The University of Indianapolis played a role in the Drum Corps International (DCI) World Championships by hosting the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps on campus the week leading up to the Aug. 8 competition.
The Bluecoats used Key Stadium and other UIndy facilities while preparing for their championship performance. According to Jon Noworyta, director of bands and instrumental activities in UIndy’s Music Department, UIndy Athletics and event staff worked together to make the partnership possible while coordinating facility schedules with football practices.
The Bluecoats also opened their rehearsals to UIndy students, allowing them to watch the corps prepare for the World Championships. The corps went on to win the championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on Aug. 8. Noworyta said hosting the eventual World Champions was a highlight of the partnership.
“It brought in literal revenue for the university, which I think is an important part to tell,” Noworyta said.
Noworyta also conducted a band at the World Championships called the INpact band, an honor band made up of 700 middle school students. Another band, called Bandtastic, directed by the director of bands at Indiana State University, was also added to this event.
The DCI National Championships provide a form of passive recruitment for UIndy, explained Noworyta. Several students who have participated in INpact have later attended UIndy.
Supporting the INpact and Bandtastic programs required coordination between multiple departments and volunteers, according to Noworyta. UIndy students, alumni and faculty members volunteered their time to help make the weekend run smoothly.
UIndy’s health sciences department provided the medical team for the INpact band. Physical therapy professors and students, along with School of Nursing alumni, made up this team and served during the World Championships weekend. Noworyta noted that Janie Tune and Jordyn Beaver played significant roles in leading the medical efforts.
“Now you’re seeing the music students and the health [and] physical sciences all working together to make this band of 1,000 kids go, and it’s a lot of fun,” Noworyta said.
The UIndy and DCI partnership also provides opportunities for students interested in careers in the music industry. UIndy alum Morgan Snyder works for DCI, while current student Noah Maple interned with the organization this past summer, Noworyta shared.
Maple, a senior studying music industry at UIndy, served as a seasonal event operations coordinator for DCI during the World Championships. His responsibilities included helping manage 70 shows throughout July, navigating contracts and logistics, and more.
Maple shared that this internship combined music business concepts like licensing and development with contract management. He also gained a broader view of how the different areas of DCI work together to put on the championship event.
“I got to see how all the different sectors of DCI work together and come together to create, first of all, a successful event, but a beautiful event that really involved a community all of downtown Indianapolis and beyond,” said Maple.
Maple said the experience also stood out to him because of the people involved in DCI. The people working for DCI were passionate about the activity and the community surrounding it, Maple shared.
“You take any other organization, there are people who are there because it’s a job. But at DCI, people are there because they love the art form, and that’s what really resonated with me,” Maple said.
Noworyta noted that the collaboration showed how different parts of the university can work together. Students, faculty and alumni from different entities of UIndy contributed to the events surrounding the championship weekend.
“It was a team effort…There was a lot of friendly collegiality to make this whole thing work,” Noworyta said. “I hope we’re able to do it in the future because it really brought UIndy into focus for the Drum Corps as well as our music education in the state…not to mention brought us a few pennies.”
