# Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps

Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, Carolina Crown is a member corps of Drum Corps International (DCI). Carolina Crown won the 2013 Drum Corps International World Class Championship, the first former Open Class/Division II corps to do so.

## History

The Carolina Crown organization was founded in 1988 as the Charlotte Drum Corps Association, a group of local drum corps fans who gathered on an irregular basis to talk about drum corps and watch drum corps video. The group hosted two drum corps shows, Southern Gold Classic at Davidson College and NightBEAT at Charlotte's Memorial Stadium. Southern Gold Classic drew a small audience and lost money. NightBEAT was much better attended, but the group was unable to pay the stadium rental. When the NightBEAT committee met with Charlotte Parks and Recreation Department to discuss working out some sort of payment schedule, they were surprised when they not only wrote off the bill for the 1988 NightBEAT but offered the a sponsorship for future shows. In 1989, a gift of $1000 was offered by the Queen City Optimists with the proviso that the organization start a performance group; after discussions initially centered on starting a drumline, the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps was born.
After the corps bought a complete set of drums from a defunct drum and bugle corps only to discover that they were seriously damaged, John Cummings of Ludwig Drums offered to repair the drums as part of an informal sponsorship of the corps. The name Carolina Crown was adopted to recognize the groups' desire to represent the Carolinas region while still recognizing Charlotte, the Queen City, which has a crown in its logo. The leadership group met, in the fall of 1989, with several young band directors who were also alumni of Suncoast Sound, Spirit of Atlanta, and the Madison Scouts drum and bugle corps to tell them of their efforts to start a new local corps. After locating and purchasing the horns of the defunct California Dons, Carolina Crown began recruiting members. The corps also formed a partnership with the Mecklenburg Council of the Boy Scouts of America as Explorer Post #588, which aided them in finding school space for auditions and practices.
In 1990, fielding a corps of only sixty-one members, Carolina Crown elected to compete in the Open Class (now known as World Class) in DCI. However, not only was the corps out-classed by the other, larger corps in Open Class, but it was also bested in DCI prelims by seven corps that had advanced from Classes A and A60, finishing thirty-third of 33 corps at their first DCI World Championships. In 1991, the corps dropped down to Class A. At the DCI Championships in Dallas, Carolina Crown finished in second place in Class A and advanced to Open Class prelims, where they placed twenty-fifth, earning DCI Associate membership. Carolina Crown was third in the 1992 Division II Championship, once more finishing in twenty-fifth place in Division I (which had been renamed from Open Class) prelims. At the 1993 DCI Championships, Carolina Crown won the Division II Championship title and finished in twenty-first place in Division I prelims.
After their championship in Division II, Carolina Crown opted to compete exclusively in Division I starting in 1994. That year, the corps finished seventeenth in DCI semifinals in Boston. In 1995, in only its sixth season, Carolina Crown earned a spot as one of the twelve finalists, placing eleventh overall. Since that first finals appearance, Carolina Crown has failed to make finals only once in 2002, finishing within the top five in finals every year since 2008. In 2013, the corps won the Drum Corps International World Class Championship with the first and only perfect brass score in finals history.
In 1995, the corps moved from Charlotte to Belmont, North Carolina. Following the 1997 season, the corps relocated to its present home of Fort Mill, South Carolina.

## Show summary (1990–2024)

Source:
Key :
* Light blue background indicates DCI Open Class Finalist
* Goldenrod background indicates DCI Open Class Champion
* Pale green background indicates DCI World Class Semifinalist
* Pale blue background indicates DCI World Class Finalist
* Dark gold background indicates DCI World Class Champion
* 1 2 In 1991, Carolina Crown competed in Class A, and from 1992–1993 in Division II & III; these are the same tier, and have since been renamed Open Class.
* 1 2 From 1994–2007, Carolina Crown competed in Division I, and has competed since 2008 in World Class. These are the same tier, just renamed.
| Year | Repertoire | World Championships | World Championships |
| Year | Repertoire | Score | Placement |
| 1990 | The Music Man Goodnight, My Someone; Ya Got Trouble; Lida Rose; Marian the Librarian; Till There Was You; Goodnight Ladies & 76 Trombones All from The Music Man by Meredith Willson | 58.600 | 33rd Place Open Class |
| 1991 | The Music of Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3; March Opus 99; Troika (from Lieutenant Kijé Suite); Alexander Nevsky & Ivan the Terrible All by Sergei Prokofiev | 91.500 | 2nd Place Class A Finalist |
| 1991 | The Music of Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3; March Opus 99; Troika (from Lieutenant Kijé Suite); Alexander Nevsky & Ivan the Terrible All by Sergei Prokofiev | 66.400 | 25th Place Open Class |
| 1992 | The Dances of Malcolm Arnold English Dance I (Set One, Op. 27); English Dance II (Set Two, Op. 53); English Dance IV (Set One, Op. 27); Four Scottish Dances III (Op. 59); Four Cornish Dances IV (Op. 91) All by Malcolm Arnold | 90.500 | 3rd Place Division II & III Finalist |
| 1992 | The Dances of Malcolm Arnold English Dance I (Set One, Op. 27); English Dance II (Set Two, Op. 53); English Dance IV (Set One, Op. 27); Four Scottish Dances III (Op. 59); Four Cornish Dances IV (Op. 91) All by Malcolm Arnold | 67.900 | 25th Place Division I |
| 1993 | La Fiesta Mexicana Aztec Dance, Mass & Carnival All from La Fiesta Mexicana by H. Owen Reed | 94.300 | 1st Place Division II Champion |
| 1993 | La Fiesta Mexicana Aztec Dance, Mass & Carnival All from La Fiesta Mexicana by H. Owen Reed | 74.200 | 21st Place Division I |
| 1994 | A Southwestern Impression El Salón México by Aaron Copland / Rio Grande, Round Up, Wagon Train & Fiesta (from Santa Fe Saga) by Morton Gould | 75.100 | 17th Place Division I Semifinalist |
| 1995 | Stormworks Stormworks by Stephen Melillo / Watermark by Enya / The Storm by Marty McCartt | 82.800 | 11th Place Division I Finalist |
| 1996 | Chess... and the Art of Strategy Strategical Fanfare by Marty McCartt / Presto with Malice (from Symphony No. 1) by Sir William Walton / Nimrod & Variation XV (based on Enigma Variations) by Sir Edward Elgar, arranged by Marty McCartt | 82.100 | 10th Place Division I Finalist |
| 1997 | Postcards from Britain Crown Imperial by Sir William Walton / Terpsichore, Mvt. 4 by Bob Margolis / Nimrod (from Enigma Variations) by Sir Edward Elgar / Jig (from St Paul's Suite) by Gustav Holst | 85.000 | 12th Place Division I Finalist |
| 1998 | Heroes: Then and Now Russian Christmas Music, Armenian Dances & Praise Jerusalem All by Alfred Reed | 85.700 | 11th Place Division I Finalist |
| 1999 | Jekyll and Hyde Prologue; Once Upon A Dream; Murder, Murder; Confrontation; In His Eyes & Façade All from Jekyll & Hyde by Frank Wildhorn, Leslie Bricusse & Steve Cuden | 86.300 | 11th Place Division I Finalist |
| 2000 | The Mask of Zorro Main Title, The Ride, Diego's Goodbye & Stealing the Map All from The Mask of Zorro by James Horner | 85.150 | 11th Place Division I Finalist |
| 2001 | Industry Original Music by Marty McCartt / Concerto for Four Percussion by David Gillingham / Main Theme (from The Cider House Rules) by Rachel Portman / Motown Metal by Michael Daugherty | 86.950 | 10th Place Division I Finalist |
| 2002 | Greek Mythology: Stories of Gods and Heroes Second Essay for Orchestra by Samuel Barber / Javelin by Michael Torke / One Day I'll Fly Away (from Moulin Rouge!) by Will Jennings & Joe Sample / Dance of Vengeance (from Medea) & Piano Concerto by Samuel Barber | 81.800 | 16th Place Division I Semifinalist |
| 2003 | Bell-isimo! Mass (from La Fiesta Mexicana) by H. Owen Reed / Earth (from Symphony No. 1) by Philip Sparke / Engulfed Cathedral by Claude Debussy / Stained Glass by David Gillingham / Carol of the Bells by Mykola Leontovych | 86.650 | 10th Place Division I Finalist |
| 2004 | Bohemia! The Moldeau (from Má vlast) by Bedřich Smetana / La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini / Epistrophy by Thelonious Monk & Kenneth Clark / Seasons of Love (from Rent) by Jonathan Larson / Beat Generation (Original Music) / Bohemian Rhapsody by Freddie Mercury (Queen) | 91.225 | 7th Place Division I Finalist |
| 2005 | Angelus The Reason by Ed Nalle & Bob Kauflin (GLAD) / A Mighty Fortress by Martin Luther / Angel by Sarah McLachlan / Never Surrender (from First Knight) by Jerry Goldsmith / Joy (from Awakening) by Joseph Curiale / Call of the Mountain (from Gates of Gold) by Joseph Curiale | 90.725 | 7th Place Division I Finalist |
| 2006 | In.trance.it Urban Dances & Celestial Night by Richard Danielpour | 89.975 | 8th Place Division I Finalist |
| 2007 | Triple Crown Theme (from Dreamer) by John Debney / The Trap by James Newton Howard / Wild Horses by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones) / Happy Ending (from The Red Pony) by Aaron Copland / Manny's Story (from Dreamer) by John Debney / William Tell Overture by Gioachino Rossini / Last Race (from Dreamer) by John Debney | 94.150 | 6th Place Division I Finalist |
| 2008 | Finis Candide by Leonard Bernstein / Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach / Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini / Ode to Joy (Symphony No. 9) by Ludwig van Beethoven / Midsummer Night's Dream No. 9 by Felix Mendelssohn / Claire De Lune by Claude Debussy / One Hand One Heart & Somewhere (from West Side Story) by Leonard Bernstein / Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt / Festive Overture by Dmitri Shostakovich / 1812 Overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland / Hallelujah Chorus by George Frederic Handel | 96.800 | 4th Place World Class Finalist |
| 2009 | The Grass Is Always Greener The Promise of Living (from The Tender Land) by Aaron Copland / Church Windows by Ottorino Respighi / Puck (from Il Sogno) by Elvis Costello / Over the Rainbow (from The Wizard of Oz) by Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg / Somewhere (from West Side Story) by Leonard Bernstein / Hybrid by Lee Beddis / Slalom by Carter Pann / Sensemayá by Silvestre Revueltas | 97.500 | 2nd Place World Class Finalist |
| 2010 | A Sec2nd Chance Resurrection Symphony (Symphony No. 2) by Gustav Mahler / Symphony No. 2 by Aram Khatchaturian / Danzón No. 2 by Arturo Marquez / Nimrod (from Enigma Variations) by Edward Elgar / The Promise of Living from The Tender Land) by Aaron Copland | 95.950 | 4th Place World Class Finalist |
| 2011 | Rach Star We Will Rock You by Brian May (Queen) / Symphonic Dances by Sergei Rachmaninoff / "Paint It Black" by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones) / Iron Man by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler & Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) / Eruption by Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen & Alex Van Halen (Van Halen) / Bohemian Rhapsody by Freddie Mercury (Queen) / Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff / Piano Concerto No. 1 by Keith Emerson / Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff | 95.300 | 4th Place World Class Finalist |
| 2012 | For the Common Good Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland / Dreams by Bertrand Moren / Symphony No. 3 by Aaron Copland | 97.650 | 2nd Place World Class Finalist |
| 2013 | E=mc$^2$ Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss / Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass / Walking with Heroes by Paul Lovatt-Cooper / The Devil's Bridge by Bertrand Moren / The Abyss by Alan Silvestri / The Light Fantastic & The Dark Side of the Moon by Paul Lovatt-Cooper | 98.300 | 1st Place World Class Champion |
| 2014 | Out of This World Space Oddity by David Bowie / Interstellar Suite by Amin Bhatia / Shadow Behind the Iron Sun by Evelyn Glennie / There's No Place Like Home (from Lost) by Michael Giacchino / Major Tom (Coming Home) by Peter Schilling / Perihelion by Philip Sparke / Vitae Aeternum by Paul Lovatt-Cooper | 95.675 | 5th Place World Class Finalist |
| 2015 | Inferno Gates of Hell by Thom Hannum, Tony Nunez & Steve Ridley / Dies Irae (from Requiem) by Giuseppe Verdi / Symphony for Organ and Orchestra by Aaron Copland / Adagio in G Minor by Remo Giazotto / Symphony No. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven | 97.075 | 2nd Place World Class Finalist |
| 2016 | Relentless The Good, the Bad and the Ugly & The Ecstasy of Gold by Ennio Morricone / Dance of Vengeance (from Medea) by Samuel Barber / Journey of the Lone Wolf by Simon Dobson / El Tango de Roxanne (from Moulin Rouge!) by Sting, Craig Pearce, Baz Luhrmann & Mariano Mores / Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen / Il Triello (The Trio) by Ennio Morricone / Equilibrium by Paul Lovatt-Cooper | 97.088 | 3rd Place World Class Finalist |
| 2017 | It Is... Little Fugue in G Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach / Crown Imperial by Sir William Walton / Symphony No. 3 by Vittorio Giannini / Old Home Days by Charles Ives / For Good (from Wicked) by Stephen Schwartz / NO one To kNOW one by Andy Akiho / Raveling, Unraveling by Philip Sparke | 96.575 | 3rd Place World Class Finalist |
| 2018 | Beast Symphony No. 8, Mvt. 4 by Anton Bruckner / Build a Pyre by Ryan Lott (Son Lux) / Destination Moon by Paul Raphael / Myth Forest by Stig Nordhagen / If I Fell by John Lennon & Paul McCartney / Blow It Up, Start Again by Jonathan Newman / Epiphanies (Fanfares and Chorales) by Ron Nelson | 95.500 | 4th Place World Class Finalist |
| 2019 | Beneath the Surface Temen Oblak (from The Drop That Contained the Sea) by Christopher Tin / Frolic (from Rabbit and Rogue) by Danny Elfman / Gabriel's Oboe (from The Mission) by Ennio Morricone / Bucimis (Traditional) by The Swingles with Trichy Sankaran | 96.563 | 4th Place World Class Finalist |
| 2020 | Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | In My Mind Carolina In My Mind by James Taylor / Seize the Day by Peter Graham / Gravity by Sara Bareilles / Toccata Andromeda by Paul Halley (Carolina Crown did not perform live at DCI events in 2021) | No scored competitions | No scored competitions |
| 2022 | Right Here, Right Now! With the Love in My Heart by Jacob Collier / Chandelier by Sia Furler & Jesse Shatkin / Chasing the Moment by Michael Klesch, Thom Hannum, Andrew Monteiro, Jim Ancona & Travis Peterman / Benedictus by Karl Jenkins / Own The Moment by Andrew Monteiro & Travis Peterman / Toccata Andromeda by Paul Halley | 96.350 | 4th Place World Class Finalist |
| 2023 | The Round Table: Echoes of Camelot The Night Window by Thomas Newman / Bachelorette by Björk / String Quartet No. 2, Mvt. 2 by Béla Bartók / Requiem in D-Minor (Lacrimosa) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Stampede (from Australia) by David Hirschfelder / All is Full of Love by Björk / Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner / Manifest 3 by Elliot Goldenthal / The Wounded King by Michael Klesch, Michael Martin, Kevin Shah & Mike Jackson / Dido's Lament by Henry Purcell | 97.663 | 3rd Place World Class Finalist |
| 2024 | Promethean American Prometheus by Ludwig Emil Tomas Gorranson / Run! by Benjamin Wallfisch / Define Dancing by Thomas Newman / Fraternity by Thierry Deleruyelle / Fission by John Mackey | 95.025 | 5th Place World Class Finalist |

## Caption awards

At the annual World Championship Finals, Drum Corps International (DCI) presents awards to the corps with the highest average scores from prelims, semifinals, and finals in five captions. Carolina Crown has won these caption awards:
Jim Ott Best Brass Performance Award
* 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2023
John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award
* 2012, 2013, 2016
Don Angelica Best General Effect Award
* 2013, 2015
George Zingali Best Color Guard Award
* 2016