Blue Devils B Drum and Bugle Corps


The Blue Devils "B" Drum and Bugle Corps 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 Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, to a full-fledged Drum Corps in its own right. The corps has won the DCI Open Class World Championship five times, having most recently claimed the title in 2016. With the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, they will be returning to Championships in Indiana in 2021.

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

Sponsorship

The Blue Devils "B" Drum and Bugle Corps is one of three drum and bugle corps sponsored by BD Performing Arts, a 501 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.

Show summary 1977-2020

Source:
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 and World Class semifinalist.
YearThemeRepertoireScoreDCI Placement
1973-76No Information AvailableDid not attend
1977Repertoire Unavailable39.05019th Class A
1978Repertoire Unavailable41.01014th Class A
1979-80No Information AvailableDid not attend
1981Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona / Ozark by Lyle Mays and Pat Metheny / Sphinx's Lair /
Home by Charlie Smalls / Antioch Fantasy by Jim McFarland		Did not attend
1982Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona / Samba de Haps by Mark TaylorDid not attend
1983-88No Information AvailableDid not attend
1989Suncats / Night Flight by Steve Robertson and Terry ShalbergDid not attend
1990Flight 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
1991Flight 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		84.3004th Class A60
1992Payload / Night of the Capricorn Moon by Mike Vax /
Drum Solo / Bossa Corona by Bill Wiedrich		Did not attend
1993The Sorcerer by Herbie Hancock / Sunrise Lady by Bruce Johnstone / Late in the Evening by Paul SimonDid not attend
1994Baroque 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
Did not attend
1995Selections from the Mambo KingsDid not attend
1996From This Moment On by Cole Porter / City Gate by Chick Corea /
The Rumble by Leonard Bernstein /
You Can't Fall Up by Emilio Castillo, Skip Knape, Stephen "Doc" Kupka /
Scott & Fran's Paso Doble by David Hirschfelder		Did not attend
1997Nutville 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 by David Hirschfelder		86.0004th Division II
1998There's No Place
Like Home		The Wiz Medley & Believe in Yourself by Charlie Smalls /
On Dangerous Ground Medley by Bernard Herrmann / Witches' Themes by Herbert Stothart /
Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky / Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz /
Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg /
So You Want to See The Wizard, Home & Brand New day by Charlie Smalls		Did not attend
1999Something 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
2000Music of ChicagoMake Me Smile by James Pankow / 25 or 6 to 4 & Beginnings by Robert Lamm / Call on Me by Lee LoughnaneDid not attend
2001Dance Movements by Philip SparkeDid not attend
2002Scootin' on Hardrock by David HolsingerDid not attend
2003Chronometry -
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 		Did not attend
2004Blue 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
20053 GenerationsGrandparents, Parents & Children by John MeehanDid not attend
2006Chain ReactionsFission 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		89.3506th Division II
2007TrilogyTrilogy, 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		90.8754th Division. II
2008FlightFlight by John Meehan and John Mackey Turbine by John Mackey /
Through The Night, Turbulence & Final Approach and Landing by John Meehan and John Mackey		96.7752nd Open Class
2009Pursuit...Original music by John Meehan and John Mapes / Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap95.5001st Open Class
2010SpaceIntroduction and March & Battle: Planning the Attack/Return Fire/The Last Missile
by Amin Bhatia /
Lux Arumque by Eric Whitacre / Aha! by Imogen Heap / Original Works by John Meehan		97.5501st Open Class
2011SyncronicitySynchronicity 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
2012Ecstatic WatersEcstatic 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
2013WarpedDom Pedro's Revenge 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
2014Noir Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey / Brute Force by Miklós Rózsa /
Theme by John Ottman / Children’s Hour of Dreams by Charles Mingus /
Asphalt Cocktail by John Mackey / Film Noir/Pursuit by Danny Elfman /
Reprise 		82.65
82.325		1st Open Class
15th World Class
2015PrismaticLuminosity by James Whitbourn / The Analog Kid by Neil Peart, Alex Lifeson, and Geddy Lee /
You Know Where to Find Me by Imogen Heap / I Am the Doctor by Murray Gold		80.325
77.175		2nd Open Class
19th World Class
2016To The MoonClaire 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
2017The World
The Children Made		Satellite by Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness, Paavo Siljamäki, and Justine Suissa /
Spiritual Planet by Wataru Hokoyama / Pure Imagination by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
Original compositions by John Meehan, Dave Glyde, and Maverick Peterson /
Worlds by Porter Robinson		79.625
80.050		2nd Open Class
19th World Class
2018The Other SideDance 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 by Nino Rota		79.600
80.037		2nd Open Class
19th World Class
2019Re:Calling1000 Airplanes on the Roof by Philip Glass / Hello by Lionel Richie /
Phrygian Gates by John Adams / Visionary by Ken Froelich		76.550Did not attend
2020Season cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic