Competition 2009

The 34th annual Interservice Academy Drum & Bugle Corps Championship was held on Saturday, October 3rd on Rip Miller Field in Annapolis. The morning weather threatened rain (always an issue, it seems, with this show...), but the wet weather ultimately held off for a beautiful day of drum corps. The show was adjudicated by the National Judges Association, using DCI sheets.
The 41 members of the Coast Guard Academy “Windjammers” took the field first, presenting a program of music by Michael Jackson. Featuring fun choreography from the six member guard, the corps proper, and even the drum major, this corps knows how to work a crowd. The musical offering included “Thriller”, “Beat It”, and other hits from the late King of Pop. Coast Guard came in third place with a score of 79.7.
The Air Force Academy “Flight of Sound” then began their program, with an outstanding rendition of “Trooper Salute”. This medley featured several familiar tunes made famous by the Casper Troopers, including “American Salute” and “Ghost Riders in the Sky”. The second tune from the 67 member corps was an outstanding rendition of “Caravan” featuring a complete rock band in the pit. Electric guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and auxiliary percussion were weaved into the horn and battery score for a very entertaining presentation. Air Force’s outstanding hornline won the High Brass award for the day, while the corps placed second with a score of 87.1.
The Naval Academy Drum & Bugle Corps, 104 members strong, closed the day with their “Superheroes” show, including soundtrack music from the “Batman” and “Superman” films, as well a big band version of the classic 1967 cartoon series, “Spiderman”. The “Batman” music offered the incredibly dark sounds of many of Danny Elfman’s music, and featured intricate drill and high tempo excitement. The “Spiderman” production began with a drum feature reminiscent of “Sing, Sing, Sing” to transition from the darkened theater vibe of the Elfman score. The ensemble roared through a big band shout chorus, and then a soprano solo and contra solo (!) finished the tune off with a comedic zing. The “Superman” closer started with the TV series opening lines, “Look, up in the sky!... It’s a bird!... It’s a plane!”, and then took the crowd aflight with the John Williams title track from the 1978 movie. Navy’s very talented battery and pit took the High Percussion caption award, and the corps won with an overall score of 90.0.
There are videos of Navy’s show currently up on YouTube (clip 1.... clip 2).

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