Masters of the Marching Arts

Drum corps enthusiasts who have followed the competitive activity for decades have witnessed a significant evolution. Gone are the days of the ’starting line,’ playing ‘concert’ at a standstill, inspections (ended in the early ’70s), color presentations, the ‘tick’...

Part TWO – Electronics In Part ONE of ‘Innovation and Evolution’ we discussed brass instrumentation. Next, we consider another significant innovation; the use of electronics. After preventing the use of electronics in competition for many years, the DCI Board of...

By Jim Hager

In order to talk about the meteoric rise of the 27th Lancers in 1975, first we must step back and look at the 1974 season.

At the end of the 1973 season, the corps had graduated many members and the last of the true “original members” from 1968. Along with the age-outs and their experience, the departure of staff members Richard “Ike” Ianessa (RIP) in M&M and Jim Buckley in percussion left gaping holes.

Francis G. Noonan

23 November 1958 – 24 September 2020

29 September 2020

St. Raphael Church, Medford, Massachusetts

By John Oppedisano

Lorrie, Sean, Sammy.  Michael, Patty, and Judy, other members of Jerry’s family, colleagues, friends and acquaintances:

Thank you all for coming, and as is the norm today, for watching. Your presence here today reminds us of the scripture’s counsel, “…that those who mourn are blessed for they shall be comforted;” and we are comforted by the knowledge that, somewhere up above, God is getting an earful of trumpet solos and double C’s.

How do you honor a legend?   Let’s start with the basics.

“2020, the Movie.” Once upon a time, this would have been the title of a sequel to the film 2010, or a graphically esthetic date of a science fiction novel. More fantastically, it might have been a possible calendar date reality in which we got around town in our own,...

The Question: Dear Larry, How do you feel about all the changes that have happened in our lives regarding computers changing the way you write, etc.? I have seen a few of your old hand-written charts and I love the personality of them. Now everyone uses music-writing...

In today’s column we will cover alumni drum corps action. Or shall we say inaction? The last time the United States experienced this low level (zero) of drum corps activity was during World War 1! When the war was over, American Legion posts across the country formed...

A Conversation between Rick Wygant and Tad Faccini Rick spent six years in the hornline of the Garfield Cadets. We all know his distinctive tone quality, as he was the soprano soloist from 1984 through 1988. We became acquainted through social media, and I have asked...