends Performing Arts Association (LPAA) from Kalamazoo in partnership with the Troy Athens Band Boosters.
“I am thrilled to partner with the Legends PAA to host this event in Troy, especially since two members of Legends are Athens alumni and nearly 20 members of Legends hail from the metro Detroit area,” says P. Jefferson McCoy, director of bands at Troy Athens High School. “This is a great opportunity for them to perform in front of a local crowd, plus we’re welcoming top-performing drum corps from across the country to a Southeast Michigan audience.”
Ibe Sodawalla, executive director/CEO of LPAA, compares the musicians who perform in drum corps to trained athletes who compete in very demanding sporting events.
“You’ll see nearly 1000 passionate kids, ages 14 to 22, who train and prepare for weeks to put on some of the most refined musical marching productions that you’ve ever seen,” Sodawalla says. “It’s a collection of brass, percussion, color guard choreography and dance. Each corps puts that pageantry into a unique 10-minute ‘story’ that will draw you in through their movement, music and artistry.”
The DCI summer 2014 tour includes more than 100 shows across the country. This is the first time in more than a dozen years a competition has been held in this area. The Troy Athens Band Boosters invite alumni and senior corps members to arrive early for an informal pre-show tailgate when the gates and concessions open at 5 p.m.
“We’re looking forward to having a lot of people come out and learn more about drum corps, and to support Michigan’s only DCI corps, Legends, from Kalamazoo,” says McCoy. “A great night of family entertainment awaits!”
The groups performing in Troy will include Legends; Vanguard Cadets, Santa Clara, CA; Genesis, Austin, TX; 7th Regiment, New London, CT; Raiders, Wayne, NJ; and Coastal Surge, Myrtle Beach, SC.
The public is invited to the Legends Drum Corps Invitational will be held at Troy Athens High School stadium at 4333 John R Rd, Troy. Gates open at 5 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the gate and all seats are general admission. Group ticket prices are available in advance of the show. For more information, visit www.legendspaa.org/dcievents/invitational.
This is a great opportunity in Southeast Michigan to go out and enjoy the shows of these hard-working groups as they stop on their tour to Indianapolis (IN) for the DCI Finals (August 7-9).
Additionally, if you cannot make it to Troy on the 29th, you may consider heading to Paw Paw the preceding Saturday, July 26, when these same corps will perform at Falan Field at Paw Paw Middle School (313 West Michigan Ave., Paw Paw, MI 49079). Tickets for this contest will also be $20 at the gate.