Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps
Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, Carolina Crown is a member corps of Drum Corps International (DCI). Carolina Crown won the 2013 Drum Corps International World Class Championship, the first former Open Class/Division II corps to do so.
 | |
| Location | Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States |
|---|---|
| Division | World Class |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Director | Jim Coates |
| Championship titles | 1993 (Div. II) 2013 (World Class) |
| Website | www |
History
The Carolina Crown organization was founded in 1988 as the Charlotte Drum Corps Association, a group of local drum corps fans who gathered on an irregular basis to talk about drum corps and watch drum corps video.[1] The group hosted two drum corps shows, Southern Gold Classic at Davidson College and NightBEAT at Charlotte's Memorial Stadium. Southern Gold Classic drew a small audience and lost money. NightBEAT was much better attended, but the group was unable to pay the stadium rental. When the NightBEAT committee met with Charlotte Parks and Recreation Department to discuss working out some sort of payment schedule, they were surprised when they not only wrote off the bill for the 1988 NightBEAT but offered the a sponsorship for future shows. In 1989, a gift of $1000 was offered by the Queen City Optimists with the proviso that the organization start a performance group; after discussions initially centered on starting a drumline, the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps was born.[2][3]
After the corps bought a complete set of drums from a defunct drum and bugle corps only to discover that they were seriously damaged, John Cummings of Ludwig Drums offered to repair the drums as part of an informal sponsorship of the corps. The name Carolina Crown was adopted to recognize the groups' desire to represent the Carolinas region while still recognizing Charlotte, the Queen City, which has a crown in its logo. The leadership group met, in the fall of 1989, with several young band directors who were also alumni of Suncoast Sound, Spirit of Atlanta, and the Madison Scouts drum and bugle corps to tell them of their efforts to start a new local corps. After locating and purchasing the horns of the defunct California Dons, Carolina Crown began recruiting members. The corps also formed a partnership with the Mecklenburg Council of the Boy Scouts of America as Explorer Post #588, which aided them in finding school space for auditions and practices.[2]
In 1990, fielding a corps of only sixty-one members, Carolina Crown elected to compete in the Open Class (now known as World Class) in DCI. However, not only was the corps out-classed by the other, larger corps in Open Class, but it was also bested in DCI prelims by seven corps that had advanced from Classes A and A60, finishing thirty-third of 33 corps at their first DCI World Championships. In 1991, the corps dropped down to Class A. At the DCI Championships in Dallas, Carolina Crown finished in second place in Class A and advanced to Open Class prelims, where they placed twenty-fifth, earning DCI Associate membership. Carolina Crown was third in the 1992 Division II Championship, once more finishing in twenty-fifth place in Division I (which had been renamed from Open Class) prelims. At the 1993 DCI Championships, Carolina Crown won the Division II Championship title and finished in twenty-first place in Division I prelims.[2]
After their championship in Division II, Carolina Crown opted to compete exclusively in Division I starting in 1994. That year, the corps finished seventeenth in DCI semifinals in Boston. In 1995, in only its sixth season, Carolina Crown earned a spot as one of the twelve finalists, placing eleventh overall. Since that first finals appearance, Carolina Crown has failed to make finals only once in 2002, finishing within the top five in finals every year since 2008. In 2013, the corps won the Drum Corps International World Class Championship with the first and only perfect brass score in finals history.[4][5][6]
In 1995, the corps moved from Charlotte to Belmont, North Carolina. Following the 1997 season, the corps relocated to its present home of Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Show summary (1990–2021)
| Pale blue background indicates DCI finalist |
| Pale green background indicates DCI semifinalist |
| Gold background indicates DCI Championship |
| Year | Theme | Repertoire | Score | Placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Music Man | Goodnight, My Someone / Ya Got Trouble / Lida Rose / Marian the Librarian / Till There Was You / Goodnight Ladies / 76 Trombones All from The Music Man by Meredith Willson | 58.600 | 33rd |
| 1991 | The Music of Prokofiev | Piano Concerto No. 3 / March, Opus 99 / Troika (4th Movement from Lieutenant Kije Suite) / Alexander Nevsky / Ivan the Terrible All by Sergei Prokofiev | 91.500 66.400 | 2nd (Class A) 25th (Open Class) |
| 1992 | The Dances of Malcolm Arnold | English Dance I (Set One, Op.27) / English Dance II (Set Two, Op. 33) / English Dance IV (Set One, Op. 27) / Four Scottish Dances III (Op. 59) / Four Cornish Dances IV (Op. 91) All by Malcolm Arnold | 90.500 69.700 | 3rd (Division II) 25th (Open Class) |
| 1993 | La Fiesta Mexicana | Aztec Dance / Mass / Carnival All from La Fiesta Mexicana by H. Owen Reed | 94.300 74.200 | 1st (Division II) 21st (Division I) |
| 1994 | A Southwestern Impression | El Salón México by Aaron Copland / Rio Grande, Round Up, Wagon Train & Fiesta by Morton Gould | 75.100 | 17th |
| 1995 | Stormworks | Stormworks by Stephen Melillo / Watermark by Enya / The Storm by Marty McCartt | 82.800 | 11th |
| 1996 | Chess... and the Art of Strategy | Strategical Fanfare by Marty McCartt / Presto with Malice (from the First Symphony) by Sir William Walton / Nimrod & Variation XV (based on themes from Enigma Variations) by Sir Edward Elgar, arr. Marty McCartt | 82.100 | 10th |
| 1997 | Postcards from Britain | Crown Imperial by Sir William Walton / Terpsichore by Bob Margolis / Nimrod (from Enigma Variations) by Sir Edward Elgar / Gigue (from Saint Paul's Suite) by Gustav Holst | 85.000 | 12th |
| 1998 | Heroes: Then and Now | Russian Christmas Music / Armenian Dances / Praise Jerusalem by Alfred Reed | 85.70 | 11th |
| 1999 | Jekyll and Hyde | Prologue / Once Upon A Dream / Murder, Murder / Confrontation / In His Eyes / Facade All from Jekyll & Hyde by Frank Wildhorn, Leslie Bricusse and Steve Cuden | 86.300 | 11th |
| 2000 | The Mask of Zorro | Main Title / The Ride / Diego's Goodbye / Stealing the Map
All from The Mask of Zorro by James Horner |
85.150 | 11th |
| 2001 | Industry | Original music by Marty McCartt / Concerto for Four Percussion by David Gillingham / Main Theme from The Cider House Rules by Rachel Portman / Motown Metal by Michael Daugherty | 86.950 | 10th |
| 2002 | Greek Mythology, Stories of Gods and Heroes | I. Zeus – Second Essay for Orchestra by Samuel Barber / II. Eros – Eros (from Javelin) by Michael Torke / III. Icarus – One Day I'll Fly Away (from Moulin Rouge!) by Will Jennings and Joe Sample / IV. Medusa – Medea's Dance of Vengeance by Samuel Barber / Piano Concerto by Samuel Barber | 81.800 | 16th |
| 2003 | Bell-isimo! | Mass (from La Fiesta Mexicana) by H. Owen Reed / Earth (from Symphony No. 1) by Philip Sparke / Stained Glass by David Gillingham / Engulfed Cathedral by Claude Debussy / Carol of the Bells by Mykola Leontovych | 86.650 | 10th |
| 2004 | Bohemia! | Má Vlast (from The Moldeau) by Bedřich Smetana / La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini / Seasons of Love (from Rent) by Jonathan Larson / Epistrophy by Thelonious Monk & Kenneth Clark / Beat Generation (original composition) / Bohemian Rhapsody by Freddie Mercury (Queen) / The Queen Symphony by Tolga Kashif, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, & John Deacon | 91.225 | 7th |
| 2005 | Angelus | The Reason by Ed Nalle and Bob Kauflin (GLAD) / A Mighty Fortress by Martin Luther / Angel by Sarah McLachlan / Never Surrender (from First Knight) by Jerry Goldsmith / Joy (from Awakening) by Joseph Curiale / Call of the Mountain (from Gates of Gold) by Joseph Curiale | 90.725 | 7th |
| 2006 | In.trance.it | Urban Dances & Celestial Night by Richard Danielpour | 89.975 | 8th |
| 2007 | Triple Crown | Theme from Dreamer by John Debney / The Trap by James Newton Howard / Wild Horses by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones) / Happy Ending (from The Red Pony) by Aaron Copland / Manny's Story (from Dreamer) by John Debney / William Tell Overture by Gioachino Rossini / Last Race (from Dreamer) by John Debney | 94.150 | 6th |
| 2008 | Finis | Candide by Leonard Bernstein / Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach / Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini / Ode to Joy (from Ninth Symphony) by Ludwig van Beethoven / Suite Bergamasque (Claire De Lune) by Claude Debussy / One Hand One Heart & Somewhere (from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein) / Hungarian Rhapsody by Franz Liszt / Festive Overture by Dmitri Shostakovich / 1812 Overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland / Hallelujah Chorus by George Frederic Handel | 96.800 | 4th |
| 2009 | The Grass Is Always Greener | The Promise of Living (from The Tender Land) by Aaron Copland / St Michael the Archangel by Ottorino Respighi / Puck One (from Il Sogno) by Elvis Costello / Sensemayá by Silvestre Revueltas / Somewhere (from West Side Story) by Leonard Bernstein / Over the Rainbow (from The Wizard of Oz) by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg / Slalom by Carter Pann | 97.500 | 2nd |
| 2010 | A Sec2nd Chance | Symphony No. 2 by Gustav Mahler / Symphony No. 2 by Aram Khatchaturian / Danzón No. 2 by Arturo Marquez / Nimrod (from Enigma Variations) by Edward Elgar / The Promise of Living (from The Tender Land) by Aaron Copland | 95.950 | 4th |
| 2011 | Rach Star | We Will Rock You by Brian May (Queen) / Iron Man by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler & Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) / Piano Concerto No. 2 & Symphonic Dances by Sergei Rachmaninoff / Paint It Black by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones) / Eruption by Michael Anthony; David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, and Alex Van Halen, (Van Halen) / Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff / Piano Concerto No. 1 by Keith Emerson / Bohemian Rhapsody by Freddie Mercury (Queen) / Free Bird by Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd) | 95.300 | 4th |
| 2012 | For the Common Good | Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland / Dreams by Bertrand Moren / Symphony No. 3 by Aaron Copland | 97.650 | 2nd |
| 2013 | e=mc2 | Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass / Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss / Walking With Heroes by Paul Lovatt-Cooper / The Devil's Bridge by Bertrand Moren / The Abyss by Alan Silvestri / The Light Fantastic & The Dark Side of the Moon by Paul Lovatt-Cooper | 98.300 | 1st |
| 2014 | Out of This World | Space Oddity by David Bowie / Interstellar Suite by Amin Bhatia / Shadow Behind The Iron Sun by Evelyn Glennie / Major Tom (Coming Home) by Peter Schilling / There's No Place Like Home by Michael Giacchino / Perihelion by Philip Sparke / Vitae Aeternum by Paul Lovatt-Cooper | 95.675 | 5th |
| 2015 | Inferno | Gates of Hell by Thom Hannum, Tony Nunez, and Steve Ridley / Dies Irae by Giuseppe Verdi / Symphony for Organ and Orchestra by Aaron Copland / Adagio in G Minor by Remo Giazotto / Symphony No. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven | 97.075 | 2nd |
| 2016 | Relentless | The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Ennio Morricone / The Ecstasy of Gold by Ennio Morricone / Medea's Dance of Vengeance, Op. 23a by Samuel Barber / Journey of the Lone Wolf by Simon Dobson / El Tango de Roxanne by Sting, Craig Pearce, Baz Luhrmann, Mariano Mores / Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen / Il Triello (The Trio) by Ennio Morricone / Equilibrium by Paul Lovatt-Cooper | 97.088 | 3rd |
| 2017 | It Is... | Little Fugue in G Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach / Crown Imperial by William Walton / Symphony No. 3 by Vittorio Giannini / Old Home Days by Charles Ives / Raveling, Unraveling by Philip Sparke / For Good (from Wicked) by Stephen Schwartz / NO one To kNOW one by Andy Akiho | 96.575 | 3rd |
| 2018 | Beast | Symphony No. 8, 4th movement by Anton Bruckner/ Build a Pyre by Ryan Lott (Son Lux) / Destination Moon by Paul Raphael / Myth Forest by Stig Nordhagen / If I Fell by John Lennon and Paul McCartney / Blow It Up, Start Again by Jonathan Newman / Epiphanies (Fanfares and Chorales) by Ron Nelson | 95.500 | 4th |
| 2019 | Beneath the Surface | Temen Oblak (Dark Clouds) (from The Drop That Contained the Sea) by Christopher Tin / Frolic (from Rabbit and Rogue) by Danny Elfman / Partita for 8 Singers by Caroline Shaw / Gabriel's Oboe (from The Mission) by Ennio Morricone / Bucimis (Traditional Bulgarian based on arrangement) by The Swingles w/Trichy Sankaran | 96.563 | 4th |
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021 | In My Mind | Carolina Crown did not perform live at DCI events in 2021
Carolina in My Mind by James Taylor / Long Time Traveler by The Wailin' Jennys / Seize the Day by Peter Graham / Gravity by Sara Bareilles / Toccata Andromeda by Paul Halley |
Caption awards
At the annual World Championship Finals, Drum Corps International (DCI) presents awards to the corps with the highest average scores from prelims, semifinals, and finals in five captions. Carolina Crown has won these caption awards:[7]
Jim Ott Best Brass Performance Award
- 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019
John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award
- 2012, 2013, 2016
Don Angelica Best General Effect Award
- 2013, 2015
George Zingali Best Color Guard Award
- 2016
DCI also presents an award to the best drum major, as voted on by the DCI Hall of Fame committee:
Jim Jones Leadership Award
- Bob Beasley, 2006
- Evan VanDoren, 2007
References
- Griffith, Jeff (2021-06-01). "A Brief History: Carolina Crown Through The Years". FloMarching. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- Vickers, Steve (2003). A History of Drum & Bugle Corps: Vol. 2. Madison, WI: Drum Corps World. OCLC 54892759.
- "History of Crown". Carolina Crown. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- "Carolina Crown Wins DCI World Championships". School Band & Orchestra. 16 (9): 6 – via EBSCO.
- Boo, Michael (2020-02-26). "Jim Ott brass caption award winners of the 2010s". Drum Corps International. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- "Carolina Crown: Repertoire". DCX: The Drum Corps Xperience. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- "Caption Winners". From The Pressbox. Retrieved 2022-03-22.