Vince Macciocchi Passes
World Drum Corps Hall of Fame member Vince Macciocchi, who served as music director and brass instructor for many of Ontario’s top drum bugle corps for more than three decades, passed away peacefully at home on Christmas Day at age 88. He had been a Hall of Fame member since 2003.
Visitation took place at the Steckley-Gooderham Funeral Home, 30 Worsley St., Barrie, Ontario on Friday, December 29 with a funeral mass at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, 28 Amelia St., Barrie on Saturday, December 30. In lieu of flowers, his family asked that donations be directed to Gilda’s Club of Simcoe Muskoka.
His lengthy involvement in marching music activities began when he performed with St. Mary’s, of Toronto, from 1939 to 1944, then served as director and music instructor of the band until 1962. During this time he obtained two music degrees: one from the Ontario Conservatory of Music and one from De La Salle Senior College in Toronto. He founded and was director of two of Canada’s best-known senior corps, the Jolly Jesters of Toronto and the Canadian Commanders, formed when the Jesters and Hamilton Viscounts amalgamated in the early 1960s.
He was also horn instructor for several of Canada’s top corps from 1950 to 1975, including De La Salle of Toronto, Preston Scout House and Guelph Royalaires. He served as brass caption judge for Drum Corps International (DCI) and Drum Corps Associates (DCA), and was chief brass judge for the Canadian Judges Association from 1962 to 1990.
He and his wife Eleanor had been married for almost 66 years. He is survived by four children,10 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. He had retired from a long career with Canadian National Railway (Toronto Terminals) and participated on the board of directors in many organizations where he remained active, including the Franklin Fishing Club, and the Sand Pebble Resort and Isla del Sol clubs in Florida.
The World Drum Corps Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization honoring those individuals who have contributed significantly over many years to the development and continuing excellence of drum and bugle corps activity. The organization also seeks to preserve the history of the drum and bugle corps movement in North America by selecting a noteworthy junior and all age (senior) corps of each decade since the 1940s.
