ELLISVILLE – The World-Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps, the Blue Stars spent a couple of days at Jones College to prepare for a competition in Hattiesburg. The La Crosse, Wisconsin based group is touring the nation in preparation for an opportunity to compete and to show off the talents of about one-hundred, mostly college-aged musicians. The group travels more than 12,000 miles to perform in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, and New York, before ending their summer in Indiana.
The JC band leadership and band directors had the opportunity to see the Blue Stars practice. Director of Bands at JC, Dr. Ben Burge said, “Watching DCI groups perform is amazing but to also have the opportunity to see how these world-class musicians prepare for a physically demanding show is inspiring for my students.”
In the marching band world, this group is in the “Major Leagues.” The Blue Stars is one of the thirteen founding member corps of Drum Corps International will be competing with seven other groups at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg.