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A Corps History
The Blue Devils were founded in 1957 by Ann & Tony Odello. During the late 1950's and 1960's the Blue Devils consisted of several Drum & Bell Corps and Twirling Corps. The Drum & Bell Corps won many major competitions and held the California State Championships for many years. The Junior and Senior Twirling Corps won every State, Regional,and National Competition the group entered. The Senior Twirling Team "Devil's Advocate" was also very successful during the 1980's. The team won seven National Championships as well as the World Championships in 1983 and 1984.
The Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps was created in the fall of 1970 by Jerry Seawright with a nucleus of percussion and color guard members from the existing Drum & Bell Corps. The Blue Devils toured on a National level for the first time in 1973 and gained Associate membership in Drum Corps International by placing 23rd at the DCI Championships in Whitewater, WI. In 1974 the Corps earned a full DCI membership by their 9th place finish at the DCI Championships in Ithaca, NY. In 1975 the Corps placed 3rd, and in 1976 won their first Drum Corps International Championship. Since 1975 the Blue Devils have never placed out of the top five at Championship and have won the DCI World Championship title in 1976, '77, '79, '80, '82, '86, '94, '96, '97, '99. '03 and 2007. Adding to their impressive record setting DCI world championships, The Blue Devils in 2005 won the prestigious World Music Contest in Kerkrade, Holland. Along with the world championships, the Blue Devils Winter Guard won the Winter Guard International Championship in 1995, in 1996 with a record score of 99.45, 1997 and again in 1998.
Today the Blue Devils organization encompasses a wide spectrum of programs. The Blue Devils family includes the A, B, & C Drum & Bugle Corps, three Winter Guard Programs and a world- class Twirling Program. In addition the Blue Devils offer a Music School for children aged four to nine and a Wind Symphony with 60 participants. Over 500 young people, ages seven to twenty-one, are currently members of the Blue Devils performing units. Over 6,000 young people, in 1,500 families, have been served by the Blue Devils in its 43 year history.
Because of their commitment to bringing their unique productions to fans throughout the world, The Blue Devils have truly become an international entertainment powerhouse. In 1983 the corps attended the 21st Century Celebration in Osaka, Japan. In 1988, the percussion section was featured as the centerpiece of a week-long schedule of performances at Japan’s Mitsui Greenland, and in the spring of that year The Blue Devils Winter Guard traveled to the Netherlands. In 1992 the corps traveled to Nice, France for “Carnaval,” and to the Netherlands for clinics and performances. The corps returned to Japan in the fall of 1996 for a ten-day tour of field shows, parades, theatre performances, and clinics. 2000 saw The Blue Devils’ thrilling return to Europe with a 3-week tour appearing in Germany, Holland, Belgium and France. In 2002, a 38-member ensemble was the guest of the city of Okayama, Japan, providing a series of performances and clinics for Japanese elementary, intermediate, and high school students as part of the “Marching in Okayama” music festival and The Blue Devils returned to Japan in the fall of 2003 for an encore tour. The “A” Corps returned to Europe in the summer of 2005 as they traveled to Holland, Belgium, France and Italy. The Blue Devils competed at the World Music Contest with 300 groups from over 30 countries where they placed first in the world. In October 2005, 14 members of The Blue Devils percussion section traveled to Seoul, South Korea to participate in a 5 day, 3 performances at the Seoul Drum Festival hosted by The Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by The Sejong Cultural Center. A select ensemble of returned to the Marching In Okayama Festival in Japan for the thrid time in October 2007 to participate in the 20th Annual Marching in Okayama Festival. The Blue Devils are honored to have the opportunity to continue this wonderful friendship with the city of Okayama and the Marching In Okayama Festival! The Blue Devils will continue to search for future opportunities for international travel.
The Blue Devils have provided unique opportunities to their fans and members by offering performances and clinics with great artists in the musical world. The Blue Devils have been featured in concert with Maynard Ferguson, Bobby Shew and Chuck Mangione, as well as the late Stan Kenton and Buddy Rich. Clinics sponsored by the Blue Devils have featured Ralph Humphrey, Dave Weckl, Steve Houghton, Peter Erskine, Bob Motgomery and many others. Musical selections from these great bands and artists have been highlights of Blue Devils' repertoires over the years.
In 1997, the opportunity to perform in an intimate theater environment motivated The Blue Devils to create their “On-Stage” series. The premiere production, “Exaltation,” combined the intimacy of the theater with the power and exhilaration of the field performances. 1998 saw an expansion of performance opportunities with the creation of “Exubero” which was performed to full capacity audiences in Denver, San Antonio, Ypsilanti and at Disney’s EPCOT American Amphitheater. In 1999, audiences in Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Denver, San Antonio and Madison were treated to the exciting “{Jazz} Man in the Moon.” The 2000 On-Stage production was the centerpiece of The Blue Devils European tour.
The Blue Devils have broadened their entertainment horizons and formed BDEntertainment as an off -shoot of The Blue Devils to provide pageantry entertainment to a variety of clients. BDEntertainment offers site-specific entertainment for corporate events, sales and motivational meetings, tradeshows and special events. BDEntertainment has exceeded all expectations and projections having employed some of the finest performers and creatives in the country. Working with production giants such as PGI and Jack Morton Worldwide as well as a variety of event planners, BDEntertainment has provided entertainment for clients, PeopleSoft, Allstate, RJ Reynolds, SBC Long Distance, Bank of the West, Life Scan, Johnson and Johnson, Wells Fargo, Sterling Jewelers and the NBA with the Phoenix Suns, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, LA Clippers, Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. BDEntertainment was featured on Live TV events at the NBA All-Star game in February 2005, The Ellen DeGeneras Show and the 2005 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
Titles
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DCI World Champions: |
1976,'77,'79,'80,'82,'86,'94,'96,'97, '99, '03, '07 |
World Music Contest |
2005 |
DCI Preview of Champions |
1994,'95,'96, '97, '98, '99 |
DCI South Champions: |
1983, '87, '04, '06, '07 |
DCI MidWest Champions: |
1976, '82,'86,'88, '03, '04, '06, '07 |
DCI North Champions: |
1976, '94, '95, '04, '05, '06, '07 |
DCI East Champions: |
1978, '79 , '86, '88, '96 , '97, '99, '01, '03, '04, '06, '07 |
DCI West Champions: |
1976, '77, '78 & '79 |
DCI Canada Champions: |
1980, '85 & '90 |
DCI Southwest Champions |
1998, '99, '01 |
Drums Along the Rockies: |
1980,'82, '83, '86, '88, '90, '92, '98, '03 |
Drum Corps East Champions: |
1994 |
Drum Corps West Champions: |
1996, '97, '98 |
CYO Champions: |
1976, '78 & '82 |
World Open Champions: |
1976 & '78 |
U.S. Open Champions: |
1979 |
Pacific Procession Champ.: |
1980, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '88, '89, '90, '91,92,'93,'94, '95, '96 , '97, '98, '01, '03, '04, '06 |
Precision West Champions: |
1980, '81,'82, '83, '85, '86, '88 '90,'91,'92,'93,'94, '95, '96 , '97, '98, '00, '01, '03, 04, '05, '06, '07 |
WGI World Champions |
1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 |
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