Atlanta CV Drum and Bugle Corps

Atlanta CV (originally known as The Atlanta CorpsVets) is an all-age drum and bugle corps that competes in the Drum Corps Associates circuit. It was founded in 1997 and is one of two competitive corps in the state of Georgia, alongside Spirit of Atlanta.

Atlanta CV
LocationWhite, Georgia
DivisionWorld Class
DirectorRuss Thompson
Championship titlesDCA: Class A 2001

History

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Founding

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The Atlanta CorpsVets started as a simple idea of Robin and Tracey Wofford and Tom and Janet Walsh in conjunction with American Legion Post #1 in the summer of 1997. The Woffords attended a senior corps show in Wisconsin and felt the time was right for Atlanta to have its own senior corps. Robin and Tracey contacted friends and contacts of their drum corps days and began recruiting at a local drum corps event held at Jacksonville State University.

The first rehearsal of the corps was in January 1998, with basics block rehearsals conducted throughout Piedmont Park. The very first performance was at the 1998 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Atlanta.

That summer, the corps boasted a membership of 44 performers and performed exhibitions at a local Drum Corps International competition as well as marched in the WSB-TV Salute 2 America Parade in downtown Atlanta. The final performance that inaugural season was at the Drum Corps Associates Championship in Allentown, Pennsylvania where several members represented the corps in the Individual and Ensemble Competition.[1]

Growth and Results

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In 1999 the corps grew to 55 members and traveled to the DCA Championships, placing 4th in the mini-corps competition. Growth continued in 2000, with the corps featuring 56 members and placing second at the DCA Championships in the Class A division.[2] In 2001 the CorpsVets grew to 65 members and won the Class A title at the DCA championships with a record score in that division.[2][3]

The following year, 2002, the corps grew to 94 members, advanced to the highly competitive Open Class Division of DCA and tied for 11th place at the championships. Since 2002 the corps has competed in Open Class attaining finalist status each season fielding corps of over 100 members.

In 2012 the corps shorten its name to Atlanta CV Drum and Bugle Corps, adopting the "CV" moniker already often used to refer to the "CorpsVets". This rebranding helped eliminate the misconception that a member must be a vet of a corps in order to participate, which was never the case.

The corps' highest placement coincides with their highest score, set at the 2017 DCA Championships finals, with a score of 96.63 and 2nd place overall. They are the 10 Time DCA South Champions and the highest placing and highest scoring southern corps in DCA History.

Show summary (1998–2024)

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Key
Goldenrod background indicates DCA Class A Champion
Turquoise background indicates DCA Class A Finalist
Blue background indicates DCA Open Class Finalist
Year Repertoire Score Placement
1998 Inaugural Season
Danny Boy, Armed Forces Medley, Atlanta Constitution March, Conto Del Viento
1999 North American Suite
Mr. Pinstripe Suit, Ashokan Farewell, Conto Del Viento
2000 Hunterman
Hunter Green Blues, Caravan, In the Stone, One More Time Chuck Corea
71.0 2nd Place
Class A
Finalist
2001 Jones' Best
She's No Lady She's My Wife, Boogie Down, Taste of Honey, One More Time Chuck Corea
83.75 1st Place
Class A
Champion
2002 Jazz After Dark
Night and Day, Round Midnight, Blues in the Night, Tank/reprise Blues, Georgia
84.55 11th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2003 Wild Party
Georgia, Rush, What is it About Her?, Juggernaut, Jackie's Last Dance, Reprise Juggernaut
86.275 8th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2004 Heart of Jazz
When a Man Loves a Woman, Johnny One Note, Big Noise from Winnetka, When a Man Loves a Woman, Johnny, Big Noise
83.075 10th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2005 MODE: Music of Don Ellis
Open Wide by Don Ellis / Strawberry Soup by Don Ellis
85.5 9th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2006 A Trip to Vegas
Luck Be a Lady, Feeling Good, Copacabanna, Everybody Loves Somebody, A Little Less Conversation, Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend, I Can't Help Falling in Love, Viva Las Vegas
85.75 9th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2007 Celebration
Georgia on My Mind, Bacchanalia, LaFiesta, Remembrance
88.775 9th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2008 Simple Gifts
Down in the River to Pray, Appalachian Morning, Inferno, Simple Gifts, Oh Shenandoah
86.763 9th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2009 Southern Suite
Tara's Theme (from Gone With the Wind), I Got Plenty O' Nuttin' (from Porgy and Bess), The First Letter (from The Color Purple), Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable To Lunch Today), Maybe God Is Tryin' to Tell You Somethin' (from The Color Purple)
83.75 10th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2010 360
We Go On from Millennium Celebration at Epcot, Celebration from Reflections of Earth, The Sage of Time Prologue from Tapestry of Nations, Chaos from Reflections of Earth, Home from Reflections of Earth
87.7 8th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2011 Dusk To Dawn
Shostakovich 10, Providence Unfinished, Ammerland, Ballet Sacra
85.0 8th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2012 God Save the Queen
Festive Overture, Crown Imperial, Bohemian Rhapsody, Who Wants to Live Forever, Nimrod, Fat Bottomed Girls, Bicycle Race, Stone Cold Crazy, Don't Stop Me Now, God Save the Queen
87.1 8th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2013 Carpe Caelum: Seize the Heavens
Interstellar Suite: “The Ship: Main Theme”, “Launch: Mission Control and Liftoff / Jumping To The Speed Of Light”, “Battle: Planning The Attack / Return Fire / The Last Missile” (Amin Bhatia), On the Backs of Angels (Dream Theater)
91.60 6th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2014 HEX
Garden of Magic/Come Little Children (James Horner), Aquarium (Saint-Saëns), Attacking Brides from Van Helsing (Alan Silvestri), Far From Heaven (Dream Theater), Hell Hounds from Chronicles of Riddick (Graeme Revell), Werewolf Trap from Van Helsing (Alan Silvestri)
92.40 6th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2015 EyeConic
Symphony for Brass and Percussion (Alfred Reed), Nessun Dorma (Giacomo Puccini), Heat of the Day (Pat Metheny), In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel), My Favorite Things (Rodgers and Hammerstein), Symphony No. 9 in D minor 'Ode to Joy' (Ludwig van Beethoven), Ballet Sacra (David Holsinger)
93.83 5th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2016 Rhythmos - Motion of Life
Movement I - The Rhythm of the Heart: Artistry in Rhythm (Stan Kenton), Libertango (Astor Piazzolla)
Movement II - The Rhythm of Breath: Gabriel's Oboe (Ennio Morricone)
Movement III - The Rhythm of Motion: Finding and Believing (Pat Metheny)
Movement IV - The Rhythm of Life: JoyRide (Michael Markowski)
92.35 6th Place
Open Class
Finalist
2017 Through the Glass Looking
Movement I - Shattered Glass: Children's Hour of Dream by Charles Mingus
Movement II - Reflections: Alone in a Crowd (from Pollock) by Jeff Beal / 1000 Airplanes on the Roof by Philip Glass
Movement III - Stained Glass: Hymn of Acxiom (Vienna Teng)
Movement IV - Prism: Stained Glass by David Gillingham / The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky
96.63 2nd Place
Open Class
Finalist
2018 Chaos Theory
Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven / Master of Puppets by Metallica / Chameleon by Herbie Hancock / Demons by Heartist / Overture from Dancer in the Dark by Bjork / Yes by Don Ellis
95.625 3rd Place
Open Class
Finalist
2019 Of Gods and Goddesses
Movement I - "Poseidon" Moving Mountains by Thomas J. Bergson and The Winds of Poseidon by Robert W. Smith
Movement II - "Ares" Mars: The Bringer of War by Gustav Holst
Movement III - "Aphrodite" Based on Aphrodite Part II by William Chase
Movement IV - "Zeus" Ignition by Todd Stalter
96.150 2nd Place
Open Class
Finalist
2020 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 The Elements of Cool
Third Wind by Pat Metheny / Clarity by Zedd and Foxes / Minuano (Six Eight) by Pat Metheny / Original Music by Chris RomanowskiThird Wind by Pat Metheny / Clarity by Zedd and Foxes / Minuano (Six Eight) by Pat Metheny / Original Music by Chris Romanowski
94.00 2nd Place
Open Class
Finalist
2022 Hyde and Seek
A Kaleidoscope of Mathematics by James Horner / Manners Maketh Man by Mathew Margeson / Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap / Serenade Schizophrenia by Danny Elfman / Sacrificed Sons by Michael Portnoy A Kaleidoscope of Mathematics by James Horner / Manners Maketh Man by Mathew Margeson / Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap / Serenade Schizophrenia by Danny Elfman / Sacrificed Sons by Michael Portnoy
87.75 2nd Place
Open Class
Finalist
2023 Off With His Head
Bohemian Rhapsody, One Vision, Flash Gordon, Who Wants To Live Forever, Another One Bites The Dust, The Show Must Go On, Bohemian Rhapsody
All by Queen
91.25 4th Place
World Class
Finalist
2024 CiVilization
Tribal Music by African Drums Collective / The Rhythm of the Heat by Peter Gabriel / Scythian Suite/Ala and Lolly by Sergei Prokofiev / The Bioluminescence of the Night by James Horner / Run Boy Run by Yoann Lemoine / Becoming One of the People by James Horner
89.575 4th Place
World Class
Finalist

CV Indoor

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In 2015, Atlanta CV came out with an indoor percussion program, headed by percussion caption head and arranger Chris Romanowski. The ensemble competed in Winter Guard International (WGI) Percussion Independent World Class. The following year, 2016, the organization decided not to come out with an indoor line, partly due to a large majority of staff and potential members going on a trip to China that took place during the heat of the season. In 2017, Atlanta CV Indoor had returned to the competition arena, competing in WGI Percussion Independent Open Class. In 2018, Atlanta CV Indoor announced a merger with Q2, another Open Class group also based in Atlanta. As a result, staff and resources were brought together and CV Indoor would now be under the Q2 name.

References

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  1. ^ "JSU hosts Spirit of America Drum and Bugle Corps competition Tuesday evening". Anniston Star Archive. July 16, 2006. Retrieved December 4, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "DCA Class A history". 2007. Archived from the original on September 2, 2003. Retrieved November 27, 2007./
  3. ^ "CLOSE TO HOME (AJC Archive)". The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution Page Number: E2. September 9, 2000. Retrieved December 4, 2007. METROSCOPE: Musicians honored. The Atlanta CorpsVets, a senior drum and bugle corps based in Avondale Estates, took second place at last weekend's Drum Corps Associates world championships in Syracuse, N.Y. The corps was in its first year of competition in the Class A division for groups with 65 members or fewer. CorpsVets members also brought home three first-place trophies in the individual and ensemble competition for various instruments. Most of the corps hails from metro
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