Finis coronat opus. In Latin, this phrase means “the end crowns the work.” For the Blue Stars, the phrase is a way of life.
The La Crosse Blue Stars are a drum and bugle corps based in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Founded in 1964, the Blue Stars were one of the founding members of Drum Corps International (DCI), a governing body for drum and bugle corps in North America that is referred to as “marching music’s major league.”
Members of DCI competitively perform field shows each summer. Throughout late June to early August, each corps has a circuit of shows referred to as their “tour.” At each stop on the tour, judges provide a numerical score for each score on a scale of zero to 100, with zero being the lowest and 100 being the highest. Each summer, the Blue Stars have a home performance at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse’s Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. This year’s show took place the night of Sunday, July 6.
At the end of the season in early-to-mid-August, the preliminary, semifinal and final rounds of the DCI World Championships are held, with a decreasing amount of corps advancing through each round before one is crowned champion. Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis has been home to the DCI Championships since 2009 and will continue to be until at least 2033. UW-Madison’s Camp Randall Stadium has hosted the championships as recently as 2006 and seven times overall, while UW-Whitewater’s Warhawk Stadium hosted the first two DCI World Championships.
The Blue Stars’ 2025 show is titled “Spectator Sport” and features the songs “An Outdoor Overture” by Aaron Copland, “The Winner Takes It All” by ABBA, “The Distance” by Cake and “Team” by Lorde. Field props include bleachers and benches, and members of the corps wear athletic attire from various sports such as tennis, basketball, golf and football.
“Drum corps is…a pretty athletic activity, even though it’s music,” said Brad Harris, Corps Director for the Blue Stars. “Some of the performers represent spectators, but you also have members who are actually emulating or playing sports out [on the field].”
Spectating may be a theme of this year’s show, but the Blue Stars have been anything but spectators in the learning process. Although the corps officially moved in to their “spring training” location, Waldorf University in Forest City, IA, on June 1, the theme for the show gets worked on almost a year in advance.
“We have an artistic director, Michael Shapiro, and he really comes up with the theme. The Blue Stars are known for having kind of lighthearted and fun shows, and I don’t know that any other drum corps has ever done a sports-specific show,” explained Harris. “I think he just thought it would be a great vehicle for us this year, and unique and fun.”
Shapiro is just one of the dozens of staff members for the Blue Stars who help put on the show and make sure the tour runs smoothly, about 40 of which Harris estimates are on tour with the corps currently. As for the players, the Blue Stars have a DCI-maximum of 165 members across brass, percussion and color guard, meaning that members begin learning the show before the summer even starts.
“Really, the process of learning the show starts in January, after kind of the audition season is over,” said Harris. “It takes months to put it all out there, but June 1 is really when we hit the ground running and start to put it all together.”
The 2025 tour is starting a week later than usual. Harris said that by the time the Blue Stars usually have their home show in La Crosse, it will have been the corps’ tenth show. This year, it will be their fourth.
“I think the fact that [the La Crosse show] is a little earlier, there’s going to be more energy…it’s really cool for the corps to get back to La Crosse,” said Harris. “This is one of the prettiest venues in all of DCI…I know it means a lot to the members to be in La Crosse.”
Currently, DCI is separated into four classes: World Class, Open Class, International Class and All-Age Class. World Class, which is what the Blue Stars compete under, is often thought of as the most competitive class due to the experience of the members and size of the corps, while Open Class corps are generally smaller and younger (however, still very competitive). International Class is for corps outside the U.S. and Canada who want to compete at DCI competitions, and All-Age Class is for corps whose members don’t meet DCI’s age restrictions.
The Blue Stars have previously performed their finis coronat opus (FCO) motto to its fullest four times, capturing the A60 championship in 1989 and the Division III championship in 1993, 2001 and 2003 (the current DCI Open Class is the modern equivalent to Division III and the A60 Class). Since 2006, the Blue Stars have competed in the World Class, making the finals every year since 2013 and finishing in eighth place last year.
Other corps who competed at La Crosse on Sunday were Govenaires, Colt Cadets, Crossmen, Troopers, Madison Scouts, Colts and Bluecoats, with Blue Stars performing last. Blue Stars placed second, receiving a score of 75.2, while Bluecoats received the highest score of the night, netting a rating of 83.3. Blue Stars previously received scores of 70.8 on July 2 in Cedarburg, Wisconsin and 73 on July 3 in Rockford, Illinois. Scores for the entire night can be found on DCI’s website.
Before the scores were announced, Blue Stars played an encore comprised of their corps song, “La Vie en rose”, among other short tunes, to a standing ovation.
“When you go to a show…obviously, the fans see what’s out there on the field, but really, the story of drum corps is everything that happens behind the scenes,” said Harris.
Various ways to support the Blue Stars include volunteering, donating, sponsoring a meal and going to their shows. The next stops on the corps’ tour include July 9 in Ankeny, Iowa, July 11 in Dubuque, Iowa and July 15 in Olathe, Kansas. Their full schedule and ticket information can be found here.
