On this thread will be information about 9th Annual Preview of Champions. There is be information about the venue, times, schedules and after the contest there will be a review written up.

We hope to make this the best year possible. So sign up now while there are only a few spots left. As soon as the spots are filled up, schedules will be made and more information will be distributed.

Date: Friday July 29th
Location: Lucas Oil Stadium
Time: Drum Corps Market Place opens at 12:30, Seats open at 1:00pm, National Anthem/Pre-Game Events at 1:30pm, First Corps Steps Off at 2:00pm
Price: $30
Encore by Epic DCB, Music that will be played:
- Edge of Glory
- Tenth Symphony, 2nd Mvt.
- Birdland
- Mansions of the Lord (Corps song)

Schedule:

Division III
Ohio Thunder – 2:00 pm
Spirit of Sylacauga – 2:15 pm
Memphis Sound – 2:30 pm

Division II
The Druids Drum & Bugle Corps – 2:45 pm
Momentum – 3:00 pm
Sound of Indy – 3:15 pm
Dunkirk Patriots – 3:30 pm
Lexington Legends – 3:45 pm
Musketeers – 4:00 pm
R's Regiment – 4:15 pm
Envision Drum and Bugle Corps – 4:30 pm
Spin Cycle – 4:45 pm
Red Regiment – 5:00 pm
Spirit of Clarksville – 5:15 pm
McMavericks – 5:30 pm
The Blue Eagle Drum and Bugle Corps – 5:45 pm
Vincent Storm – 6:00 pm
Florida Vanguard – 6:15 pm
Southwind II – 6:30 pm

INTERMISSION

Division I
Modern Antic -7:30 pm
Bluegrass Regiment – 7:45 pm
First Legion – 8:00 pm
Corps IBEX – 8:15 pm
The Tullahoma Azure Force – 8:30 pm
Blue Demons – 8:45 pm
Lemon Bay Jazz – 9:00 pm
Nemesis – 9:15 pm
Great Lakers – 9:30 pm
Regal Regimen- 9:45 pm
Epic DBC – 10:00 pm

Encore by Epic DBC – 10:25 pm
Retreat & Scores – 10:45 pm

Shows and Music:

Division III

Ohio Thunder - 1942
A Whole New World-Alladin, Into The Raging River-Steve Reineke

Spirit of Sylacauga - Stormy Nights

Memphis Sound - Got Blues?
Blue Light, Red Light (Someone's There)" - Harry Connick, Jr., Ramsey McLean
Summertime from Porgy and Bess - DuBose Heyward, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Everybody Loves the Blues - Maynard Ferguson
When A Man Loves A Woman - Calvin Lewis, Andrew Wright, Percy Sledge

Division II

The Druids Drum & Bugle Corps – Chess: The Game of War
Mvt. I - The Tidings of War
Mvt. II - The Brief Cease Fire
Mvt. III - Winning a War

Momentum –Also Sprach Zarathustra
‘Hepatica' - Yuki Kajiura
'Godsibb'- Yuki Kajiura
'Promised Pain' - Yuki Kajiura

Sound of Indy –Sum of All Fears

Dunkirk Patriots – Empire State

Lexington Legends –Legendary
Symphony No. 5 (Mvt. 4) - Dmitri Shostakovich
O Magnum Mysterium - Morten Lauridsen
Symphony No. 5 (Mvt. 4) - Gustav Mahler

Musketeers – Insanity 2011

R's Regiment – Nyan Cat… How long can you last

Envision Drum and Bugle Corps – A Day Out of the Ordinary
Morning Suite - Peer Gynt
Appalachian Morning
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
Moondance
Claire de Lune

Spin Cycle – Solaris

Red Regiment – Mancini’s
Mvt. 1 Pink Panther
Mvt. 2 Moon River
Mvt. 3 Petter Gunn

Spirit of Clarksville – The Return of Kings

McMavericks – Shade of Life
Under a Tree

The Blue Eagle Drum and Bugle Corps – There and Back Again: A Drum Corps Tale
Part 1- The Battle of the Pelennor Fields
Part 2- The White Tree
Part 3 - The Siege of Gondo

Vincent Storm – Every Angel Has It’s Day
Going Home.
Amazing Grace
Be Not Always
Deep River

Florida Vanguard – The Devil’s Staircase
First Essay for Orchestra - Bartok
Piano Sonata No. 2 - Dorman
The Eternal Knot - Jenkins
Etude 13 - Ligeti

Southwind II – Mysterioso

Division I
Modern Antic – Time to Shine!

Bluegrass Regiment – PR meets VK
Magical Mystery Your
California Girls
Nessau Dorma
Finale to Symphony #9

First Legion – With Heart and Voice
Omens of Love, by T-Square
Omens of Love, by Gino Vannelli
A Boy Like That (West Side Story), by Leonard Bernstein
Seasons of Love (Rent), Jonathan Larson
With Heart and Voice, by David Gillingham

Corps IBEX – The Fight
Fanfare from Rocky
Music from Cinderella Man
Fight Club

The Tullahoma Azure Force – Summertime
Summer Lovin’
Summertime
Wipeout
Autumn Leaves

Blue Demons – Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring
Concerning Hobbits
Bridge of Khaza-Dum
Breaking of the Fellowship

Lemon Bay Jazz – Brubeck
Take 5
Maria
Blue Rondo a la Turk

Nemesis – A Poem, a Dance and a Suite
Ode to Death
Ballet Music from The Perfect Fool
Second Suite in F

Great Lakers – Labor from Fields of City
Threshers
Old Man River
Equus

Regal Regiment – A World of Darkness
Pt. 1 - Opening Title from Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim
Pt. 2 - Mad World by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews
Pt. 3 - No Good Deed from Wicked by Stephen Schwartz

Epic DBC – Conquest
Tenth Symphony, 2nd Mvt. By Shostakovich
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff
Fifth Symphony, 4th Mvt. By Shostakovich
Conquest (from Captain From Castile) by Newman

Schedule is up, along with other information

I will also be writing a review for the show. So stay tuned for that the day or so after the contest.

didnt dare have us going on too close to you--I get it--I see how it goes LOL

this schedule thing is really neat! I may start doing that for my shows....

I am flattered that you put us so high in the order. But I really think I should be with the Div 3 corps.

Well I actually first put my corps last and everyone was pulled randomly. No specific order by previous ranking or anything. A mix of corps throughout the whole show. Now stockpiling all the good ones at the end. Gotta get the bang for your buck.

I plan on adding a vendor list, along with the show title of each corps next to their name so people can see. Kinda like a program type thing.

I'm glad you guys enjoy this. It makes the game better when people take time to make it realistic. It's fun seeing your corps in reviews, schedule line ups, posts, etc.

just dont be shocked when "due to scheduling conflicts" you go on before the National Anthem at Green Mountain Invitational LOL

I used to do this, but I haven't for a few seasons. I really should get back to it.

gcurrier: It's ok. I will just have the stands fill by then and then they have to wait for the rest of the show to hear scores. Hopefully the spectators don't get bored. Lol =P

bando: I use to on the old FMA version. This is the first time I did it on the new one. I have time now and plus, since we are coming back from being inactive, I want to have a big impact in more ways than one.

haha sure sure --doesnt matter when I go on--ill still kick your booty LOL

I do this off and on too--i probably will again this season

Corps show titles are up.

Really cool... thanks for doing all this extra work! Can't wait for the show.

Get pumped! Preview of Champions is on Friday!

4.5 hours til the gates open for Preview of Champions. The final few corps souvie booths are pulling in and getting set up. Our lovely volunteer bought all the early birds donuts and coffee.

Don't forget to check back later tonight as a review will be written up about the event!

The 9th Annual Preview of Champions was a great success. The crowd started piling in as soon as they could at 12:30. Fans found the souvie booths they needed to hit up to get the proper attire. We were surprised to see people actually waiting outside Lucas Oil Stadium for the doors to open. We knew that this was going to be a great show from the get go.

Evan and Rene Kirschenman were the first in line at the door proudly wearing their Ohio Thunder show shirts. “Of course we are here. We wouldn’t miss such a premiere event so close to home,” said the Kirschenman’s. “We have both of our daughters in the corps. Lacey is in here second year in the corps and the guard captain and Jennifer is marching her rookie year on mellophone.” It was awesome to see the parent support as they await their children’s performance.

Walking around the drum corps marketplace you couldn’t help but notice a group of kids decked out in Musketeers stuff and carrying signs. Paul Hackett, Sara Tenney, Kayla Priest, Kathryn Weldon and Glenn Deitz all go to high school together. “We are here to support our friend Erica Donoghue,” said the group. “We are surprising her after the show, but I am sure she will know we are here as we plan on screaming her name before they begin.”

The buzz continued as the seating area was open, the National Anthem and Pre-Game Events started. The crowd was ready for some amazing groups to blow them away.

In 3rd place in Division III performering “1942” was Ohio Thunder. Talk about an energetic show that got peoples blood pumping. The show started off with a band and it was a huge crowd pleaser.

Coming in 2nd place was Memphis Sound performing their show “Got Blues?”. Can you please please please play that closer again? There is nothing like having people on their feet cheering half way through the closer. The screamer during “When A Man Loves A Women” was getting it. Man he has some chops.

Taking 1st place in Division III was Spirit of Sylacauga. Performing their show “Stormy Nights”, the corps took every caption except Visual Performance. However, they were only .025 from Memphis Sound. This second year corps is going places lady and gentlemen! They currently sit in 7th place overall in Division III and about 5.5 points from first. I see this show developing into something amazing.

Next we have Division II...

Placing 5th in Division II was The Blue Eagle Drum and Bugle Corps from Waxahachie, Texas. “This show is a dream show,” says 4 year trumpet vet Nelson Peltz. “It is something everyone can get into character, relate to and just enjoy performing.” The show, “There and Back Again – A Drum Corps Tale” has been the buzz around the drum corps world and the buzz it right… GREAT SHOW!

In 4th place in Division II was Vincent Storm. Their show, “Every Angel Has It’s Day” was not only angelic and moving, but they brought tears to people’s eyes when they played “Amazing Grace”. “It is hard not to get emotional during that part,” says Matthew Hamon, the drum major for Vincent Storm. “We have a very mature corps this year and you can tell by the raw emotion we are able to put on the field. Make sure you have some tissues when you watch this corps. It is going to bring tears to your eyes.

Coming in 3rd place in Division II was Lexington Legends. They presented their show Legendary. A boy did they ever etch their identity with this show. Big, bad, and loud! Nothing goes better together than some Shostakovich and Mahler. This group is on a roll as they jumped about 2.5 points from their last show. With such improvement I can see this corps in the top 6 at Finals.

Next we have the top two corps in Division II at Preview of Champions. They have been battling back and forth and we knew it was going to be a close battle to see who will be coming in first and second. Coming in 2nd place, just missing 1st place by just tenths of a point was the Dunkirk Patriots. Performing their Season 10 show, “Empire State”, this corps has been rockin’ it! They came away with top honors in both Music and Visual Ensemble.

However, that was not good enough as our 1st place corps in Division II was The Druids Drum & Bugle Corps. Marching onto the field, you can tell this corps meant business. Posed and ready to put on a fantastic show. The Druids took both GE captions on their way to victory. It is going to be a back and forth battle between these two corps. With plenty of season left, we shall see where they place.

Before Division I started, we had our intermission. As people got up to stretch, walk around and get some much needed food, we caught up with some people and asked what shows they liked so far and who they are excited to see when the “BIG BOYS” come out.

“I would have to say my favorite corps so far would have to be the Florida Vanguard!” says April Griesbach. “Their ballad (The Eternal Knot) was just so moving and how the guard covered the field… it was such an amazing moment”

“I liked Spin Cycle,” said Max Behar. “I may be biased, but I know staff that helps out.” “However, I can’t wait til Division I starts. I am anxious to see Corps IBEX and their rockin’ drumline!”

“Can I like all of them that have gone?” says Kelly Prost and ex drum corps aluma. “I am just proud of the kids that go out there and perform their hearts out. I just can’t wait to see all of the Division I corps. There are some top notch groups out their doing some amazing stuff.”

And finally we reach Division I…

In 5th place was Corps IBEX performing their show, “The Fight”. You could see people in the stands giving a jabs and the corps opened up with the “Fanfare from Rocky”. This corps has always been a fan favorite and their drumline and pit has been very innovative in the past season. And as you can tell, their percussion scores have shown that.

Coming in 4th performing their show “A Poem, a Dance and a Suite” was Nemesis. Talk about a extremely mature show. These kids are performing such a complex, deep and meaningful show that they are not getting the respect as they should. “Our staff sat us down during the beginning of the season and told us that we are who we are and we just go out and do what we do,” says Julio Mazzei, the horn sergeant. “We know we are good, but we are playing some tough music. Not only that, but the show concept is new to world of drum corps. I just hope it can grow on people and fans enjoy it. Scores are just a part of this activity, but connecting with the audience means more.”

Next we have out 3rd place corps with Regal Regiment. Their Season 10 show, “A World of Darkness”, is sinister and ominous. The corps has put together a great show this year and they are pushing towards their highest placement this season. They are currently in 6th place and would need to just move up one spot to tie their highest ranking.

Placing 2nd in Division I was the Blue Demons. Their program entitled, “Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring” was something magical! They took top honors in Music and Visual Ensemble as this corps plans on medaling at Finals. There is a lot of drum corps to march from now and then… can it be done? They hold their own faith in their hands.

Taking home top honors in Division I was host corps Epic. Performing their Season 10 show, “Conquest”, this corps is taking back what was once theirs. “After being inactive for 2 seasons, we are back and ready to claim what is ours,” says head drum major Corey Warner. “We are taking it day by day and we are just striving for perfection. Epic top Winds, Visual Performance and Visual GE.

As if 30 amazing corps was not enough, Epic came back on the field to play an encore. The corps played “Edge of Glory”, their opener, “Birdland” and then the corps song “Mansions of the Lord. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WDrbbtaO0E) We invited all of the alum to come down on the field to be on the field for this and it brought some tears to their eyes. “I am so proud to be able to march with Epic,” says Sam Dublin, baritone alum. “My first season was back in Season 3 when we did ‘Shattered Glass’ and I aged out in Season 6 when we did my all time favorite show, ‘Circadian Rhythms’. I enjoyed every moment I had with this corps.”

“I can’t believe this is the same corps,” says Kelsey O’Day. “I marched the first two seasons with Epic and seeing them where they are today just fills me up with joy.”

“This corps is truly magical,” says Neil and Stephanie Sumerall, proud parents of 3 Epic members. “My kids say this is their second home and seeing the bond they have after performing their corps song, well it just brings tears to my eyes.”

From every here at Epic, we want to thank everyone that performed and attended the 9th Annual Preview of Champions! Come back next year as the 10th Annual Preview of Champions will be even bigger!

That was a great review of your own show! You should work with other members and get reviews out like this more often!

yes it is a good review

Thanks you guys. I am a PR major and it is under the School of Journalism where I am at. So i get excited to write stuff like these. I wish I could motivate people to do this, but it is an inner motivation. I do plan on writing one for the CLASS Championship.

Lexington Legends thoroughly enjoyed our experience at your competition. It was the single best run competition we've ever performed at!

Really, great review. I'm not much of a writer (mostly I just play tuba), but after seeing this I think it could be fun to get into it a little bit.