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The Troopers, the American Legion, and a Rebuttal


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So, there was this post in the San Antonio regional thread. It stuck in my craw, and I’ve been chipping away at a response since then. Maybe the postseason is a better time to bring it up anyway.

It’s a familiar critique: Troopers programs are old and hokey. They’re not in step with modern drum corps.

The argument is facile and, as I will argue below, wrong. It needs to be challenged. It’s a slander that has lived too long, to the detriment of Troopers’ recruiting profile among potential DCI members. This is a corps that, like all other world-class corps, is fully committed to the modern expression of its heritage. And this is my small, independent, part in that effort. I want to see Troopers advance, and one obstacle to that advancement is the cool-kids critique, delivered above with the subtlety of a shiv, that Troop is your grandfather’s drum corps.

Style preference is something different, and not my concern here. I’m drawn to certain flavors of drum corps more than I am drawn to, say, the Blue Knights flavor, but I’m not going to claim BK is stuck in 1977.

Here are some facts:

Collectively, world-Class corps built their 2014 programs on a total of 113 “movements,” or distinct music selections, according to the “2014 Programs” list on DCP. A small number of those 113, such as the use of “Appalachian Spring” by both Cadets and Jersey Surf, are duplicates, so the total number of unduplicated compositions performed in 2014 is slightly fewer. For my purposes, I consider all 113 instances of the compositions.

Of those 113 instances, 18 of them, or 16 percent, represent compositions that are older than the oldest composition in the Troopers’ 2014 program. If you watched every world-class corps at prelims, one out of every six musical selections you heard was older than the oldest composition that the Troopers put on the field.

The Troopers’ 2014 program was built on six compositions. Four of them are more recent than a third of the compositions performed by world-class corps in 2014. Two movements of the Troopers’ 2014 show were composed (or released) since 2012. Only Blue Stars could say the same. Not even Crown or Bluecoats had as many compositions in their 2014 repertoire that were as young.

One world class corps -- Phantom Regiment -- built the theme of an entire show around music that originally was composed in the same year as the oldest composition used in the Troopers’ 2014 show. The Vanguard’s entire show was drawn from music older than five of the six compositions in the Troopers’ production.

Cavaliers and Crossmen each played two pieces that are older than the oldest composition in the Troopers’ show. Spirit also played two. Academy played four.

Below is a list of each composition in the 2014 shows of the world-class corps, as taken from DCP. Also listed is the composition date, or in some cases the release date, of each composition -- or of the founding composition of a more contemporary work. I assigned a date of 1814 (200 years) to compositions listed as “traditional.” For original compositions performed in 2014, I assigned the year 2013. How accurate are the dates in this list? They are web-search accurate, probably within a couple percentage points for the oldest or most obscure compositions. There may be quibbles around the edges; I believe the framework stands.

With those stipulations made, the average age of the six compositions in the Troopers’ 2014 show is 61 years. The overall average among world-class corps in 2014 was 70 years. For 8 world-class corps, the average age of the compositions in their 2014 shows was older -- in some cases, decades older -- than the Troopers’ average. Thirteen corps had shows with younger averages.

Corps / Composition / Year / Age
Pioneer / "A Mighty Fortress" - by GLAD / 1527 / 487
Pioneer / "We Gather Together"- by GLAD / 1597 / 417
Cavaliers / When I am Laid in Earth by Purcell, Henry / 1689 / 325
Academy / Rondeau by Mourett, J J / 1729 / 285
Pioneer / "Saints Hallelujah" - by Canadian Brass / 1741 / 273
Academy / Mvt 2 from Symphony No 7 by Beethoven, Ludwig / 1811 / 203
Cascades / Dies Irae by Traditional (trad) / 1814 / 200
Cascades / Simple Gifts by Traditional (trad) / 1848 / 200
Crossmen / Erghen Diado by Bulgarian Women's Chorus (trad) / 1814 / 200
Pioneer / "Garry Owen March" - traditional (trad) / 1814 / 200
Spririt of Atlanta / Down to the River to Pray by Traditional (trad) / 1814 / 200
Academy / Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 by Lizst, Franz / 1847 / 167
Pacific Crest / Orpheus In The Underworld: Overture by Offenbach, Jacques / 1858 / 156
Spririt of Atlanta / I Need Thee Every Hour by Hawks, Annie / 1872 / 142
Cavaliers / Danse Macabre by Saint-Saens, Camille / 1874 / 140
Crossmen / Habanera from Carmen by Bizet, George / 1875 / 139
Academy / Dance of the Hours by Ponchielle, Amilcare / 1876 / 138
Phantom Regiment / Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky / 1876 / 138
Troopers / Shenandoah by Skinner, Frank / 1876 / 138
SCV / Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai / 1888 / 126
Cascades / Firebird by Stravinsky, Igor / 1910 / 104
Troopers / America The Beautiful by Ward, Samuel A. / 1910 / 104
Pioneer / "Irish Tune From a County Derry" - by Percy Grainger / 1911 / 103
Phantom Regiment / La Peri by Dukas, Paul / 1912 / 102
Cascades / Rite of Spring by Stravinsky, Igor / 1913 / 101
Cascades / Carol of the Bells by Leontovych, Mykola; Wilhousky, Peter J. / 1924 / 90
Cadets / Music for the Theater by Copland, Aaron / 1925 / 89
Spririt of Atlanta / Willow Weep for Me by Ronell, Ann / 1932 / 82
Boston Crusaders / Symphony No 4 in D Minor by Knipper, Levi / 1934 / 80
Cascades / Summertime from Porgy & Bess by Gershwin, George / 1935 / 79
Spririt of Atlanta / Promised Land from Porgy and Bess by Gershwin, George / 1935 / 79
Crossmen / Caravan by Tizol, Juan / 1936 / 78
Academy / Crown Imperial March by Walton, William / 1937 / 77
Colts / Powerhouse by Scott, Raymond / 1937 / 77
Academy / Waltz No 2 from Jazz Suite No. 2 by Shostakovich, Dmitri / 1938 / 76
Boston Crusaders / The Battle on the Ice from Alexander Nevsky by Prokofiev, Sergei / 1938 / 76
Boston Crusaders / Concert for Violin and Orchestra by Barber, Samuel / 1940 / 74
Oregon Crusaders / Huapango by Moncayo, Jose Pablo / 1941 / 73
Cadets / Lincoln Portrait by Copland, Aaron / 1942 / 72
Troopers / Lincoln / 1942 / 72
Cadets / Appalachian Spring by Copland, Aaron / 1944 / 70
Cadets / Symphony No. 3 by Copland, Aaron / 1944 / 70
Jersey Surf / Appalachian Spring by Copland, Aaron / 1944 / 70
Boston Crusaders / Movement 4 from Concert Romanesq by Ligeti, Gyorgy / 1951 / 63
Cadets / The Promise of Living (from Tender Land) by Copland, Aaron / 1954 / 60
Scouts / Concerto to End All Concertos by Kenton, Stan / 1956 / 58
Boston Crusaders / Movement 2 from Symphony No 11 by Shostakovich, Dmitri / 1957 / 57
Cascades / Turn, Turn, Turn by Seeger, Pete / 1959 / 55
Oregon Crusaders / Nocturne (Homage to John Field), Op 33 by Barber, Samuel / 1959 / 55
Cavaliers / Chamber Symphony Op. 110 by Shostakovich, Dmitri / 1960 / 54
Boston Crusaders / Polyuska Polye (O Field, My Field) by Knipper, Levi / 1962 / 52
Scouts / Fanfare for the New by Montenegro, Hugo / 1964 / 50
Blue Stars / Homeward Bound by Simon, Paul / 1965 / 49
Troopers / The Ramparts by Williams, Clifton / 1965 / 49
Blue Devils / La Strada Theme by Rota, Nino / 1954 / 48
Scouts / Passacaglia and Fugue by Ferguson, Allyn / 1966 / 48
Academy / What a Wonderful World by Weiss, George; Thiele, Bob / 1967 / 47
Academy / What a Wonderful World by Weiss, George; Thiele, Bob / 1967 / 47
Jersey Surf / I Think It's Gonna Rain Today by Newman, Randy / 1968 / 46
Scouts / Star Children by Ellis, Don / 1968 / 46
Scouts / Bulgarian Bulge by Ellis, Don / 1969 / 45
Carolina Crown / Space Oddity - by David Bowie / 1969 / 45
Scouts / Final Analysis by Ellis, Don / 1970 / 44
Blue Devils / The Clowns by Rota, Nino / 1971 / 43
Crossmen / Emmanuel by Colombier, Michael / 1971 / 43
Jersey Surf / Lean on Me by Withers, Bill / 1972 / 42
Blue Devils / Be Italian from Nine by Yeston, Maury / 1973 / 41
Colts / Breath from Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd / 1973 / 41
Colts / On the Run from Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd / 1973 / 41
Colts / Time from Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd / 1973 / 41
Colts / Great Gig in the Sky from Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd / 1973 / 41
Colts / Brain Damage from Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd / 1973 / 41
Colts / Eclipse from Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd / 1973 / 41
Scouts / Open Wide by Ellis, Don / 1977 / 37
Scouts / Niner Two by Ellis, Don / 1977 / 37
Blue Stars / The Chairman Dances by Adams, John / 1985 / 29
Carolina Crown / Insterstellar Suite - by Amin Bhatia / 1987 / 27
Crossmen / Bulgaria by Erskine, Peter / 1993 / 21
Academy / Paris Sketches by Ellerby, Martin / 1994 / 20
Phantom Regiment / Dracula by Feeney, Philip on The Dracula Ballet soundtrack / 1996 / 18
Colts / Everything in its Right Place by Yorke, Thom / 1999 / 15
Carolina Crown / Shadow Behind The Iron Sun - by Evelyn Glennie / 1999 / 15
Blue Knights / A Kaleidoscope of Mathematics by Horner, James / 2001 / 13
Blue Knights / Hand of Fate - Part 1 from Signs by Newton Howard, James / 2002 / 12
Crossmen / Zambra by Ojos de Brujo / 2004 / 10
Pacific Crest / Shadowplay - from Ka' (Cirque du Soleil) / 2005 / 9
Phantom Regiment / King Kong by Howard, James Newton / 2005 / 9
Phantom Regiment / Flightplan by Horner, James / 2005 / 9
Cavaliers / A Walk On The Water by Melillo, Stephen / 2006 / 8
Blue Knights / To Build A Home by Watson, Patrick; France, Phil; Swinscoe, Jason / 2007 / 7
Blue Stars / To Build A Home by Watson, Patrick; France, Phil; Swinscoe, Jason / 2007 / 7
Carolina Crown / There's No Place Like Home - by Michael Giacchino / 2007 / 7
Carolina Crown / Vitae Aeternum - by Paul Lovatt-Cooper / 2007 / 7
Bluecoats / to wALK Or ruN in wEst harlem by Akiho, Andy / 2008 / 6
Pacific Crest / Firefly by George, Ryan / 2008 / 6
Bluecoats / Uffe's Woodshop by Braxton, Tyondai / 2009 / 5
Bluecoats / Platinum Rows by Braxton, Tyondai / 2009 / 5
Blue Knights / Brief Eternity by Rosler, Don; Treece, Roger / 2010 / 4
Oregon Crusaders / Mind Heist - from Inception Soundtrack by Zimmer, Hans / 2010 / 4
Blue Devils / Old Toys from Iris by Elfman, Danny / 2011 / 3
Blue Devils / Movie Studio from Iris by Elfman, Danny / 2011 / 3
Oregon Crusaders / The Alabados Song by Bissell, Paul / 2011 / 3
Blue Stars / Home by Pearson, Drew and Holden , Greg / 2012 / 2
Bluecoats / The Hymn of Axciom by Teng, Vienna / 2012 / 2
Oregon Crusaders / The Hymn of Axciom by Teng, Vienna / 2012 / 2
Troopers / A people's house / 2012 / 2
Blue Devils / Circo Compagnia by Goodwin, Gordon / 2013 / 1
Blue Stars / Original Music by Saucedo, Richard / 2013 / 1
Boston Crusaders / Original Music by George, Ryan / 2013 / 1
Mandarins / Original music / 2013 / 1
Pacific Crest / Original Music - Tango by Meehan, John / 2013 / 1
Troopers / Original Music by Paul & Sandi Rennick / 2013 / 1
Carolina Crown / Perihelion: Closer To The Sun - by Phillip Sparke / 2013 / 1 /

Going back to the 2013 season, Blue Devils built their entire show off a composition that was marking its 100th birthday -- a composition that is essentially the same vintage as a single selection in Troopers’ 2014 show.

(By the way, what were the Troopers actually playing in the 1970s? “Day by Day.” “Introduction and Fantasia” (c. 1970). John Denver’s “Looking for Space. “Land of Make Believe.” “Aquarius.” Even “Tubular Bells.” And, yes, a lot of American-western music.)

Looking at the table, maybe you get the impression that the age of the Troopers’ source music doesn’t really stand out, one way or the other. Maybe it looks pretty typical to you.

And that would be the point. From an age standpoint, the Troopers draw their source material from the same well as the rest of DCI.

Yet this inaccurate characterization of the Troopers playing to the dinosaur crowd persists. Why?

Why does Robert Smith’s 2013-14 arrangement of “Lincoln Portrait” earn a remark about belonging in the 1970s, while Don Hill’s 2013-14 arrangement of “Swan Lake” -- a composition that is 66 years older than “Lincoln” -- gets a pass? If it is possible to make “Sherherezade” (c. 1888) relevant to the modern ear, is it not also possible to do likewise for “Shenandoah” (c. 1876)?

Is anyone arguing that Robert Smith is unskilled at creating modern drum-corps arrangements? Is anyone arguing that Paul and Sandi Rennick don’t know how to write for the DCI drum line of 2014? Is anyone arguing that Noah Bellamy and his visual staff haven’t seen a drum-corps show since 1977?

No? Then why this persistent critique that the Troopers are a relic? Cadets can play “Lincoln” and earn a medal, but Troop draws from the same material and gets a bus ticket to the nearest American Legion contest. For that matter, the Cadets’ uniform has its roots in a far older era than does the Troopers’ uniform. Yet Troop is the corps that is popularly dismissed as musty. I don’t get it.

I’ve said before that it’s not the music, it’s what you do with the music. If I’m right about that, and if the facts don’t back up the claim that Troopers play only old stuff, what is it about what the Troopers are doing with their music that feeds this impression?

Edited by 2muchcoffeeman
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The Troopers were a big hit with Drum Corps fans this season from coast to coast... and I didn't see just the grandmothers and grandfathers in these 2014 audiences cheering them on enthusiastically. The Troopers programs work well for most audiences it seems to me, but they don't have the talent to make into into the top 10. But we can say this just as well for 27 other Corps that competed in the Quarterfinals this season as well, some of whom had shows that were as " modern " as it gets. These Corps are mostly stuck in no man's land as they can't keep their best talent from bolting to the top tier Corps, nor can they attract the staff talent neccessary to move them up from where they are stuck year in and year out. So... if you are at least winning over the audiences, thats nothing to sneeze at, imo

Edited by BRASSO
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Honestly I think they put forward some great shows! Whoever says they are old and hokey hasn't seen a Troopers show. They blend classic/traditional themes and style with the modern drum corps style in a very nice way.

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Honestly I think they put forward some great shows! Whoever says they are old and hokey hasn't seen a Troopers show. They blend classic/traditional themes and style with the modern drum corps style in a very nice way.

For contrast, I thought( and I know many others did as well ) that the Troopers 2014 show was far less " hokey " than at least one top tier placing DCI Corps this season. The notion that " hokiness " and " cheesiness " can't place high with the current DCI judging community is not something that I concur with. " Hokiness " can score very highly in modern day DCI if it has marcher talent behind it, and is executed well, imo.

Edited by BRASSO
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Outstanding post. I've long felt that someone should do a list of repertoires by date of composition. I'm glad you've done so for 2014.

One nit: La Strada dates to 1954, not 1966.

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I'm not sure what or how important this is, but I think the Average age of the composition might be at least as important. Best would probably looking at the amount of time each composition was played as well, but that is beyond me.

Corps AVE

Bluecoats 4.5

Blue Stars 13.8

Carolina Crown 17

Oregon Crusaders 23

Blue Devils 23.2

Colts 42.3

Pacific Crest 43

Scouts 45.6

Jersey Surf 52.7

Phantom Regiment 55.2

Boston Crusaders 57.6

Troopers 61

Cadets 72.2

Crossmen 81.8

Academy 117.8

Cascades 118.4

Spririt of Atlanta 125.8

SCV 126

Cavaliers 131.8

Pioneer 296

Not sure what this means, but I typically like what SCV does. Maybe it means I'm older than most of you.

Edited by Pamaho
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the Average age of the composition might be at least as important. Best would probably looking at the amount of time each composition was played as well, but that is beyond me.

Right, and I addressed that in my first post. I did the same calculation you did, averaging the age of the compositions in each corps' 2014 show (pivot tables FTW). Troop's average was younger than the average for world class; 8 corps had higher/older averages; 13 had lower/younger averages.

I suppose I could put a stopwatch to each show, but even I couldn't consume enough coffee to get me through that exercise.

Edited by 2muchcoffeeman
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The age of the individual compositions has nothing to do with it. It is their frequency with which they appeared at certain times in DCI history that gives them the stigma of "dated."

Compare and contrast (Junior corps statistics only, minus U.S. Military corps)...

-- Shenandoah http://www.corpsreps.com/corpsreps.cfm?view=SongSrch&Song=Shenandoah%20

Corpsreps entries, pre-1984: 29

Corpsreps entries, 1984-present: 6

-- America the Beautiful http://www.corpsreps.com/corpsreps.cfm?view=SongSrch&Song=America%20The%20Beautiful

Corpsreps entries, pre-1984: 33

Corpsreps entries, 1984-present: 15

Against...

-- Swan Lake http://www.corpsreps.com/corpsreps.cfm?view=SongSrch&Song=Swan%20Lake

Corpsreps entries, pre-1984: 10

Corpsreps entries, 1984-present: 6

-- Scheherazade http://www.corpsreps.com/corpsreps.cfm?view=SongSrch&Song=Scheherazade

Corpsreps entries, pre-1984: 7

Corpsreps entries, 1984-present: 4

For a long time, competitive drum corps was very attached to historical, patriotic, and "folksy" music (or jazz). Many, many corps performed these songs year after year. It wasn't really until the late 70s/early 80s that corps started truly exploring other venues, and getting really adventurous in trying to create "high-brow" shows and using music that not everyone knew about. Could "Shenandoah" or "America the Beautiful" be used effectively in a modern DCI show? Sure, but it would be REALLY tricky because, like it or not, those two pieces (and many others) carry with them the weight of drum corps history.

Robert Smith is well aware of that history. My personal opinion, the show didn't work because the arrangers couldn't choose between "NOW" and "THEN" when designing the show. Most of the show is written in the "NOW," but when they needed a big impact (too often) they yielded to cloying sentimentality and brought forth the ghosts of "THEN" to tug at the audiences heart strings. For those very fond of THEN, the show works. Me, I felt the two styles clashed and were not blended together effectively.

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It is their frequency with which they appeared at certain times in DCI history that gives them the stigma of "dated."

An interesting answer, one to ponder, thanks.

Although . . . none of the kids making audition decisions today was even born in 1984. I would venture a guess that 98 percent know nothing about the frequency that ATB was played in the decades preceding Reagan's second term. Even among the 2 percent who do, during their own lifetimes those particular compositions have been played at a pace equal to that of, say, "Swan Lake." So, if they've both been played about the same number of times in the past 30 years, where would a young person get the idea that ATB is more dated than SL?

Edited by 2muchcoffeeman
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