#12-corps-of-christmas — Public Fediverse posts

In 1980, Dorrite himself produced the classic State Of The Art, utilizing the latest studio recording techniques to give us the best sounding drum corps album to date. In 1993, Drum Corps International convinced a number of corps to submit performances of various holiday charts for a Christmas CD like no other, Ornaments In Brass.
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https://medi-nerd.com/2023/12/27/12-corps-of-christmas-ornaments-in-brass/

Per Drum Corps Museum, the Kilties first performed Auld Lang Syne in 1960, appropriately as their closer. The corps would end their shows with Syne 18 times during their junior corps existence, which came to an end in 1982. When the corps returned to the field a decade later as an alumni corps, Auld Lang Syne did so as well.

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https://medi-nerd.com/2023/12/26/12-corps-of-christmas-racine-kilties-auld-lang-syne/

There was a time when some corps had a song which they would pull out of their hat to finish their shows with. For the 27th Lancers, it was Danny Boy. For the Santa Clara Vanguard, it was Fiddler on the Roof’s Bottle Dance. With the Racine Kilties, their show stopping closer was Auld Lang Syne, a song which the corps used over 30 times throughout it’s history as both a junior and all-age corps. With Syne’s ties to Scotland, it was fitting that the Kilties, who exuded Scot culture in a distinctly American activity, would end many of their shows with this song.

Auld Lang Syne comes from a Scottish ballad, “Old Long Syne”, printed in 1711 by James Watson, and later collected and submitted to the Scots Musical Museum by poet Robert Burns in 1788. In 1799, the poem was then set to a traditional tune which is now the standard melody we know (Auld Lang Syne. (2005). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 26, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne). I’m a little disappointed that nobody has added anything regarding the Kilities and their use of Auld Lang Syne throughout their history to the Wikipedia article I cited. Looks like I’ll have to sign up for an account and make some necessary edits.

Per Drum Corps Museum, the Kilties first performed Auld Lang Syne in 1960, appropriately as their closer. The corps would end their shows with Syne 18 times during their junior corps existence, which came to an end in 1982. When the corps returned to the field a decade later as an alumni corps, Auld Lang Syne did so as well. That alumni appearance in Madison served as a springboard to return the Kilties to the field as a competitive corps, this time in the all-age DCA world. Ironically, after another 11 shows closing with Auld Lang Syne, the Kilties would achieve their best DCA placement, 9th, in 2011, playing Syne as their opener, the only time the corps would perform the song anywhere in their show besides the finale.

The arrangement was almost always the same, starting slow and reverent, sometimes playing backfield. After building in volume at the end of the melody, a percussion break would allow the corps to form up for re-entry, as a soprano duet would play a traditional Scottish fanfare. The full corps would then push forward at full volume and tempo, reprising the melody. A quartet of soprano soloists would then outdo each other on the musical scale before a final thunderous chord finished the song and the show. With the field judges no longer marking ticks during this final portion of the show, it was all about entertainment and effect, and the Kilties made the most of it every time Auld Lang Syne rang out from their instruments.

https://medi-nerd.com/2023/12/26/12-corps-of-christmas-racine-kilties-auld-lang-syne/

#12CorpsOfChristmas #AuldLangSyne #drumCorps #Kilties #MarchingArts #Racine

The front ensemble led off with a brief quote of Christmas Time Is Here from A Charlie Brown Christmas before the horns began playing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. This was another true Bluecoats ballad in a long tradition of them, complete with a gorgeous soprano solo in the middle of the song, leading into the final impact of the show.

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https://medi-nerd.com/2023/12/25/12-corps-of-christmas-1996-bluecoats-have-yourself-a-merry-little-christmas-auld-lang-syne/

12 Corps Of Christmas – 1996 Bluecoats (Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas/Auld Lang Syne)

https://medi-nerd.com/2023/12/25/12-corps-of-christmas-1996-bluecoats-have-yourself-a-merry-little-christmas-auld-lang-syne/

The show runs the gamut of emotions from the wonder of What’s This to the mischief of Kidnap the Sandy Claws, as well as the spooky anticipation of Making Christmas and the sadness of Sally’s Lament. The closer brought it all home in reprise format and the big finish which drum corps excels at.

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https://medi-nerd.com/2023/12/24/12-corps-of-christmas-1994-bushwackers/

The show itself is amusing and entertaining, as are the various characteristics I mentioned earlier. What we’re given by the Vanguard with Not the Nutcracker is a gift that is unlike everything else under the tree, one which we may not appreciate at first but learn to love over time, eventually finding ourselves revisiting the show over the years and finding something new to enjoy each time. Those are the best gifts to get.

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https://medi-nerd.com/2023/12/21/12-corps-of-christmas-1995-santa-clara-vanguard/

The Guardsmen approached Greensleeves with great reverence, starting the song quietly, usually facing backfield or to the side, building the intensity of the music throughout the entire chart until they reached their full powerful volume. The corps also performed Greensleeves at a stately slow tempo, taking their time to ensure that build of power achieved its full impact at the end.
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https://medi-nerd.com/2022/12/28/12-corps-of-christmas-1978-1982-guardsmen/

It turns out that the 2012 Cadets show has become a yearly Christmas tradition for a lot of us, mainly because the corps approached the theme with the same level of reverence that they did with their 2011 show. Opening with Carol Of The Bells, the corps goes full Cadet mode with a fast paced Jeff Sacktig drill which would make Santa’s reindeer tired.

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https://medi-nerd.com/2022/12/26/12-corps-of-christmas-2012-cadets/

If you ask fans of Carolina Crown when the corps’ rise to become one of the perennial competitors for the DCI World Championship, a good number of them would point to the 2003 season. After dropping out of finals the season before, Crown made a number of changes, not the least of which was the addition of Matt Harloff as brass caption head, a position he still holds as of this article.

#DrumCorps #MarchingArts #12CorpsOfChristmas

https://medi-nerd.com/2022/12/23/12-days-of-drum-corps-2003-carolina-crown/

1986 was a tough year for the Phantom Regiment. After a string of successful seasons, including multiple title contention years, the corps found itself in 10th place with an “old school” show that, while popular with fans, didn’t speak to the judges. It was time for a refresh, a way for the Regiment to retain their identity while bringing something new to the table. Songs For The Winter Palace did exactly that.

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https://medi-nerd.com/2022/12/18/12-days-of-drum-corps-1987-phantom-regiment/

For today’s selection, we go back to when I marched. In 1993, both the Glassmen and the Colts made DCI Finals for the first time. We both tied for 11th at semifinals, in fact. The Colts were the more impressive entry, placing 20th the year before. We were 13th in 1992. Missed Finals by a tenth of a point. I’m not bitter.
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https://medi-nerd.com/2022/12/16/12-days-of-drum-corps-1993-colts/

In 1991, the Cavaliers answered a very important question: Can a drum corps performing a show comprised mainly of Christmas music be taken seriously and contend for a title?

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https://medi-nerd.com/2022/12/15/12-days-of-drum-corps-1991-cavaliers/

12 Corps Of Christmas – 1978-1982 Guardsmen
I'll admit, this entry onto my list is a stretch since the Guardsmen are playing "Greensleeves", but considering it is the same melody as "What Child Is This?", I decided to
https://medi-nerd.com/2022/12/28/12-corps-of-christmas-1978-1982-guardsmen/
#12CorpsOfChristmas #12CorpsOfChristmas #12CorpsOfChristmas-1978-1982Guardsmen #1978 #1979 #1980 #1981 #1982 #DCI #drumcorps #DrumCorpsInternational #Guardsmen #Illinois #MarchingArts #Schaumburg

12 Corps Of Christmas – 2012 Cadets
I was going to save this one for last. I mean, you can't get more Christmas-y than doing a show completely composed of Christmas music with the name "12.25", right? My plans changed when the Cadets dropped the entire 2012 show on their YouTube channel ON CHRISTM
https://medi-nerd.com/2022/12/26/12-corps-of-christmas-2012-cadets/
#12DaysOfDrumCorps #12CorpsOfChristmas #12CorpsOfChristmas-2012Cadets #2012 #Cadets #DCI #drumcorps #DrumCorpsInternational

12 Corps Of Christmas – 2012 Cadets

https://medi-nerd.com/2022/12/26/12-corps-of-christmas-2012-cadets/

If you ask fans of Carolina Crown when the corps’ rise to become one of the perennial competitors for the DCI World Championship, a good number of them would point to the 2003 season. After dropping out of finals the season before, Crown made a number of changes, not the least of which was the addition of Matt Harloff as brass caption head, a position he still holds as of this article. Crown’s horn lines are legendary for their power and dexterity, but it took time to build to that level, and 2003 was step #1.

The theme of the 2003 show was “Bellissimo”. Much of the music in the show was inspired by religion, such as Debussy’s Engulfed Cathedral, or by how the selection used bells, such as when the guard used rifles with bells as part of the handle, ringing with each catch or slap of the rifle in the guard member’s hand. The guard uniforms, a mixture of gold, silver, and bronze, panels, provided a visual complement to the metallic sounds used throughout the show. The closer, though, is why I’ve added this show to my list, the classic Carol Of The Bells.

Crown’s rendition of the Ukrainian Bell Carol was a show within itself, starting, fittingly enough, with the front ensemble and many bell sounds during the intro before the brass came in. This was the first time Carol Of The Bells was used as a full musical selection, and Crown used it to full effect, building the intensity throughout the song until the mellophones, in a diamond block front and center on the 50, played the melody at full volume while expanding the block and marching in a high stepping half time, all while the rest of the horns, in three similar formations behind them, rotated at full speed before all four diamonds expanded and joined together to form a full horn diamond before finishing out the song and the performance, a brief touch of winter and Christmas during an otherwise hot and humid August Orlando night.

https://medi-nerd.com/2022/12/23/12-days-of-drum-corps-2003-carolina-crown/

#1 #12CorpsOfChristmas #12CorpsOfChristmas2003CarolinaCrown #2003 #CarolinaCrown #DCI #drumCorps #DrumCorpsInternational #MarchingArts