The Battalion

The Battalion Drum and Bugle Corps is an Open Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Battalion was founded in 2014 by a team of local business professionals and educators led by Dallin Hatch, Luke McCollum, and Alyssa McCollum.

The organization's first two years were spent building a solid corporate and educastional structure before any thought was given to recruiting members. The group also hosted educational events throughout the state to explain their mission in trying to create Utah’s first Drum Corps International (DCI) corps.

In the spring of 2016, the corps applied for membership in DCI. After an evaluation of the organization's resources, staff, and plans, on May 18, 2016, DCI approved The Battalion to enter competition as an Open Class corps

As with many new corps in recent years, The Battalion chose to begin with only a short tour in its inaugural season, and its 104 charter members marched in only five shows in four states during the first week of July.

In 2017, the 142 member corps appeared in six shows in five states in nine days, all with two or three Open Class corps competing. In the last two shows, The Battalion was the Open Class champion.

The corps has elected not to compete on Sundays "...in order to allow corps members take part in preplanned community outreach and service projects where the corps is housed while on tour."

In each of the corps' first four seasonss, it did more than in the previous year. While the corps did a tour of California, its 2019 season ended in Denver two weeks before the DCI Championships. In recognition of the organization's successful development and continuous improvement, at the DCI Open Class Championbships in Marion, Indiana, The Battalion's director, Katherine Steinacker was awarded the David Kampshroer Leadership Award for Director of the Year. 

[The Batallion; Drum Corps World; 15 July 2016; Drum Corps International]

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