Blue Devils B Drum and Bugle Corps

The Blue Devils "B" Drum and Bugle Corps (also known as "BDB") is an Open Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Concord, California the corps is a member of Drum Corps International and has grown from a feeder corps for the World Class (formerly Division I) Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, to a full-fledged Drum Corps in its own right.[1] The corps has won the DCI Open Class World Championship five times, having most recently claimed the title in 2016. [2] With the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, they will be returning to Championships in Indiana in 2021.

The Blue Devils "B"
Drum and Bugle Corps

Location	Concord, CA
Division	Open Class
Founded	1968
Director	Efrain Hinojosa
Championship titles	VFW-1982 Open Class-2009, '10, '11, '14, '16
Uniform	(2017) Black, grey, and white top w/wide blue diagonal stripe & small mirror, blue back Blue, white, and gold sash on right hip Black pants Black Shoes & socks Black shako w/BD shield, chains & white plume w/red & blue feathers

History

The Blue Devils organization began in 1957 as a drum and bell corps. In 1968, the original corps moved up from B Class competition to A Class, and the Blue Devils B was started as a younger, cadet corps. In 1973, the B corps followed the step that the A corps had taken three years before and converted from a drum and bell corps to a drum and bugle corps.[3]

As a cadet corps, for years the unit performed almost exclusively on the West Coast, venturing to the DCI World Championships only when they were held in Denver in 1977 & '78 and in Dallas in 1991. The corps made the trek to Orlando in 1997, but then did not return to the World Championships until traveling to Denver, Colorado in 2004 and to Madison, Wisconsin in '06. Only when the World Championships were held in Pasadena, California did BDB become a regular competitor in the Division II/III (now Open Class) Championships. After five times being a Division II/Open Class Finalist, the Blue Devils B corps won the first of three consecutive Open Class World Championships in Indianapolis in 2009. With new rules in effect in 2011, the corps also competed in World Class preliminaries, finishing in 19th place and earning membership in DCI. In 2012, the corps finished in second place in Open Class and advanced to World Class semifinals, finishing twenty-first. In 2013, they again finished in second place in Open Class, advancing to World Class semifinals with a 20th-place finish.[4]

In 2014, Blue Devils B won its fourth DCI Open Class World Championship. When advancing to World Class, the corps surprised many by finishing in 18th place in the preliminaries. The corps then shocked many more by vaulting into 15th place in semifinals, a placement ahead of eight World Class corps.[5][6]

The corps won its fifth Open Class title on August 8, 2016.

On September 5, 2018, BD Performing Arts, Vanguard Music & Performing Arts, and Drum Corps International announced that Blue Devils B has "...decided to travel and compete only in California for the 2019 season...." and that both BDB and the Vanguard Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps would not be attending DCI Open Class Championships in 2019.[7][8]

The Blue Devils B will be returning to Open Class and World Class Championships in Indiana in 2020. [9]

Sponsorship

The Blue Devils "B" Drum and Bugle Corps is one of three drum and bugle corps sponsored by BD Performing Arts, a 501 (c)(3) musical organization that has a Board of Directors, corps directors, and staff assigned to carry out the organization's mission. The Executive Director is Dave Gibbs, and Efrain Hinojosa is Corps Director.[10]

Show summary 1977-2020

Source:[11]

Gold background indicates DCI Championship; pale blue background indicates DCI Class Finalist; pale green background indicates DCI semifinalist; pale purple background indicates Open Class finalist (but not champion) and World Class semifinalist.

Year	Theme	Repertoire	Score	DCI Placement
1973-76		No Information Available		Did not attend
1977		Repertoire Unavailable	39.050	19th Class A
1978		Repertoire Unavailable	41.010	14th Class A
1979-80		No Information Available		Did not attend
1981		Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona / Ozark by Lyle Mays and Pat Metheny / Sphinx's Lair (Unknown) / Home (from The Wiz) by Charlie Smalls / Antioch Fantasy by Jim McFarland		Did not attend
1982		Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona / Samba de Haps by Mark Taylor		Did not attend
1983-88		No Information Available		Did not attend
1989		Suncats (Unknown) / Night Flight by Steve Robertson and Terry Shalberg		Did not attend
1990		Flight of the Condor by Dave Grusin / Bossa Corona by Bill Wiedrich / San Juan by Claus Ogerman / Samba de Haps by Mark Taylor / Don't Let Me be Lonely Tonight by James Taylor		Did not attend
1991		Flight of the Condor by Dave Grusin / Call on Me by Lee Loughnane / Jack Miraculous by Gino Vannelli / At Seventeen by Janis Ian / São Paulo by Antônio Maria, Benny Carter, David Benoit, Jay Hoggard, and Kenny Dorham	84.300	4th Class A60
1992		Payload (Unknown) / Night of the Capricorn Moon by Mike Vax / Drum Solo (Staff original) / Bossa Corona by Bill Wiedrich		Did not attend
1993		The Sorcerer by Herbie Hancock / Sunrise Lady by Bruce Johnstone / Late in the Evening by Paul Simon		Did not attend
1994		Baroque Samba by Darmon Meader / Space Shuttle by John LaBarbera / Now or Never by Caprice Fox, Darmon Meader, Kim Nazarian, Peter DeRose, Peter Eldridge, and Sara Krieger (New York Voices)		Did not attend
1995		Selections from the Mambo Kings		Did not attend
1996		From This Moment On (from Kiss Me Kate) by Cole Porter / City Gate by Chick Corea / The Rumble (from West Side Story) by Leonard Bernstein / You Can't Fall Up (You Just Fall Down) by Emilio Castillo, Skip Knape, Stephen "Doc" Kupka / Scott & Fran's Paso Doble (from Strictly Ballroom) by David Hirschfelder		Did not attend
1997		Nutville by Horace Silver / Guaguancó by Arturo Sandoval / Night of the Capricorn Moon by Mike Vax / Minuano by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays / Scott and Fran's Paso Doble (from Strictly Ballroom) by David Hirschfelder	86.000	4th Division II
1998	There's No Place Like Home	The Wiz Medley & Believe in Yourself (from The Wiz) by Charlie Smalls / On Dangerous Ground Medley by Bernard Herrmann / Witches' Themes (from the Wizard of Oz) by Herbert Stothart / Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky / Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz / Over the Rainbow (from The Wizard of Oz) by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg / So You Want to See The Wizard, Home & Brand New day (from The Wiz) by Charlie Smalls		Did not attend
1999	Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue	Pontieo by Edu Lobo and José Carlos Capinam / Tom by Michael John LaChiusa / Baby Moon by Adam Guettel / Way Back to Paradise by Michael John LaChiusa / Dindi by Antônio Carlos Jobim, Aloysio de Oliveira, adapted by Ray Gilbert		Did not attend
2000	Music of Chicago	Make Me Smile by James Pankow / 25 or 6 to 4 & Beginnings by Robert Lamm / Call on Me by Lee Loughnane		Did not attend
2001		Dance Movements by Philip Sparke		Did not attend
2002		Scootin' on Hardrock by David Holsinger		Did not attend
2003	Chronometry - The Study of Time	The First Circle by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays / Letter From Home by Pat Metheny / Kinetic by Colin Greenwood, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Phil Selway, and Thom Yorke (Radiohead)		Did not attend
2004	Blue Fusion - The Music of the New York Voices and Pat Metheney	Baroque Samba by Darmon Meader / The Sultan Fainted by Darmon Meader and Peter Eldridge / Third Wind by Lyle Mays and Pat Metheny / Letter From Home by Pat Metheny / Minuano by Lyle Mays and Pat Metheny	88.375 87.2	7th Division II 8th Division II/IIII
2005	3 Generations	Grandparents, Parents & Children by John Meehan		Did not attend
2006	Chain Reactions	Fission by John Meehan, Vinnie Angelo, and Mark Higgenbotham / Propagation & Mutual Excitation by John Meehan and Vinnie Angelo / Fusion by John Meehan, Vinnie Angelo, and Mark Higgenbotham	89.350	6th Division II
2007	Trilogy	Trilogy, Jerusalem & C'est la Vie by Keith Emerson and Greg Lake / Piano Concerto No. 1 by Keith Emerson / Karn Evil 9 by Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Peter Sinfield	90.875	4th Division. II
2008	Flight	Flight by John Meehan and John Mackey / Turbine by John Mackey / Through the Night, Turbulence & Final Approach and Landing by John Meehan and John Mackey	96.775	2nd Open Class
2009	Pursuit...	Original music by John Meehan and John Mapes / Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap	95.500	1st Open Class
2010	Space	Introduction and March & Battle: Planning the Attack/Return Fire/The Last Missile (from Interstellar Suite) by Amin Bhatia / Lux Arumque by Eric Whitacre / Aha! by Imogen Heap / Original Works by John Meehan	97.550	1st Open Class
2011	Syncronicity	Synchronicity I by Sting / Kaleidoscope Heart by Sara Bareilles / Murder by Numbers by Sting / Krump by Scott McAllister / Synchronicity II by Sting / Original Music by John Meehan	95.000 76.450	1st Open Class 19th World Class
2012	Ecstatic Waters	Ecstatic Waters by Steven Bryant / Kingfishers Catch Fire by John Mackey / Over the Edge, Splashdown & River's End by John Meehan, Brian Dinkle, and John Mapes	93.850 73.600	2nd Open Class 21st World Class
2013	Warped	Dom Pedro's Revenge (5th Mvmt. of The Legend of Alcobaca) by Jim Sochinski / Bizarro by Michael Daugherty / Serenada Schizophrana by Danny Elfman / Original Music by John Meehan	95.700 77.950	2nd Open Class 20th World Class
2014	Noir [nuvo]	Young and Beautiful (from The Great Gatsby) by Lana Del Rey / Brute Force (from The Naked City) by Miklós Rózsa / Theme (from The Usual Suspects) by John Ottman / Children’s Hour of Dreams by Charles Mingus / Asphalt Cocktail by John Mackey / Film Noir/Pursuit (from Iris) by Danny Elfman / Reprise (The Usual Suspects Theme/Children's Hour of Dreams/Young And Beautiful)	82.65 82.325	1st Open Class 15th World Class
2015	Prismatic	Luminosity by James Whitbourn / The Analog Kid by Neil Peart, Alex Lifeson, and Geddy Lee (Rush) / You Know Where to Find Me by Imogen Heap / I Am the Doctor (from Doctor Who) by Murray Gold	80.325 77.175	2nd Open Class 19th World Class
2016	To The Moon	Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy / Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine by Eric Whitacre / Space Race by John Meehan / Hostility: Intruder Alert/The Attack by Amin Bhatia / Symphony No. 10 Mvmt. 2 by Dimitri Shostakovich / Countdown and Launch by Maverick Peterson and Dave Glyde / Adagio from Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian / Apollo 13 Main Title by James Horner	79.900 82.325	1st Open Class 15th World Class
2017	The World The Children Made	Satellite by Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness, Paavo Siljamäki, and Justine Suissa (Above & Beyond) / Spiritual Planet by Wataru Hokoyama / Pure Imagination by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley / Original compositions by John Meehan, Dave Glyde, and Maverick Peterson / Worlds (Narration and Voice Samples) by Porter Robinson	79.625 80.050	2nd Open Class 19th World Class
2018	The Other Side	Dance Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns / The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns / Dead Man’s Party by Danny Elfman / Hello by Adele Adkins and Greg Kurstin / Come Together by John Lennon and Paul McCartney / The Ecstasy of Gold by Ennio Morricone / A Time for Us (Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet) by Nino Rota	79.600 80.037	2nd Open Class 19th World Class
2019	Re:Calling	1000 Airplanes on the Roof by Philip Glass / Hello by Lionel Richie / Phrygian Gates by John Adams / Visionary by Ken Froelich	76.550	Did not attend
2020		Season cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic

References

1. "Corps". Drum Corps International. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
2. http://m.dci.org/mobile/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=33500&ATCLID=211660431
3. A History of Drum & Bugle Corps, Vol. 2; Steve Vickers, ed.; Drum Corps World, pub.;2003
4. http://corpsreps.com/scores.cfm?view=scorecorps&corpsid=71&corpstype=Junior
5. http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=76d45fb3-733f-4f52-94ab-5820d2f212a1
6. http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=074231f8-882d-44af-afd0-6e83793653c1
7. "Blue Devils B Update for 2019". BD Performing Arts. September 5, 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
8. https://www.dci.org/news/blue-devils-b-vanguard-cadets-plan-regional-tours-for-2019
9. "2020 Tour schedule". BD Performing Arts. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2012-03-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. "Blue Devils B". DCX: The Drum Corps Xperience. Retrieved 5 March 2018.