Regiment to bring “taste of the past,” “shock and awe” in 2023

There’s a shared sentiment around many involved with Phantom Regiment regarding its 2023 production.

The corps, for now, is keeping its program details quiet. But several individuals all had the same thing to say when it came to what audiences around the 2023 DCI Tour can expect.

It’s a paradox — in ways that will be readily noticeable, the 2023 edition of Phantom Regiment is brand-new Phantom Regiment. But the 2023 edition of Phantom Regiment is classic Phantom Regiment all the same.

“You're going to sit there and say, ‘Holy cow, that's the Phantom Regiment,’” program coordinator Tony Hall said.

“It’s a lot different from what people are used to the Phantom Regiment being,” echoed drum major Keri McCourt.

“It has a taste of the past,” tenor drummer Ethan Hill said. “But we're not afraid to move on.”

“(Audiences) are going to be like, That's Phantom Regiment? Really?’ added fourth-year trumpet player Luigi Taupo. “There’s going to be a lot of shock and awe for sure.”

As such, the excitement among corps members and staff members is rapidly growing toward the 2023 DCI Summer Tour, which kicks off June 28 in Rockford, Michigan.

For the time being, though, revealing, debuting and touring with the corps’ 2023 production will have to wait. But at the corps’ final weekend rehearsal camp of the off-season — held April 28-30 at Auburn High School in Rockford, Illinois — before spring training move-ins, all the pieces of an exciting summer began to fall into place.

“It feels great,” Hill said of the April camp experience. “I get to see all the people who I marched with last year, and all the people who I loved and missed from the whole season, and then also getting to meet new faces. It's really nice getting to see everyone and actually see the finished product.”

According to McCourt, the foundation laid by the Rockford corps throughout their preseason rehearsals has been quite impressive.

While the corps’ full complement with percussion and color guard hasn’t been together since December, McCourt had high praise for the progress made by Regiment’s brass section entering the full-corps rehearsal weekend.

“The 2023 Phantom Regiment horn line is very special,” she said. “We have only met as a full horn line three times so far, and the talent is just insane. I've never seen a group work so well together immediately.”

While Regiment’s brass members have had the opportunity for a handful of in-person rehearsals, work has been put in by all sections remotely throughout the winter and spring months, by way of virtual assignments.

At the corps’ April camp weekend, all of that growth was more than evident, according to Taupo.

“This is really just the culmination of our preseason program,” Taupo said. “Everything is meshing together, especially with percussion and color guard here. Now, we have all of these moving pieces finally coming together. We've been in isolation, doing our own section things, doing our own visual things, but seeing that come to life with different sections and sharing our individual achievements is something that's really special.”

With the start of spring training rapidly approaching — planned to kick off in the coming weeks at Eastern Illinois University — Phantom Regiment’s focus, first, turns to its annual “Phan-A-Thon” event, a virtual telethon scheduled for Saturday, May 13.

 

Learn more about Phantom Regiment’s “Phan-A-Thon”

Arguably the highlight of the event is the corps’ plan to announce the details behind its 2023 production.

In terms of what fans can expect from that reveal, Hall expanded upon the notion that Phantom Regiment will take a modern and progressive approach to design in the upcoming season, both musically and visually.

“We're going to show you that we can play other artists that you would not consider that Phantom Regiment would ever play,” he said. “And we're going to look differently. We're definitely taking ourselves to a place that says, ‘We're moving forward,’ but you're going to know who we are.”

Hill added his own praise for the corps’ 2023 music selections.

“It actually moves me while I'm playing it, especially with the full ensemble. The ballad really touched me whenever I played it back in January, where it wasn’t even a finished product and still moved me. The opener is quite exciting. The closer is really fast paced and it really says ‘Phantom.’ And the drum break is insanely hard — it's so cool to play.”

The opportunity for Phantom Regiment to take its exciting design plans out into the open will help audience members experience the same

And McCourt didn’t mince words — that level of excitement among Phantom Regiment’s members is off the charts.

“We are very eager to get on the field,” she said. “I can tell that this corps is just ready to be in front of an audience already.”

View Phantom Regiment's 2023 DCI Tour Schedule

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