Phil Campbell High School hosted the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corp last week while they were traveling from Texas to South Carolina. Following an overnight stay in the school gym, they practiced at PCHS all day July 2, holding a full ensemble rehearsal at the football stadium at 6:30 p.m. The rehearsal was free and open to the public.

The group is a nonprofit organization based out of San Antonio, Texas. “We are celebrating our 50^th anniversary this year,” said corps director Chris Lyman. “DCI, our league, has been around for 52, so we are about as old as the league we compete in.” He explained the organization works to use marching band to promote youth enrichment through the arts.

“We use marching band as our tool to create better adults and better leaders of tomorrow,” Lyman said. “I’m an alumnus of the organization as well,” he added. “In my current role, I’m incredibly thrilled with the possibilities — the potential these guys have on a competitive level.”

Lyman, in talking about moving from a student role to a director role, described his experience as “incredibly rewarding.”

“I get to give back and provide these members with an experience that is gonna stick with them for the rest of their lives, and they’re gonna look back on it and really cherish it.”

“The entire league we compete against is called Drum Corps International,” Lyman continued. “There’s groups from the Northeast and the Midwest all coming together at various points in our tours to compete against each other. This is a very prestigious thing.”

Lyman said most of the members are from Texas, with the majority of the other members being from Oklahoma.

“We have 160 marching members, including the brass, drum line, color guard and front ensemble,” he continued. “We will travel over 9,000 miles this summer to a bunch of different show sites, competing against other organizations like our own.”

Lyman said the group will conclude its tour August 10 in Indianapolis. Along the way, they will perform in 19 shows.

“At that time, everyone will go back to their homes,” Lyman added. “All of our students are between the ages of 16 and 22, from 26 different states and three different countries.”

Lyman said the group uses five charter buses and two 18-wheeler-size trailers, a box truck and two other vehicles to transport them where they need to go. While students pay to participate in the band, they have to qualify through auditioning.

The next auditions take place this November, with camps in locations across Texas as well as some in remote locations.

The group recently competed in Knoxville, and among upcoming competitions, they will perform in Georgia, Muscle Shoals, Texas and Pennsylvania.