Carolina Crown 2011 Repertoire Revealed : Queen & Rachmaninoff

Through all the murmers and rumors Carolina Crown announced their repertoire for their 2011 program "Rach Star." A delightfully tasteful play-on-words the show will feature the following pieces:

Rach Star

We Will Rock You (Queen)

Iron Man (Black Sabbath)

Piano Concerto No. 2 (Sergei Rachmaninov)

Symphonic Dances (Sergei Rachmaninov)

Paint it Black (Rolling Stones)

Piano Concerto No. 1 (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer)

Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)

Rach Star | Carolina Crown's 2011 Program

Carolina Crown is looking bolster their high-energy classical performances with electric Queen, Black Sabbath and Rolling Stones pieces. I would be shocked if Crown was not again a crowd favorite at finals in 2011.

Crown will also be dusting off a piece they performed back in 2004, Bohemian Rhapsody - which pretty much everyone knows all of the words to.

It will be interesting to see how Crown's interpretation of the rock numbers is different from the many high school and college marching bands that are constantly performing the same pieces.

It will also be interesting to see how many high school and college marching bands will attempt to do the same show as Crown should Crown give us the performance of a lifetime.

The 5 Greatest Phantom Regiment Shows of All Time

Phantom Regiment has finished the last two seasons with uncharacteristically low scores and placements at finals (9th place in 2009, and 6th place last season). Over the last decade they have finished in the top 5 seven times & finishing in the top five 14 times in the last two decades. Of those 14 finishes they have won 7 medals, two of them gold.

While Phantom Regiment does not always medal, they have been a perrenial powerhouse - finishing in the top ten drum and bugle corps every year since 1975 (that is 35 times and counting). It would be easy to simply find Phantom Regiment's top 5 highest scores in competition - so I did that.

Taking the field in all Phantom Regiment finals competition, from Rockford - Love's Park Illinois... PHANTOM REGIMENT!!!

The All-Phantom Regiment Drum Corps International Finals Competition Placement: 

1. 98.4 - A New World Symphony (2nd Place 1989)
2. 98.125 - SPARTACUS (1st Place 2008)
3. 97.40 - A Defiant Heart: the Music of Dmitri Shostakovich (1st Place 1996)
4. 96.85 - Faust (2nd Place 2006)
5. 96.825 - Rhapsody (3rd Place 2005)
6. 96.2 - Songs for a Summer Night (3rd Place 1994)
7. 96.2 - The Modern Imagination (3rd Place 1993)
8. 95.6 - Scythian Suite - Armenian Dances - Trypitch - 1812 Overture (4th Place 1984)
9. 95.4 - Phantom Voices (3rd Place 1991)
10. 95.3 - Dreams of Desire (4th Place 1990)
11. 94.85 - On Air (4th Place 2007)
12. 94.75 - Harmonic Journey (4th Place 2003)

Certainly I, as are you, am tickled at the idea of an all Phantom Regiment competition. As of right now, based on scores alone, those would be the top twelve Phantom Regiment shows of all time. Eight of these shows won medals, and A New World Symphony - number one on this list - lost to Santa Clara Vanguard's, almost ironically titled, Phantom of the Opera (regarded by many as one of the greatest drum corp shows of all time).

As many DCI fans will point out, myself included, a high scoring show does not necessarily make it better than another show (I am looking at you Blue Devils). I went ahead and picked out my favorite Phantom Regiment shows of all time.. starting with:

5. On Air - 2007

On Air was pretty much Phantom as usual, loud and exciting. There was that tasty flugel duet and of course one of Phantom Regiment's staples: the finale from Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. Oh yeah, while jazz running. Was it necessary? Of course it wasn't, it was flippin' badass though. It was truly a memorable performance from the corp.

4. A Defiant Heart - 1996

Who doesn't love it when Phantom Regiment defies the traditional white uniforms in favor of the black ones? Even though they shared the gold medal that year, they earned it. My favorite part is torwards the middle of the show the hornline nails a passage that features a mellophone run that is so incredibly insane that merely thinking about the beautiful shrill tone of the that mello line still gives me chills and makes my mouth hang open.

3. Faust - 2006

Biebel's Ave Maria is the most over looked Ave Maria in the history of Ave Marias. Phantom Regiment is the whole reason I know about Biebel's Ave Maria, and the whole reason why Biebel's Ave Maria is my favorite. Next time they should make the WHOLE hornline play baritones and euphoniums though. Phantom created a moment on the field with Ave Maria that I will remember to the day I die. To this day it remains the most beautiful thing I have ever seen accomplished on a football field.

2. SPARTACUS - 2008

Phantom Regiment took a page out of Carolina Crown's book "How to connect with your audience," and performed one of their shows from the early 1980s - taking it to heights it had never seen before. The entire show was a roller coaster of emotion and energy leading up to, perhaps, the most memorable climax of a drum corp show to date. I wonder how long it will take for Phantom to dust off Spartacus again - while is would be nice to see them do something new - I also hope we don't have to wait almost thirty years to watch them perform SPARTACUS again. Just sayin.

1. Harmonic Journey - 2003

Harmonic Journey was the first drum corp show I was ever exposed to. It was my first window into the world of drum corps and Phantom Regiment. It changed the way I listen to music to forever. It just feels like it's the perfect drum corp show. It just seems to have everything, the perfect theme a great balance of temponic and dynamic contrast and of course Phantom Regiment's hornline delivers a literally unforgettable performance. That part where they make the wedge towards the end blows me away every time.

Sometimes I wonder how I would judge DCI performances if the first show I had watched had been the Cavaliers "Machine" show. Probably much differently. Phantom Regiment does one thing well, and that is marching music. They are the reason I love DCI and I am thankful for this.

Cadets 2011 Show: Ticheli & Zimmer

Hans Zimmer is the greatest movie score composer of today. Notable in his extensive repertoire of over 120 films since 1982 are the Pirates of the Caribbean

The Cadets 2011 Show: Zimmer & Ticheli

Between Angels and Demons

Carolina Crown 2011 Show : "Rach Star" Crown Crowd Favorite?

Carolina Crown has made a history of performing shows that connect with the emotions of the crowd (see "Triple Crown 2007") It helps that they have one of the more balanced hornlines in DCI while still posessing the ability to melt your face off volume-wise. Crown is a solid all around corp which has contributed to a very steady and consistent rise to becoming regularly one of the most competitive drum corps in DCI today.

They also feature some exquisite program writing - featuring a ton of great classical music, only in a different (and some might argue more fun) way than longtime DCI powerhouse Phantom Regiment.

Their 2009 program "Finis," combined the excitement of some of classical music's most revered finales with the energy of a drum corp show resulting in Crown's highest finishing score and placement at finals in the corp's history.

Better or not, they have taken a recipe for success as proven by Phantom and added their own spice to the mix - which is take great music and present it in a way that can be related to by a wide and diverse audience. It is working too, Crown has finished in the top five in the last three DCI finals, carving out Crown's own niche as a classical music featuring drum corp.

For 2011 Carolina Crown is expected to present "Rach Starr," an allusion to the last name of their feature keyboard player and the program repertoire which is supposed to be a mixture of rock standards and Rachmaninoff pieces.

Some of the purist DCI fans out there may cringe as some corps have been experimenting with adding amplified electronic sounds to their shows in recent years and some may believe this may detract from the spirit of things.

I think the real issue with this is nobody has really pulled it off sucessfully yet. Once a corp features amplified electronic sounds and medals at finals you can be sure that this trend will take off. That's just the way things are.

What is interesting about this is Crown is supposed to be the beloved underdog of DCI... The corp that we all root for because they don't cater to the judges but the fans - producing butt kicking shows year after year after year (after year, after year). Carolina Crown, if they really are performing "Rach Starr," will most likely be employing some of the more controversial and polarizing show effects we can readily name.

If anyone can bring electronic music in a drum corp show into percieved legitimacy by it's critics, it will be crowd-sweetheart Carolina Crown.

Love it or hate it, I think it would be dumb to bet against them. Mostly because whatever they do - we the crowd are going to eat it up. Crown has always stayed true to their way of doing business. At the end of the day they will still be good ol' Carolina Crown and that is why we love them so much. Expect a memorable performance.

Phantom Regiment 2011 Show: Verdi, Mozart & Wagner Stand Out in Repertoire

Released about a month ago at regiment.org, Phantom Regiment's 2011 show will be titled "Juliet."

East of Eden, by Lee Holdridge
Requiem, by Giuseppe Verdi
Requiem, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet (A Time For Us), by Nino Rota
Romeo & Juliet, by Sergei Prokofiev
Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral (from Lohengrin), by Richard Wagner

Staying true to their guns, Phantom Regiment is playing a Classics heavy show, including parts of both Giuseppe Verdi's and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem masses. These will certainly help to set the tone and mood for the entire show.

It also appears that Phantom Regiment will also use Richard Wagner's piece from Lohengrin "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral," which has long been a traditional piece for the corps.

Phantom Regiment tends to do well when they reach into their vaults and pull out pieces important to the tradition and history of the corps. (See "Spartacus")

Rumor has it that Phantom Regiment will also be rockin' their solid black uniforms. In 1996 Phantom Regiment shared 1st place with the Blue Devils performing "A Defiant Heart," the music of Dmitri Shostakovich - also while wearing their black uniforms.

The story of Juliet, of course from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," is among the greatest pieces of the tragic romance genre. It is rich with dark content perhaps lending Phantom Regiment to feature their black uniforms for the show.

You can catch Phantom Regiment at these dates over the 2011 Summer season. If you go be sure to catch them in the lot before the perform. Phantom Regiment's hornline warming up in the parking lot is an experience you won't soon forget.

Phantom Regiment Tour Dates Summer 2011

(from regiment.org)

Sat, 6/18/11 Saginaw, TX
Sun, 6/19/11 Round Rock, TX
Tue, 6/21/11 Albuquerque, NM
Wed, 6/22/11 Mesa, AZ
Fri, 6/24/11 Clovis, CA
Sat, 6/25/11 Stanford, CA
Sun, 6/26/11 Stockton, CA
Tue, 6/28/11 Atascadero, CA
Fri, 7/1/11 San Diego/Vista, CA
Sat, 7/2/11 Walnut, CA
Sun, 7/3/11 Riverside, CA
Wed, 7/6/11 Salt Lake City, UT
Fri, 7/8/11 Loveland, CO
Sat, 7/9/11 Denver, CO
Sun, 7/10/11 Omaha, NE
Wed, 7/13/11 Sioux Falls, SD
Sat, 7/16/11 Minneapolis, MN
Sun, 7/17/11 Rockford, IL
Mon, 7/18/11 Lebanon, IL
Tue, 7/19/11 Van Buren, AR
Thu, 7/21/11 Denton, TX
Fri, 7/22/11 Houston, TX
Sat, 7/23/11 San Antonio, TX
Mon, 7/25/11 Lafayette, LA
Wed, 7/27/11 Hattiesburg, MS
Fri, 7/29/11 Murfreesboro, TN
Sat, 7/30/11 Atlanta, GA
Sun, 7/31/11 Charlotte, NC
Tue, 8/2/11 Charleson, WV
Fri, 8/5/11 Allentown, PA
Sun, 8/7/11 TBA, NJ
Tue, 8/9/11 Massillon, OH
Thu, 8/11/11 Indianapolis, IN
Fri, 8/12/11 Indianapolis, IN
Sat, 8/13/11 Indianapolis, IN
Sun, 8/14/11 Banquet - Indianapolis, IN