Location Acworth, Georgia Championship titles DCA: Class A 2001 | Division Open Class Founded 1997 | |
Director David W. Stollberg, PhD Uniform Green and Red top, black pants, black shoes, and black aussie Similar Les Stentors Drum and, Blue Devils C Drum and Bugl, River City Rhythm Drum and, Racine Scouts Drum and, Columbians Drum and Bugle Co Profiles | ||
Atlanta CV, originally known as The Atlanta CorpsVets is an all-age drum and bugle corps that competes in the Drum Corps Associates circuit, and is a 501c3 Not-For-Profit Organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1997 and is one of three competitive Drum Corps in the state of Georgia.
Contents
Founding
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 corps. After returning to Atlanta, Robin created the name "Corpsvets", and the initial outline of the corps was sketched. 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 Woffords and Walshes met that night, and collaborated to bring the corps into being. Many signed up for further information, and the first interest meeting was held at American Legion Post 1 in late Fall, 1997. 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 DCI 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. They have participated in the Atlanta St. Patrick's Day parade, the WSB-TV Salute 2 America Parade and at the local DCI competitions in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina
Growth and Results
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. 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.
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.
Highest placement came at the 2014 DCA Championships with a 5th place in preliminary competition. The highest finals placement has been 5th place in 2015. Their highest score was at the 2015 DCA Championships finals with a 93.83. They are 10 Time DCA South Champions and the highest placing and highest scoring southern corps in DCA History. Complete history follows:
Other performances
In addition to competitive performances, the corps has also hosted educational clinics for local high school music students, performed at the July 4 stage show in Centennial Olympic Park, opened the Southeastern Emmy Awards show, and performed the National Anthem for the Georgia Force and the Rome Braves. The corps has marched in the Old Soldier's Day Parade in Alpharetta, Georgia, the July 4 Parade in Avondale Estates, Georgia, the WSB Salute 2 America Parade, the Barnum Festival Parade in Bridgeport, CT, the Atlanta St. Patrick's Day Parade, and the Georgia Mountain Fair Parade in Hiawassee.
Philosophy
Atlanta CV's philosophy is to provide entertaining and crowd-pleasing performances for its members and fans to enjoy. The corps has a close-knit, highly trained membership and staff who work together to create a dynamic, educational, and rewarding experience. Performance, community service, and friendship, are the defining characteristics of CV, which aims for excellence and leadership in the drum corps activity.
Rehearsal Home
Atlanta CV currently rehearses and performs their home competition, The Southern Showdown, at Hiram High School in Hiram, GA. The facilities and outstanding support from the community have been essential to the corps' growth and success through the years.
CV Indoor
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 has come back into the competition arena, competing in WGI Percussion Independent Open Class.