After coming in third behind the Blue Devils (Concord, Calif.) and Carolina Crown (Fort Mill, SC) at the annual Drum Corps International (DCI) West competition at Stanford Stadium on June 22, the Santa Clara Vanguard headlined the annual Pacific Procession competition and exhibition at Santa Clara High School on June 24.
Now in its second year, Pacific Procession, a competition hosted by SCV, gives traveling and local corps another chance to perform ahead of the DCI World Championship at the end of the summer.
In the Open Class division, Blue Devils B opened the show with “Warped,” a combination of music by James Sochinski, Michael Daugherty, Danny Elfman, John Meehan, Dave Glyde and Brian Dinkel.
The Vanguard Cadets followed with “The Art of War,” a program “inspired by the universal emptions and experiences that have defined war since time immemorial,” according to the SCV website.
Blue Devils B placed first with a score of 65.200 and the Cadets came in second, less than a point behind (64.600).
Pacific Crest (Diamond Bar, Calif.) was the first to perform in the World Class division. The corps performed its 2013 show, “Transfixed” and placed third with a score of 64.000.
Performing second was the Mandarins (Sacramento, Calif.), whose routine, “Destination America: Journey of the Paper Sons,” reflected the group’s Chinese heritage. The Mandarins placed fourth with a score of 62.100.
Carolina Crown went third, performing its 2013 E=MC², a visually stunning performance with music by Philip Glass, Richard Strauss, Paul Lovatt-Cooper, Bertrand Moren, and Alan Silvestri. Carolina Crown easily took first place, winning the competition with a score of 77.800.
Closing out the night and performing the organization’s 2013 show – a routine combining the passion and drama of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables – Vanguard’s routine was marred by a few dropped props, but well-choreographed and good enough for second place (75.400).
DCI West and Pacific Procession are the only competitions in the Bay Area this year. The corps will complete a west coast tour and travel to the south and east coast before arriving in Indiana for the DCI World Championship in August. Visit www.scvanguard.org for more information.
DCI West Competition Notes
Out of the six teams, Vanguard scored a 72.600, putting the corps four and a half points behind the winning Blue Devils and three points behind the second place Carolina Crown. Vanguard scored 29.200 in General Effect, 21.200 in Visual, and 22.200 in Music at the competition.
The Vanguard Cadets placed second out of three teams in the Open Class division at DCI West. The Cadets posted a score of 60.450, putting the corps less than a point behind the winning Blue Devils B group and over 16 points ahead of the third place Blue Devils C group. The Cadets scored 23.500 in General Effect, 18.550 in Visual, and 18.400 in Music.
