Help Adam March DCI
Donation protected
Hello friends, family, and strangers alike. My name is Adam Popky, and I need help fulfilling a dream. Throughout my life I've been very inolved with the marching arts. Starting back in 2009 when I began marching in middle school, to now where I now march with the Penn State Blue Band, one of the best traditional college marching bands in the country. The next step up from here would be to march in a drum corps. For those of you who do not know what that is, I will explain below. In October, I submitted a video to The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps, a world class drum corps. I recently found out that I received a callback and am through the roof. The next step in the process would be to go to the callback and, if I meet the expectations of the staff, receive a membership contract. That's where the cost comes in. Unfortunately for me, The Academy is based in Arizona, which is a ways away from me, being from the Philadelphia area. Just to get to the callback is around $400. Multiply that by the number of times I need to travel back to Phoenix and add in the $3,500 tour fee and it's a hefty price tag. What raising the money would mean is that I would spend the summer with 149 other corps members, perfecting a 12-minute show, traveling across the country, performing and competing in around 30 states. I am currently working at school in both the dining commons and, starting next semester, a lab on campus to help raise the money needed. But I am a full-time student so there are only so many hours I can work. So I am reaching out to anyone and everyone with a spare penny. However, I implore you all NOT to feel obligated to donate. I simply as for at least a "share" to get my plea out to people and possibly businesses that do feel they can comfortably donate to my campaign. Thank so much for your time. The finer details surrounding myself and the activity that is "Drum Corps" , as well as a snippet of The Academy from last year are below.
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After attending the camp, I did not receive a contract. My nerves unfortunately got the better of me in my individual assessment. However, I am still pursuing other drum corps, as the Madison Scouts still have spots and if everything else falls through I will marching with the Oregon Crusaders, another world class drum corps. All of the support has been incredible and will not be for nothing. I thank everyone who has donated thus far and the continued support from my friends and family. You are all making my dream a reality
What is Drum Corps?
Very simply put, drum corps is marching band on steroids. There are several different circuits of drum corps. The most selective/demanding and most popular is Drum Corps International (DCI). Within DCI there is DCI World Class and DCI Open Class. This is the "major leagues" to the marching arts and finals at the end of the season are like the Super Bowl. All of the corps in both Open and World class come together and compete in three rounds of competition: Prelims (all), Semi-Finals (top 25), and Finals (top 12). The Academy is a World Class drum corps that placed 11th their first time at finals in 2016. Many high school and college marchers look up to the members of these groups, and for good reason. Starting with initial auditions in the fall, the members of these corps go through a rigorous process to get the to the that finals field. There are 6 weekend-long training camps that happen once a month, starting January, that continue through to May. From there they travel to a Spring Training site and begin the 3-month long process of the season, with about a week or two gap between the last camp and then. Spring Training is about 3 weeks, and then the corps set off on a cross-country tour, competing with each other and participating in parades. More info can be found here
http://www.dci.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209979117&DB_OEM_ID=33500&DB_OEM_ID=33500
The other popular circuit is Drum Corps Associates, or DCA. More info on DCA can be found here http://www.dci.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209979117&DB_OEM_ID=33500&DB_OEM_ID=33500
About me
Hi! My name is Adam Popky, I'm 20 years old, and I go to Penn State University where I study Food Science. I started marching in 7th grade on the clarinet, before switching to trombone in 8th grade. I then marched in the trombone section at Spring-Ford High School for four years, where I was section leader for two years. In my time at SF, I had a lot of great performance opportunities, including the Magnificent Mile Parade in Chicago, and marching down the streets of Epcot at Festival Disney. We came in first at 6 of the 6 championships I participated in, and came in first at every competition we competed in during my entire high school career. My interest in drum corps was first sparked by a visit my band took my freshman year. We travelled to a nearby high school where The Madison Scouts, another World Class drum corps, was rehearsing. Their sound and marching prowess were unreal. I was hooked after that night. Feeling I had been properly prepared with a rigorous high school band program, I wanted to move on to that level and audition for a drum corps, but the catch was that I needed to play baritone since there are no trombone sections in drum corps. After graduating high school, I signed up to audition for the Penn State Blue Band where I landed a spot as a 1-1 (highest musical ranking) and have to this date marched in every available pregame and halftime show (meaning I never lost my spot). While the experience thus far has been incredible, I still long for that drum corps experience I've wanted since high school. It took me until now to feel confident enough to audition, and it seems as though it has paid off. Hopefully, with the help of this fundraiser I can live my dream with The Academy before it is too late. The cutoff is 21 years old, leaving me with only this summer and next summer to participate.
*************************************
After attending the camp, I did not receive a contract. My nerves unfortunately got the better of me in my individual assessment. However, I am still pursuing other drum corps, as the Madison Scouts still have spots and if everything else falls through I will marching with the Oregon Crusaders, another world class drum corps. All of the support has been incredible and will not be for nothing. I thank everyone who has donated thus far and the continued support from my friends and family. You are all making my dream a reality
What is Drum Corps?
Very simply put, drum corps is marching band on steroids. There are several different circuits of drum corps. The most selective/demanding and most popular is Drum Corps International (DCI). Within DCI there is DCI World Class and DCI Open Class. This is the "major leagues" to the marching arts and finals at the end of the season are like the Super Bowl. All of the corps in both Open and World class come together and compete in three rounds of competition: Prelims (all), Semi-Finals (top 25), and Finals (top 12). The Academy is a World Class drum corps that placed 11th their first time at finals in 2016. Many high school and college marchers look up to the members of these groups, and for good reason. Starting with initial auditions in the fall, the members of these corps go through a rigorous process to get the to the that finals field. There are 6 weekend-long training camps that happen once a month, starting January, that continue through to May. From there they travel to a Spring Training site and begin the 3-month long process of the season, with about a week or two gap between the last camp and then. Spring Training is about 3 weeks, and then the corps set off on a cross-country tour, competing with each other and participating in parades. More info can be found here
http://www.dci.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209979117&DB_OEM_ID=33500&DB_OEM_ID=33500
The other popular circuit is Drum Corps Associates, or DCA. More info on DCA can be found here http://www.dci.org/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209979117&DB_OEM_ID=33500&DB_OEM_ID=33500
About me
Hi! My name is Adam Popky, I'm 20 years old, and I go to Penn State University where I study Food Science. I started marching in 7th grade on the clarinet, before switching to trombone in 8th grade. I then marched in the trombone section at Spring-Ford High School for four years, where I was section leader for two years. In my time at SF, I had a lot of great performance opportunities, including the Magnificent Mile Parade in Chicago, and marching down the streets of Epcot at Festival Disney. We came in first at 6 of the 6 championships I participated in, and came in first at every competition we competed in during my entire high school career. My interest in drum corps was first sparked by a visit my band took my freshman year. We travelled to a nearby high school where The Madison Scouts, another World Class drum corps, was rehearsing. Their sound and marching prowess were unreal. I was hooked after that night. Feeling I had been properly prepared with a rigorous high school band program, I wanted to move on to that level and audition for a drum corps, but the catch was that I needed to play baritone since there are no trombone sections in drum corps. After graduating high school, I signed up to audition for the Penn State Blue Band where I landed a spot as a 1-1 (highest musical ranking) and have to this date marched in every available pregame and halftime show (meaning I never lost my spot). While the experience thus far has been incredible, I still long for that drum corps experience I've wanted since high school. It took me until now to feel confident enough to audition, and it seems as though it has paid off. Hopefully, with the help of this fundraiser I can live my dream with The Academy before it is too late. The cutoff is 21 years old, leaving me with only this summer and next summer to participate.
Organizer
Adam Popky
Organizer
Limerick, PA
