Every successful drum corps season starts long before the first note is played or the first step is taken on the field. It begins with the people who plan the calendar, manage communication, handle logistics, support members and families, and make sure the corps can focus on performing at its best. For 2026, Impulse Drum & Bugle Corps is proud to introduce the administrative team helping guide our “Around the Table” season.

This year’s admin staff brings a mix of long‑time Impulse leadership and new faces who share a commitment to youth, education, and healthy drum corps. From coordinating rehearsals and travel to managing member experience and parent communication, this team will be working behind the scenes every single day to keep the organization running smoothly. Together, this group is responsible for “setting the table” for everything that happens on the field. Their work makes it possible for members to grow, for staff to teach, and for families and fans to enjoy the 2026 season from the stands.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be highlighting each area of the staff—music, visual, guard, percussion, and more—so you can get to know the people bringing Around the Table to life. For now, we invite alumni, parents, and friends to help us welcome the 2026 admin team and to thank them for the countless hours they will invest in Impulse this year.

If you’d like to stay updated on staff features, show news, and ways to support Impulse Youth Arts Organization, you can join our email list or follow us on social media. The 2026 journey has officially begun, and we’re grateful to have this admin team leading the way.

This season, our community came together in a big way. Through our recent Vertical Raise fundraising campaign, supporters contributed $14,509.50, and every dollar went directly into supporting Impulse to help cover costs for the 2026 Impulse Drum & Bugle Corps season.

Most importantly, this campaign was a reminder of how many people believe in these young performers. The messages left, the shares on social media, and the encouragement from all corners of our community told members, “You are worth investing in.”

To everyone who gave, shared, or cheered this effort on: thank you. Your generosity helped put real support directly into our season. As the 2026 season unfolds, every performance of Around the Table will carry a little piece of that support out onto the field.

​Congratulations to Impulse Winterguard on finishing off their inaugural year with a WGI IA Bronze Medal. Performers, thank you for moving us with your beautiful performances. Staff (led by directors Michael Patton and Eric Gonzalez), your care for the members and DEDICATION to the program is so appreciated. Thank you for believing in them every step of the way. Designers, thank you for taking risks and telling a story that moved our audiences!

Well Done and STAY GOLD!

The 2026 Impulse Drum & Bugle Corps season is built around one big idea: creating a meaningful, manageable summer experience for young performers and their families while bringing our new production, “Around the Table,” to stadiums across California.

From spring through mid‑summer, the season moves in clear phases:

• Spring training weekends focus on fundamentals, show music, and early visual work
• June production blocks bring members together for longer days to put full movements on the field and stage early performances for family and community
• July tour takes Impulse and “Around the Table” on the road for multiple DCI Tour appearances across the state, kicking off July 3 in Sacramento

Families and supporters can always find the most up‑to‑date schedule on our website calendar:

Season Calendar: https://www.impulseyoutharts.org/calendar.html

For those following the corps on the Drum Corps International circuit, DCI also lists Impulse’s appearances, including dates, locations, and event details:
​
DCI – Impulse Events and News: https://www.dci.org/corps/impulse/

As Impulse prepares new shows and its new tour, it is important to remember where this corps began. Impulse Youth Arts Organization was founded in Southern California in 1998 by alumni and educators who wanted to keep a certain spirit of drum corps alive—fun, entertaining, and competitive, with a strong focus on character and accountability.

From the start, Impulse has carried the DNA of classic West Coast showmanship, inspired by groups like Velvet Knights and other local ensembles that proved you could make audiences laugh, cheer, and feel something meaningful in the span of a single program. That history still lives in the yellow ZOT, in the way members play to the crowd, and in the balance of humor and heart that shows up in our flashback photos and videos—from early‑era uniforms to more recent productions shared on social media.

The “Impulse roots” posts on Instagram are part of that storytelling. Throwback photos of the corps on the field, in warm‑up arcs, and celebrating together off the field show how much has changed—and how much has stayed the same. The faces, uniforms, and venues move forward with time, but the core remains: young performers working hard, having fun, and building lifelong connections through music and motion.

For today’s members, these glimpses into the past are more than just nostalgia. They connect the 2026 corps to the alumni who first took the field under the Impulse name, and to the families and fans who have been cheering from the stands since the beginning. Remembering where we came from helps guide where we are going—keeping the original vision in view even as the corps grows, innovates, and writes the next chapter of its story.

You can explore some of these recent “roots” highlights on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DVOo_OCill9/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DUevOg3CNkd/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DUxthT1AEP2/

Impulse’s 2025 season was a turning point. After several years of rebuilding following the pandemic, the corps took a big step forward—on the field, on the road, and in the lives of the young people who made “Look Up” come to life.

The 2025 production, Look Up, invited audiences to shift their perspective: away from distractions and toward the bigger picture around them. Musically and visually, it was one of the most ambitious programs in recent Impulse history, pairing high‑energy brass and battery writing with expressive guard and thoughtful visual design.

On tour, that ambition showed. Impulse expanded its summer travel to include performances in Utah, Washington, and Oregon—our first shows outside California since 2019. The corps improved its score at every appearance, with both its lowest and highest numbers outpacing 2024, reflecting real competitive growth and consistency across the season. 

Beyond numbers, 2025 was about people. Membership grew significantly, with more young performers choosing Impulse as their summer home. DCI profiled members who found stability, purpose, and community here, even while navigating challenges like California wildfires and personal setbacks. Their stories remind us why youth arts matter—and why this activity is worth fighting for.

The season also drew attention from the wider drum corps community. Drum Corps International highlighted Impulse as a corps “continuing to grow since the COVID‑19 pandemic” and called 2025 “a year for the books.” You can read DCI’s full feature here:

www.dci.org/news/impulse-builds-on-momentum-with-breakthrough-2025-season/

As we move into new productions and new tours, 2025 stands as a marker on the path—a season that proved what Impulse can be when members, families, staff, and supporters all pull in the same direction. It set the stage for everything that comes next.​

Impulse Drum & Bugle Corps is excited to bring a brand‑new production to stadiums across the West this summer: “Around the Table.” On the surface, it is all about games—board games, card games, and the kind of friendly competition that happens when people gather around a table.

Beneath that, the show explores something deeper. As corps director Peter Connell shared with Drum Corps International, “Around the Table” follows a simple emotional arc: competition, conflict, apology, and finally community. The production looks at what happens between people while they play—the laughter, the tension when things get a little too intense, and the way relationships are repaired and strengthened over time.

The design team has pulled inspiration from classic games and family moments, using them as launch points for Impulse’s staging, costuming, and visual design. Fans can expect to spot nods to familiar favorites—think bright colors, bold shapes, and playful references to pieces and cards—woven into a show that still delivers the power, precision, and heart audiences associate with drum corps.

To dive deeper into the story behind “Around the Table,” including more from corps director Peter Connell on how the concept came together, read the full feature from Drum Corps International:
​
https://www.dci.org/news/from-family-game-night-to-the-field-impulse-unveils-2026-show-around-the-table/

This is what it looks like when the table gets bigger!!!

Recap video:
www.instagram.com/p/DTHh68KlBTL/

Every Impulse season starts with a simple idea: bring as many young performers as possible together for one energizing day of music, movement, and community. Impulse ONE DAY has become that tradition—a low‑pressure, high‑fun experience into what drum corps can be for students and families across Southern California.

This year’s ONE DAY event was our biggest yet. Performers from a wide range of schools and experience levels came together to learn, play, and meet the team behind Impulse Drum & Bugle Corps. From the first check‑in to the final rep, the energy in the room felt like a preview of the summer to come.

What happens at ONE DAY?
Impulse ONE DAY is designed to answer the two questions most students and families have:

“What is drum corps actually like?” and
“Is Impulse the right fit for me or my student?”

Over the course of the day, participants:

• Met key staff and corps leadership.
• Broke out into caption‑specific blocks (brass, battery, front ensemble, color guard) to learn technique and short performance chunks.
• Came back together for ensemble time to feel what it’s like to be part of a full corps sound.
• Heard directly from staff and alumni about what to expect from an Impulse season—on the field, on the road, and in the community.
• The focus is always on education and experience first. Students get a taste of the standards and pace of drum corps while still having room to ask questions, try new things, and connect with peers who share their passion.

ONE DAY is more than a clinic or open house. It’s the first time each year that Impulse’s values show up in real time: welcoming new performers, challenging them musically and visually, and surrounding them with a supportive staff.

Impulse ONE DAY is a reminder of why this activity matters: it creates a space where young people can challenge themselves, make new friends, and see how their talents can grow within a supportive community.

We’re grateful to every performer, parent, volunteer, and staff member who helped make this year’s ONE DAY a success. It was the first move in what promises to be an exciting season—and we’re just getting started

The road to Summer 2026 starts now!
​
DCI has officially released this year’s tour schedule, and Impulse is fired up to bring Around the Table to stadiums across the West.

The only thing missing, is YOU!

dci.fan/Impulse26

​Impulse Drum & Bugle Corps is proud to present our 2026 production: “Around the Table.”

This season, we explore the moments of strategy, laughter, and friendly rivalry that bring people together. Featuring the cinematic music of Christophe Beck and Lorne Balfe, our production captures the excitement, challenge, and camaraderie that come to life when we gather “Around the Table.”