Tuition for Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps

Hi. My name is Cole.

I am proud to announce that I have been offered a position with Southwind Drum & Bugle Corps and am currently rehearsing with them in preparation for the 2023 performance season. It is quite an honor to be a part of this group as they are a drum corps with a long history on the Gulf Coast and throughout the southeastern United States. The organization teaches young people all about independence, leadership, and professionalism in a musical and athletic environment. I am working extremely hard to be a positive addition to the organization.

The first time I touched a wind instrument was in sixth grade, the trombone. Many weeks went by with me practicing trombone everyday and that's when I realized music was for me. I started picking up other instruments and before you know it I played several. Going into High School, my main instruments were trombone, euphonium, and bassoon, but I still played tuba, trumpet, alto saxophone, and others. So far, I have marched the trombone at Ruckel Middle School and Niceville High School. Last year, toward the end of the 2022 DCI Season, "Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps" caught my eye.

Southwind is known for their educational excellence as well as their crowd-pleasing entertainment. The group is one of the most-loved organizations in the drum and bugle corps activity, competing with many other fine drum and bugle corps since 1981 and winning two world championship titles back-to-back in 1991 and 1992.

In December, I registered to audition for Southwind and recently auditioned (January 13-15). I was offered a position in the corps playing the euphonium. A drum and bugle corps travels a lot throughout the spring and summer, the costs of which are quite expensive. Individuals who choose to march in drum corps have to pay tuition and fees for the privilege of membership. A season with Southwind will cost a member $4200 in tuition, which covers instruction, transportation, housing and food. This cost is a large amount for a young person to bear alone. This is where you can make a difference by pledging your financial support. Any money you contribute goes directly to Southwind and helps alleviate my share of tuition. Please help defray costs during our 2023 season by pledging what you can.