Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps is a competitive drum and bugle corps, based in Santa Clara, California. The Santa Clara Vanguard is one of the thirteen founding member corps of Drum Corps International (DCI) and a seven time DCI World Champion, winning the title most recently in 2018.
The Santa Clara Vanguard in 2008
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.[1]
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'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, 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, Boston Crusaders, 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.[2]
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, 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.[3]
Since Drum Corps International's founding in 1972, Santa Clara Vanguard had been the only corps to appear as a finalist in every World Championship, until 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.[4] On September 8, 2023, Santa Clara Vanguard confirmed their plans to return for the 2024 season, alongside the announcement of their management team, design team, and their new CEO, Dr. Russell Gavin.
Pale blue background indicates DCI World Class Finalist[a]
Dark gold background indicates DCI World Class Champion[a]
^ abFrom 1972-1991, Santa Clara Vanguard competed in Open Class; from 1992-2007 in Division I, and since 2008 in World Class. These are the same tier, just renamed.
Phantom of the Opera Music of the Night, Angel of Music, Phantom of the Opera, Masquerade, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, Track Down This Murderer & All I Ask Of You All from The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber
96.90
2nd Place Open Class Finalist
1989
Phantom of the Opera Angel of Music, Masquerade, Think of Me, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, All I Ask Of You, Track Down This Murderer & Music of the Night All from The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber
98.80
1st Place Open Class Champion
1990
Carmen Prelude and March, Intermezzo, March of the Toreadors, Changing of the Guard, Allegro Moderato, La Habanera & Gypsy Dance All from Carmen by Georges Bizet
Not the Nutcracker The Clock Breaks by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / War of the Nuts by Dave Carico / Romance and Seduction, Celebration & The Journey Concludes by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Age of Reverence Prayers of Kierkegaard (Prayer No. 4) by Samuel Barber / String Quartet No. 4, Mvt. 5 & Piano Concerto No. 1, Mvt. 3 by Béla Bartók / Agnus Dei (Adagio for Strings) by Samuel Barber / Stained Glass, Mvt. 1 & 3 by David Gillingham
94.70
4th Place Division I Finalist
2001
New Era Metropolis The Alarm by Dean Westman & Jim Casella / Short Ride in a Fast Machine by John Adams / Jug Blues and Fat Pickin' by Don Freund / Variants on a Medieval Tune by Norman Dello Joio / New Era Dance by Aaron Jay Kernis
Moto Perpetuo Chains of Reaction, Newton's Cradle, Echoes of Time & Speed of Sight All from Moto Perpetuo by Key Poulan
92.35
6th Place Division I Finalist
2007
! (Eureka) Introduction & War Dance (from Daphnis et Chloé) & String Quartet in F Major, Mvt. 2 by Maurice Ravel / Romanian Dance for Orchestra, Sz. 47a by Béla Bartók / St. Gregory the Great (from Church Windows) by Ottorino Respighi / Finale (from Daphnis et Chloé) by Maurice Ravel
Les Misérables Look Down, At the End of the Day, On My Own, Castle on a Cloud, One Day More, I Dreamed a Dream, Attack on the Rue Plumet, Red and Black, Bring Him Home & Do You Hear the People Sing? All from Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel & Herbert Kretzmer
Force of Nature Spring 1 (from Recomposed) by Max Richter / Without Warning by Stephen Melillo / Earth Song by Frank Ticheli / Winter 1 (from Recomposed) by Max Richter / After the Storm by Stephen Melillo
95.300
4th Place World Class Finalist
2017
Ouroboros Interplay for Piano Four Hands and Orchestra by David Gillingham / The Triumph of Time by Peter Graham / Song of Eight Unruly Tipsy Poets by Zhou Long / Into a Virtual World by Amin Bhatia / Remembering the Future (from Wait of the World) by Stephen Melillo
97.600
2nd Place World Class Finalist
2018
Babylon My Body Is a Cage by Arcade Fire, adapted by Peter Gabriel / Journey to the Center of the Earth & Metropolis 1927 by Peter Graham / Apology by Zacarías M. de la Riva / Club Sound by Billy Bennett & Long Phung (Gent and Jawns)
98.625
1st Place World Class Champion
2019
Vox Eversio Fraternity by Thierry Deleruyelle / Audivi Media Nocte by Oliver Waespi / Nothing Else Matters by James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich (Metallica) / Rise Up by Paul & Sandi Rennick
96.600
3rd Place World Class Finalist
2020
Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021
Wait For Me Original music by Galen Hooks (Santa Clara Vanguard did not perform live at DCI events in 2021)
No scored competitions
2022
Finding Nirvana String Quartet No. 1 (Metamorphoses Nocturnes) - Presto by György Ligeti / Breakfast in Baghdad by Ulf Wakenius / Mata Hari by Al Di Meola / Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana / Ambergris March by Björk / Territorial Pissings by Nirvana
^In 1999, Santa Clara Vanguard and the Blue Devils tied for 1st place.
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.[6]
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, the corps is a member of Drum Corps International (DCI) and is the feeder corps for the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps.[7]
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. 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.[8]
In September 2018, Vanguard Music & Performing Arts, BD Performing Arts, 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.[9][10]
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.[11] The Vanguard Cadets did not return to Drum Corps International for the 2024 season.
Light blue background indicates DCI Open Class Finalist[a]
Goldenrod background indicates DCI Open Class Champion[a]
Pale green background indicates DCI World Class Semifinalist
^ abIn 1991, the Vanguard Cadets competed as Class A, from 1992–2007 in Division II, and since 2008 in Open Class. These are the same tier, just renamed.
Selections from Far and Away Land Race, Oklahoma Territory, Blowing Off Steam, The Big Match & Race to the River All from Far and Away by John Williams
92.600
2nd Place Division II & III Finalist
69.300
25th Place Division I
1994
The Music of Michael Kamen Courante, Concerto for Saxophone, Estampie, Shining Through & Galliard All from The Three Musketeers by Michael Kamen
Selections from Evita Latin Chant, Buenos Aires, I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You, And The Money Kept Rolling In, Don't Cry For Me Argentina, Santa Evita & A New Argentina All from Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber
1998
Selections from the Broadway Musical Titanic The Boarding: Godspeed Titanic, Barrett's Song, The Proposal & Ship of Dreams All from Titanic by Maury Yeston
Journey From the Darkness The Dream of Oenghus by Rolf Rudin / Song of Moses by David Holsinger / Message of the Man; The Cave, The Struggle and Man From The Light & Escape...Into The Light! (from Escape From Plato's Cave) by Stephen Melillo
Through the Rainforest & The Anaconda (from Amazonian Rainforest) by Key Poulan / Message of The Man (from Escape From Plato's Cave) by Stephan Melillo / Sentenced to Death & The Descent into the Dark Unknown (from The Pit and the Pendulum) & Checkered Flag (from Need for Speed) by Key Poulan
In Pieces Feedback by Francisco Gabas, Francisco Lomeňa, Javier Martin, Marina Abad, Maxwell Wright, Nitin Sawhney, Ramón Giménez, Sergio Ramos & Xavier Turull (Ojos de Brujo) / Temen Oblak by Christopher Tin / Kaleidoscope by Fred Emory Smith / Harvest by John Mackey
80.725
1st Place Open Class Champion
81.975
16th Place World Class Semifinalist
2018
Off The Wall Bicycle Race by Freddie Mercury / Sounding Board by Fred Emory Smith & Ryan Adamsons / Fly to Paradise by Eric Whitacre / Rebound by Fred Emory Smith & Ryan Adamsons
Somewhere New Call to Adventure by Fred Smith & Ryan Adamsons / Overture from The Magic Flute by Mozart / Absurd Waltz (from Le Petit Prince) by Richard Harvey & Hans Zimmer / Johanna from Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim / The Escape (from Le Petit Prince) by Richard Harvey & Hans Zimmer
83.550
1st Place Open Class Champion
81.050
18th Place World Class Semifinalist
2023–24
Corps inactive
References
^Franklin, Aminah (August 1, 1992). "Top Drum Corps Opens Music Games: California's Santa Clara Vanguard Draws 500 Spectators To Practice". The Morning Call.
