Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps is a competitive
drum and bugle corps
Drum and bugle corps is a name used to describe several related musical ensembles.
* Drum and bugle corps (modern), a musical marching unit
* Drum and bugle corps (classic), musical ensembles that descended from military bugle and drum units retu ...
, based in
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...
. The Santa Clara Vanguard is one of the thirteen founding member corps of
Drum Corps International
Drum Corps International (DCI) is a governing body for junior drum and bugle corps responsible for developing and enforcing rules of competition, and for providing standardized adjudication at sanctioned drum and bugle corps competitions througho ...
(DCI) and a seven time DCI World Champion, winning the title most recently in 2018.
History
In March 1967, citing differences of opinion in the artistic direction of the Sparks Drum and Bugle Corps, its parents support group voted to return the corps to its former activity as a
drum and lyre corps with majorettes. After the vote, three adults took members aside and asked them if they would prefer to continue as a drum and bugle corps or to return to a drum and lyre corps. After the members chose a drum and bugle corps, their parents immediately started a new booster club to support the new corps. They waited until its members met for rehearsal the following week to select a name. After discussing and rejecting several possible names, the corps chose Santa Clara Vanguard. Gail Royer, a local elementary school music teacher and instructor for the Sparks, was named as the director for the new corps.
In 1968, the corps embarked on its first tour to the Midwest. Although they did not place high at any of the competitions, the tour was a success because of the experience and exposure to the national drum corps scene. The corps also won its first field show that year in August 1968, at the
Anaheim Kingsmen
The Anaheim Kingsmen Drum and Bugle Corps, commonly referred to as the Anaheim Kingsmen, were a competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Anaheim, California, the corps was a charter member corps of Drum Corps International (DCI) and th ...
's Festival of Music. Santa Clara Vanguard capped off its year by winning the first of many California State Open Championships.
In 1971, the
Blue Stars,
Cavaliers
The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...
,
Madison Scouts, Santa Clara Vanguard, and the
Troopers formed the Midwest Combine. This action was taken in reaction to the rigid rules of the American Legion and VFW and the low or nonexistent performance fees paid for appearing in the various competitions. The corps felt that not only were they having their creative potential as artistic performing groups stifled, but they were being financially starved. A similar group of eastern corps, the United Organization of Junior Corps (also known as the "Alliance"), was formed by the 27th Lancers,
Garfield Cadets
The Cadets Drum Corps (formerly the Holy Name Cadets, Cadets of Garfield, Garfield Cadets, and Cadets of Bergen County) is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, The Cadets was one of the thirte ...
,
Boston Crusaders
The Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps is a competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Crusaders are a charter member of Drum Corps International.
History
The Boston Crusaders were founded in 1940 a ...
, Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights, and Blue Rock. The Combine members felt that the corps should be making their own rules, operating their own competitions and championships, and keeping the bulk of the proceeds that those shows earned. For the 1971 season, the corps stuck together, offering show promoters the five corps as a package. Despite pressure on show sponsors, judges, and other drum corps, the Combine was a success.
In 1972, the Santa Clara Vanguard, along with the nine other corps from the Midwest Combine and the Alliance, plus the Anaheim Kingsmen,
Argonne Rebels, and De La Salle Oaklands were the founding members of Drum Corps International. At the first DCI World Championships in
Whitewater, Wisconsin
Whitewater is a city located in Walworth and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located near the southern portion of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Whitewater is the home of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. As of the 2 ...
, Santa Clara Vanguard finished in third place. Santa Clara would remain among DCI's top three corps for the organization's first eight years, winning the World Championships in 1973, 1974, 1978.
Santa Clara Vanguard won its fourth DCI World Championship in 1981. Over the next seven years, Santa Clara Vanguard never placed below third before winning its fifth DCI title in 1989. They won their sixth DCI World Championship in 1999 and their seventh in 2018. Since Drum Corps International's founding in 1972, Santa Clara Vanguard has been the only corps to appear as a finalist in every World Championship.
In December 2022, Vanguard Music & Performing Arts announced that the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps would be placed on hiatus for the 2023 season due to multiple financial issues from the previous season.
Show summary (1972–2023)
''Source'':
Caption awards
At the annual World Championship Finals, Drum Corps International (DCI) presents named awards to the corps with the high average scores from prelims, semifinals, and finals in five captions. Santa Clara Vanguard has won these caption awards.
Don Angelica Best General Effect Award
* 2018
John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award
* 2018
George Zingali Best Color Guard Award
* 2017
Jim Ott Best Brass Performance Award
* 2018
Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award
* 2004, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Prior to 2000 and the adoption of the current scoring format, Santa Clara Vanguard won these captions:
High General Effect Award
* 1972, 1973, 1974 (tie), 1975, 1978, 1987, 1989, 1999
High Visual Award
* 1977, 1981, 1984 (tie), 1985, 1987 (tie)
High Color Guard Award
* 1974, 1978, 1981, 1985
High Brass Award
* 1984 (3 way tie), 1987 (tie)
High Percussion Award
* 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1988, 1989, 1991 (3 way tie), 1998
Vanguard Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps
The Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets Drum Corps, also known as the Vanguard Cadets, is an Open Class competitive junior
drum corps. Based in
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...
, the corps is a member of
Drum Corps International
Drum Corps International (DCI) is a governing body for junior drum and bugle corps responsible for developing and enforcing rules of competition, and for providing standardized adjudication at sanctioned drum and bugle corps competitions througho ...
(DCI) and is the feeder corps for the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps.
The Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets were formed in 1971 as a cadet feeder and training corps for the Santa Clara Vanguard. They began as a parade corps, but by the end of the 1970s, the Vanguard Cadets had become a truly competitive Class A corps. The corps did its first major touring in 1990, and in 1991, they attended their first DCI World Championships in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. In 1993, the corps became the first cadet corps to achieve DCI membership. In 2000, the Vanguard Cadets became the first feeder corps to win a championship in Division II (now Open Class). The corps also qualified for the Division I (now World Class) Semifinals. Despite their cadet status, the Vanguard Cadets won their division in 2000, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022.
In September 2018, Vanguard Music & Performing Arts,
BD Performing Arts BD Performing Arts is the corporate entity that manages several performance groups for young people in Concord, California. Included in these groups are the three Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps, designated "A", "B", and "C"; the Blue Devils Interna ...
, and Drum Corps International announced that the Vanguard Cadets would "be restructured as a California-based drum corps" and that both the Vanguard Cadets and the
Blue Devils B Drum and Bugle Corps would not attend DCI Open Class Championships in 2019.
In September 2022, Vanguard Music & Performing Arts announced that the Vanguard Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps will be placed on hiatus for the 2023 season due to multiple unforeseen financial issues that faced both Vanguard corps during the previous season.
Show summary (1982–2023)
''Source:''
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Drum Corps International World Class corps
Culture of Santa Clara, California
Musical groups established in 1967
1967 establishments in California