Brigadier's Asst. Corps Director Bruce McCready passes

The Brigadier's Assistant Corps Director Bruce McCready succumbed to an all too brief battle with cancer, today 5/27/09. Bruce was a well known instructor and adjudicator in Drum Corps, Marching Bands and Winter Guards. He instructed Marcus Whitman HS Winter Guard for many years and won the first WGI World Scholastic Winter Guard Championship. Bruce has been either an instructor or adjudicator for DCA for the past 30 years.

DCA President, Gil Silva upon hearing of Bruce's passing advised "one of the great things about drum corps is being able to meet a guy like Bruce". He went on to say that he was one of the nicest guys in the activity whose influence and kind heart touched everyone he met.

DCA sends it condolences to Bruce's Mother and Siblings and the entire Brigadier community. He will be sorely missed by all.

The 2009 DCA World Championships, September 4 - 6, Rochester NY

Let the 2009 DCA Season begin!

OFFICIAL TICKET INFORMATION - The 45th DCA Championship

Individual, ensemble an mini-corps contest:
Friday September 4th, downtown Rochester, 6:00PM Open to public
FREE No tickets required.

Preliminary contest:
The ONLY time all corps will appear. Saturday September 5th, Rochester Rhino Stadium 2:00PM
All seats reserved. All tickets $27.00.

Alumni Spectacular:
Don't miss this very special event. Sunday September 6th, Rochester Rhino Stadium 10:00AM
General admission seating. All tickets $18.00.

Final contest:
2009 DCA World Championships. Sunday September 6th, Rochester Rhino Stadium 5:30PM
All seats reserved. Ticket prices are $32.00 and $57.00.

SEATS ARE AVAILABLE FOR ALL SHOWS!!!!

THE BEST WAY TO ORDER TICKETS! On line: www.dcacorps.org
Orders will be taken until midnight September 3rd.

NOTE: Orders placed after August 21st will be filled and HELD at the box office for pick up.

By telephone: 1-888-300-6910

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00AM to 9:00PM

NOTE: The last day to place phone orders will be Thursday August 27th.

In person during Championship Week in Rochester NY
Box office at the Crowne Plaza Hotel
70 State St, Rochester, NY 14614 – 7th floor.
Thursday September 3rd 9:00AM to 8:00PM
Friday September 4th 9:00AM to 8:00PM

Box office at Rochester Rhino Stadium
Saturday September 5th 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Sunday September 6th 8:00AM to 8:00PM

SEATS ARE AVAILABLE FOR ALL EVENTS!!

Bruce McCready

Most of you know who Bruce McCready is and what he’s been going through, but for those who don’t, let me fill you in. Bruce is currently the Assistant Corps Director of The Brigadiers. He has been a drill arranger/instructor for numerous corps and color guards over the past 35 or so years. He – along with Brady Rouse – instructed the first ever Scholastic WGI World Champion Marcus Whitman Color Guard. He is a NY Federation Judge and has judged for DCA. He has taught many high school bands. He also is one of the nicest guys in the drum corps, marching band and visual performance activities.

A few months ago he went in for minor surgery and came out with a major diagnosis of both Pancreatic and Liver Cancer. Bruce is a fighter, but the doctors at University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial would not agree to an aggressive chemotherapy or radiation driven attempt to either cure his disease or at least prolong his life. Bruce has quite literally spent the last few weeks fighting for the right to fight for his life.

This week, the Doctors at Roswell Cancer Institute in Buffalo agreed to some highly aggressive treatment. There in lies the problem. Bruce has some basic medical insurance. However, the treatment the Roswell people are willing to try is too new and is NOT covered by any insurance. Bruce must pay for the procedure himself. Needless to say, it’s quite expensive. To make things worse, they must know where the money is coming from before they start the procedure. He needs to start this procedure immediately.

The Brigadiers have agreed to spearhead a fund raising drive to give Bruce the funds needed to proceed with this treatment – the funds he needs to mount the kind of fight Bruce feels he must. Call it the “drum corps” in him, but the man simply does not have an ounce of “quit” in him. He only knows to try his best on the competition field and in life. He will not quit until the Chief Judge declares the contest over.

The Brigadiers and all of Bruce’s friends are asking everyone in Drum Corps – including DCA, DCI, WGI and Field Band – to step in and assist Bruce in getting his chance to fight. Every little bit will help.

Donations are tax deductible and checks should be made out to The Brigadiers Music Association/McCready Fund. Please send your donations to: The Brigadiers Music Association/ McCready Fund, c/o Diann Meek, 2804 Latta Road, Rochester, NY 14612. Every penny donated will be immediately forwarded to Bruce and his family. Donations small and large would be most appreciated. We appreciate everyone helping one of Drum Corps’ real winners carry on the contest of his lifetime. If anyone can win this battle, it’s Bruce McCready.

DCA I&E - MiniCorps Information

It's time to get started on those I&E applications and Mini Corps Contest participants. All information is available in WORD format. Go to Schedule. Scroll down to Labor Day Weekend and click on the participants link to the right of I&E. This will give you all rules and applications. Let's make this the largest ever. Get those applications in early. Earliest postmark - Last on.

I&E/Mini-Corps Competition has become one of the highlights of Championship Weekend. Friday night 5:30PM of Labor Day Weekend is the opportunity for everyone to join in the comradery that is drum corps and enjoy great entertainment, too. See you there.

Scranton, PA and Lawrence, MA Tickets Available

Tickets are now available for the Lawrence, MA Mission Drums contest on July 18th and the Scranton, PA Parade of Champions on August 1. Simply click on the championship logo on the home page and a link to both these shows is available - just click on buy tickets.

Both shows are sponsored by DCA. The revived Mission Drums enters its second year with another great line up. Kingston Grenadiers, Rochester Crusaders, Hawthorne Caballeros, Connecticut Hurricanes and the Empire Statesmen will vie for the Mission Drums title and be joined in exhibition by the Citations, Park City Pride, Mass Brass and Crusaders Senior Alumni of Boston.

The August 1 Scranton Parade of Champions is DCA's oldest current running contest and will feature a special tribute to the life of Dr. Almo Sebastianelli, one of the founding fathers of DCA who was chairman of the Parade of Champions for 45 Year and recently passed at the age of 93. Doc was truly a special person, a dedicated Legionaire and great drum corps fan and supporter. The show will feature the Harrison Bushwackers, Empire Statesmen, Reading Buccaneers, Connecticut Hurricanes and Hawthorne Caballeros with an exhibition by the Caballero Alumni.

DCA Spring Meeting Report - 2009

On Saturday, April 25th, DCA President, Gil Silva, brought together all competing corps for the final preparation meeting prior to the 2009 DCA Season. 27 competing corps were represented which may be the most ever at a meeting. This meeting was held in Drum Corps Mecca – the trophy room of American Legion Post 199 – Hawthorne, NJ. This is always an awe inspiring experience – even for those of us who have been there many times, but looking at the representatives of the many new corps from around the country and watching them stare in amazement at the trophy cases and tradition that this room represents was particularly gratifying. If you’ve never been to a post show party at Hawthorne Post, put it on your calendar. It’s a MUST see for all drum corps fans. A large “well done and thank you” to the Caballeros for hosting this meeting.

The primary purpose of the meeting was to finalize all DCA sanctioned contests. This included all the necessary ingredients of where the show is, who is competing and drawing for the order of appearance. The order of appearance and show location information will be available very soon at http://www.dcacorps.org/.

The first announcement was that the first show of the year will be exhibition only. Canastota, NY on June 13th is now a 4 corps exhibition at Canastota High School – “The World Boxing Hall of Fame exhibition”. The following contest clarifications were made. Crusaders show on July 11th will not be in Batavia. It has been moved to Auburn, NY. The Caballeros Grand Prix, also on 7/11 will be at Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne, NJ. Music City Legends 8/1 contest has been moved to Antioch, TN and the 8/23 contest in St. Peter, MN has been moved to St. Peter High School Stadium.

We’re pleased to advise that three new shows have been added to the schedule: 7/25 in Merrill, WI, 8/15 in Toms River, NJ and 8/22 in Secaucus, NJ. This brings the number of sanctioned DCA contests to 23 - 2 in DCA South, 4 in DCA Midwest and 17 in DCA Northeast. One of the big differences between DCA and any other organization is that of the 23 sanctioned shows prior to the DCA Championship, 20 are sponsored by DCA and/or its member corps. Your support by attending these shows represents a direct support of the DCA Member Corps.

DCA will sponsor two contests again this summer. “Mission Drums” on July 18th at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, MA continues the historic revival of one of drum corps’ most celebrated contests. 5 competing member corps along with exhibitions from The Citations, Mass Brass and Boston Crusaders Sr. Alumni Corps will complete a full evening of Drum Corps. On August 1st, DCA continues its longest standing tradition with the “Parade of Champions” in Scranton High School Stadium in Scranton, PA. This show takes on new meaning this year with the passing of its show chairman and one of the founders of DCA, Dr. Almo Sebastianelli. His life and dedication to the drum corps activity and his beloved American Legion will be celebrated that night in a special remembrance. For further information, go to our website http://www.dcacorps.org/.

Prior to the draw for positions, reports were received from the various department heads. One significant change this year was clarified by President Silva. For the first time, DCA Prelims will be two separate classes: Class A and Open Class. Finals on Sunday night will consist of the top 10 Open Class and the top 4 Class A corps. In past years, the rule had been that if you finished in the top 10 in prelims you MUST compete in Open Finals. This is no longer the case. If you declare Class A by May 30th, you will compete in Class A prelims for one of the spots in the Class A finals. If you do not declare Class A, you will compete in Open Class Prelims for a spot in Open Class Finals on Sunday evening. However, the top 10 highest scoring corps in either preliminary competition will be the voting members for 2010.

Much discussion followed centered around the economy and the concerns it brings to everyone as well as how to control costs this summer. DCA Vice-President, Larry Hershman, advised that championship ticket sales were brisk and on target. This was very encouraging news. Concerns over how the economy will effect both recruiting and the turnstiles this summer were voiced. Several corps discussed recruiting issues and the consensus was that although it may have slowed recruiting – overall – all corps are on target for a successful summer. Recruiting is a 24/7, 365 days a year item for all DCA corps. Anyone interested in performing should stop by the rehearsal of your choice. If you have the desire and proper attitude, you will be warmly welcomed. Check out the corps websites at http://www.dcacorps.org/ and click on “corps”. You will find all the information you need to contact them.

In concluding the day’s business, President Silva pointed out that the number one way the drum corps fans can support the activity they love and offset any negative effect the economy may have this season is to attend as many shows as possible in 2009. Every person coming through the turnstile at every DCA show is critical to the existence and growth of their favorite corps, the organization and the activity as a whole. “Support your local drum corps” takes on new meaning in these difficult times.

On Line Ticketing Now Available

DCA is pleased to advise that on line ticketing for the 2009 DCA World Championships in Rochester, NY September 4, 5 & 6th is now available. Go back to the home page and click on the championship logo and select “buy tickets”. Telephone ordering will not be available until late Spring/early Summer.

This is the 4th consecutive year the DCA Championships has been hosted at the drum corps friendly confines of Rochester Rhinos Stadium (formerly Paetec Park). Built for soccer, the stadium offers a great venue to showcase the 45th Annual Championship show and present drum corps the way it should be viewed in a football type stadium. DCA President, Gil Silva, recently announced that the championship will stay in Rochester through 2012. Rochester has often been referred to as the drum corps capital of the world and it has now hosted the DCA Championship more times than any other city. Corps friendly and cooperative, everyone is looking forward to another bigger and better championship in Rochester for DCA 2009.