Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps
The Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps is an all-age drum and bugle corps based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, that competed in Drum Corps Associates and currently competes in Drum Corps International. A consistent DCA Finalist, Minnesota Brass was the 2011 DCA Open Class World Champion. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Minnesota Brass has performed as a member of the SoundSport division under Drum Corps International. It also sponsors several indoor groups that currently compete in Winter Guard International under the MBI designation.
History
Minnesota Brass was founded in 1946 as the Cecil Kyle Legion Corps. Between the years of 1946 and 1968, the corps operated under the names of William Laidlaw Legion Corps, Laidlaw Toreadors, Grain Belt Diamonds, and Men of Laidlaw. In 1969, the organization became a self-supporting non-profit under the name of Brass, Inc. In 1980, the organization adopted the name Minnesota Brass, Inc.Today, Minnesota Brass, Inc. is a non-profit performing arts organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota that operates five separate performing ensembles: Minnesota Brass, MBI Winter Guard, MBI Indoor Percussion, and MBI Winds.
The all-age drum and bugle corps is the largest and most well-known of the organization's ensembles. The corps performs under the name Minnesota Brass. The more formal Minnesota Brass, Inc. name is now used rarely and only to refer to the organization as a whole.
The corps has competed in the Drum Corps Associates World Championships 34 times since 1973 and has placed in the top ten in Open Class competition every year since 1991, the second-longest streak behind the Hawthorne Caballeros Drum and [Bugle Corps]. In 2011, Minnesota Brass won its first DCA Open Class World Championship title.
At its August 2018 meeting, the board of directors of Minnesota Brass voted to pursue an all-age drum and bugle corps to compete during the 2019 summer season.
Awards
DCI Soundsport Best in Show: 2022----
DCA World Champions: 2011
DCA Mini-Corps Champions: 1999, 2005
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DCA Colorguard Champions: 2011
DCA Horn Line Champions: 2010, 2011, 2015
DCA Frontline Champions: 2001, 2004, 2005
DCA Percussion Champions: 2003, 2004, 2010, 2013
Past Shows
Source:''Gold background indicates DCA Open Class Championship; pale blue background indicates DCA Open Class Finalist''