Photo of the Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps by Dave Whitaker
The Land of 10,000 Lakes is now the land of a Drum Corps Associates (DCA) Championships sweep, with Minnesotan corps Govenaires and Minnesota Brass placing first in A and Open Class, respectively.
“So many people were surprised and delighted, lots of crying and tears of joy and happiness,” says Eric Molho, director of Minnesota Brass from St. Paul. “We shared the field awhile with the Govenaires. The two Minnesota corps ended up winning; it was a cool feeling.”
Minnesota Brass scored 98.35, ending the unprecedented six-year reign of the Reading (Pa.) Buccaneers, which came in second wth a score of 97.45. The Empire Statesmen of Rochester, N.Y., came in third with a score of 95.55.
“It was the best work our design team has ever done as far as pulling all the elements together,” Molho says. “Being in second place for three years is nothing that we’re disappointed in, but when I look at the shows, there’s always been one piece that hasn’t held together. This year the design team did a great job with the story, visual and musical pieces; we needed to tie it all together.”
In A Class, the Govenaires from St. Peter, Minn., earned its third straight championship with a score of 84.93. Fusion Corps of Morris County, N.J., came in second (83.93), and Carolina Gold of Greensboro, N.C., was just behind with 83.85. Star United from Indianapolis, won the Mini-Corps competition and earned a perfect score of 100.
After six years in Rochester, N.Y., the DCA championships will move to Annapolis, Md., for the next two years. “I think it’s really exciting that DCA continues to grow,” Molho says. “It’s tough when you’re far away from your peers, and DCA is continuing to find ways to make that viable and improve, so that when we come to finals, it’s anybody’s game. No matter where you’re traveling from, there’s an opportunity there. They’ve come a long way in creating a really big playing field.”
