At the 2025 Drum Corps International Annual Meeting and Rules Congress in Indianapolis, a significant leadership transition took place when DCI's voting membership ratified Julie Davila as the new DCI judge administrator.
Davila succeeds John Phillips, who has held the role since 2000 — making him the longest-serving judge administrator in DCI's more than 50-year history.
Phillips has been a cornerstone of DCI's judging community for nearly half a century, having initially gained experience as a brass judge and clinician with the Canadian Drum Corps Association. He made his debut as a judge with Drum Corps International in 1976, quickly earning recognition among the participating corps and his peers for his effective communication and constructive feedback.
Promoted to judge administrator 25 years ago, Phillips has overseen a wide range of responsibilities, from managing the scheduling of hundreds of judges for the DCI Tour each year, to leading judge training and refining the philosophical direction of DCI’s adjudication process. He guided the DCI judging community through a period of rapid growth, which included significant changes like the introduction of amplification and new instrumentation as well as the establishment of new programs like DCI’s Judge Diversity Initiative. Phillips was inducted into the DCI Hall of Fame in 2015.
“There are some really interesting things that have happened over the last couple decades on the job,” said Phillips. “I'm certainly very proud to have been associated with Drum Corps International in this capacity. I'm really proud of the judge roster and all the great work that they've done, and I'm very excited for what the future holds for all of us.”
Davila will work in tandem with Phillips leading up to and through the 2025 DCI Tour ensuring for a smooth passing of the torch.
“John Phillips has done such an amazing job with such poise and dignity and professionalism and passion for DCI,” Davila said. “When I was first asked if I would be interested in the position, I was thinking, ‘Who's going to be crazy enough to follow the Nick Saban of DCI judge admin?’ John has already been so instrumental in helping me get started and get my footing, so I'm looking forward to spending a year here in 2025 working with John and learning the ropes.”
While Davila has been part of DCI’s judging roster for nearly a decade, the bulk of her marching music experience comes within the Winter Guard International arena where she has spent more than 30 years as a performer, educator and judge. She was inducted into the WGI Percussion Hall of Fame in 2014. Davila also has held a long tenure with the Percussive Arts Society where she served as an executive committee member for many years and president of the organization’s board of directors in 2023 and 2024.
Outside of marching music Davila is a faculty member at Middle Tennessee State University, is a member of the Caixa Trio chamber percussion ensemble and has more than 30 published percussion compositions.
In the early stages of her new role, Davila emphasizes that her primary focus will be to gather information, assess the current state of affairs and engage in as many discussions as possible throughout the organization.
“At this point the onboarding is getting a feel and a footing for where things are right now,” Davila said. “I want to start having conversations with these different leadership groups. What is the vision? Where do you want to take this? What's the next decade look like for DCI, and how can I help support that in any way I can, through my interaction with the judge community and the corps designers and instructors.”