AUSTIN, TX -- While attending a camp for Genesis Drum & Bugle Corps, FloMarching sat down for an exclusive interview with Drum Corps International's CEO and Executive Director Dan Acheson. 

Dan spoke to all of the prospective members auditioning for Genesis. He told them stories about marching with the Madison Scouts, the current state of drum corps, and how DCI was working very diligently to grow Marching Music's Major League.

One of Dan's major focus points right now with drum corps is health and wellness. Over the last several years in contact sports like football and boxing, concussions have become the most influential element of player safety. 

"There's been an evolution of good health and wellness with a couple of groups over the years now," Dan said. "[And] it's turned into a full focus now with what we refer to as the Marching Music Health and Wellness Project." 


DCI CEO and Executive Director Dan Acheson talks to prospective members of Genesis

Leading this new project is a group of volunteers with a passion for the marching arts and a background with physical fitness. They range from doctors and nurse practitioners to athletic trainers.

Dan says the evolution of the show designs and what the performers are being asked to do now is so extreme that is a necessity for corps to take care of the corps members like professional athletes. 



While talking to Genesis, Dan started to discuss one of the most daunting tasks DCI faces every year; the logistics of scheduling a DCI season.

Dan told the corps that for one DCI season, they will schedule almost 1,000 flights just for the judges. 

"We have a standard joke that the planning and preparation for an event isn't over until the event is over," Dan said. 

He goes on to mention that many times fans aren't happy a particular corps is not performing at the show they plan to attend. Dan says logistics are often the reason.

Housing sites, rehearsal facilities, and show sites are just some of the logistical obstacles that DCI faces when building a schedule. 

One of the camp attendee's asked Dan about what it was like marching when he was at the Madison Scouts. Dan talked about the unbelievable evolution the marching arts have gone through and how DCI has tried to keep pace.

"The key is we try to make as smart as business decisions as we can," Dan said. "But keeping focused on the mission is really what it comes down too and who we're doing this for."

That mission and the who are the performers of every corps.

Dan believes it's the members that deserve every opportunity to be healthy, perform as often as possible, and be able to pass down their passion to future generations. 

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