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DCI’s 2027 World Class field is taking shape. Chris Rutt, Grantis Peranda and Jeremy Svoboda break down the Mandarins’ approved return after a one-year hiatus and the move of Gold and The Battalion into World Class beginning in 2027. The panel also remembers longtime Drum Corps World publisher and DCI Hall of Fame member Steve Vickers.

Grantis takes the 60 Second Tech Block with practical fall color guard costuming advice: choose something that serves the show, survives the field and makes performers feel confident. Water We Doing?! tackles recycled or overcomplicated show concepts, copyright and licensing frustrations, and performing in extreme weather. Gush & Go closes with realistic goals for students, a Northern California education day and Spin Fest, and a massed-band performance at the West Shore Classic.

PANEL
Chris Rutt — @wildhornbrass1
Grantis Peranda — @grantisimo_p
Jeremy Svoboda / Drum Corps Today — @drumcorpstoday

CHAPTERS
00:00 DCI 2027 Headlines
00:41 Welcome + News
01:17 Mandarins Return to DCI
03:08 Remembering Steve Vickers
07:10 Gold + The Battalion Join World Class
12:52 What You May Have Missed
14:29 Guard Closet
16:08 60 Second Tech Block
17:17 Fall Color Guard Costuming
29:23 Water We Doing?!
33:04 Copyright & Marching Arts
35:55 Extreme Weather + Performer Safety
40:50 Gush & Go
46:42 Final CTA + Closing Rehearsal

NEWS & RESOURCES
Mandarins approved to return in 2027 — https://www.dci.org/news/mandarins-approved-to-return-to-the-2027-dci-tour/
Steve Vickers — Drum Corps International — https://www.dci.org/news/steve-vickers-longtime-publisher-of-drum-corps-world-dies-at-77/
Gold + The Battalion approved for World Class — https://www.dci.org/news/the-battalion-and-gold-approved-for-dcis-world-class-in-2027/

RELATED OAWB
S4EP39 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pYm0D95QEw
S4EP38 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGeBlAFyhFo

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