The Blue Devils Drum Corps Take First Place At 2015 DCI World Championship Exclusively Using System Blue By D'Addario Products

D'Addario would like to congratulate The Blue Devils drum corps of Concord, California on taking home first place at the 2015 Drum Corps International (DCI) World Championship. On August 9th, The Blue Devils won their 17th DCI World Championship in front of a record crowd of 22,085 fans at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Blue Devils trusted D'Addario products from Evans Drumheads and Promark drumsticks and mallets within the System Blue line to help them optimize their performance when it counted most. Launched in 2009, System Blue by D'Addario has developed a broad range of percussion products including Evans drumheads and Promark sticks customized specifically for high performance marching bands, drum corps, and drumlines. The Blue Devils were able to rely on D'Addario equipment to help them create their optimal sounds, resulting in a remarkable score of 97.65 out of 100 in the championship's final round.

In addition to a tremendous team effort, The Blue Devils also had four team members emerge victorious in the Individual & Ensemble competition at the DCI World Championship. Marissa Spevak (Marimba), Brandon Olander (Snare), Steven Takeda (Tenor), and Gabe Montemayor (Timpani) were all recognized as the most skilled musicians in their respective fields during the event, giving The Blue Devils even more to celebrate.

"We're so proud of The Blue Devils for their victory at the 2015 DCI World Championship and we look forward to continuing this percussive partnership for years to come," said Nick Gordon, Percussion Business Unit Manager for D'Addario. "Elite performers like The Blue Devils require the best in equipment, and System Blue products are made to compete as tough as any corps using them."

"In designing products with D'Addario, we consider the quality, consistency, and high performance capabilities required for The Blue Devils, knowing that if they work for us, they'll work for all the great marching bands & drum corps out there, too," said Scott Johnson, The Blue Devils' Percussion Caption Head. "D'Addario lives up to its reputation for innovation and quality and we trust the products will help us compete at our very best."

The System Blue product line includes specialized tenor heads from Evans as well as Jim Wunderlich Series Mallets, Diversity Series Mallets, signature snare sticks and Sean Vega TS8 tenor sticks from Promark.

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About D'Addario's Promark brand: Founded in 1957 by Herb Brochstein, Promark is based in Houston, Texas and manufactures hickory, maple and Japanese Shira Kashi Oak drumsticks in a modern 90,000 foot facility. It has been family owned and operated since inception, and was purchased by D'Addario & Company in 2011 - the world's largest maker of instrument strings and accessories. Promark uses only un-endangered wood in the manufacturing of its sticks and mallets. Through Promark and D'Addario's Play. Plant. Preserve. program, five trees are planted for each one used.

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