Genesis was founded in September 2009 as a means for youth of the Rio Grande Valley to compete in drum corps, which they saw as the next level of musical competition beyond marching band. After an examination by Drum Corps International to determine the group's organizational stability, it was announced that Genesis was approved to compete in 2010.[3]
In its inaugural season, Genesis surprised many when it premiered at home in Texas. The corps then toured in Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio en route to the DCI Open Class World Championships in Michigan City, Indiana where the corps placed 9th in Open Class.
After its first year, Genesis' staff made the decision to have each season be a "rebirth of the corps,"[citation needed] combining new genres of music and visual ideas with the traditional drum corps idiom. In 2011 and 2012, the corps moved up in Open Class, placing 6th both seasons before moving on to World Class prelims, where they finished 30th and 29th. In 2011, Genesis won DCI's "Most Improved Corps" award for Open Class.[citation needed]
In 2013, the corps rose to a 3rd place Open Class finish. Genesis then competed in the DCI World Class Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, placing 23rd in semifinals, earning full DCI membership, and winning the World Class "Most Improved Corps" award.[citation needed] Additionally, Chris Magonigal was named DCI's Open Class Director of the Year.[citation needed]
In January 2014, Genesis announced that the corps would move its operations from Edinburg, Texas to Austin, Texas. Corps director Chris Magonigal stated: “With its centralized location, dedication to the arts, and its financial possibilities, Austin is the perfect city from which to operate our program.“[citation needed]
At the annual DCI meeting on January 27, 2017, Genesis was approved to compete as a World Class corps.[4]
Sponsorship
Genesis Drum and Bugle Corps is a registered non-profit 501(c)(3) musical organization. Chris Magonigal is executive director, program coordinator, and corps director. Genesis also sponsors the Teatro Indoor Percussion ensemble, competing in the Winter Guard International Independent Open division.
Epic Strength of 1,000 Men by Thomas J. Bergersen / Someone Like You by Adele Adkins & Dan Wilson / Original Music by Edward Gobbel / United We Stand, Divided We Fall by Thomas J. Bergersen
Phantom Revisited The Music of the Night, All I Ask of You, Masquerade, Think of Me, Angel of Music & Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again All from The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber
From the Ground Up Organic Forest & Bulldozers and the Height of Industry by Key Poulan, Dave Marvin, Dan Bryan & Shawn Glyde / The Sound of War by Susanne Sundfør / The Corinthian Song by V. Michael McKay / Original Music by Key Poulan, Dave Marvil, Dan Bryan & Shawn Glyde
78.725
20th Place World Class Semifinalist
2020
Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021
There's No Place Like Home Kansas, The Tornado, Landing in Oz, Yellow Bricks, Poppies & Approaching the Emerald City by Key Poulan, Shawn Glyde, Mike Huestis & Dan Bryan / Power by Kanye West / The Wicked Witch and the Dark Castle by Shawn Glyde, Mike Huestis & Dan Bryan / Over the Rainbow (from The Wizard of Oz) by Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg