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On the Threshold of Liberty


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There's no record in the DCI program books or on the CDs, nor is this listed on corpsreps.com, but in one of the years we went to Madison for DCI Finals prior to the last couple of times we went there, Troopers performed a piece titled "On the Threshold of Liberty" by Mark Isham. Here's a recording of the work. The section Troopers used started at the 2:45 mark.

[Edit: Turns out it wasn't in Madison, as someone pointed out below.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X9axuH2iRo

Perhaps this was added mid-season?

One of the memorable things I remember about the piece was the lone snare drummer on a rope drum, and the rest of the snare drummers (who weren't playing) marched up to just behind or to the side of him and saluted him.

Does anyone know the story of this? Do you remember this melody on the field? If so, where in the show was it?

Those who have been around WGI for a few years may remember Northwest Passage Movement Choir (formerly the Argonauts) making Finals with this in 1986. (The show was a Stanley Knaub creation.) Here's a video of that performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0jq34IFLxI

I was already familiar with the piece when Troopers did it because I had seen Northwest Passage do it in Dayton.

Edited by Michael Boo
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"On the Threshold of Liberty" was composed in 1983. The post-1983 Madison years were : 2002, 1999, 1992, 1986, 1985. (2006 was another Madison year, but Troop was inactive that year).

If I had to guess the year Troopers played it, I'd say it was 2002:

2002: Javelin / American Elegy / Into the Storm
1999: Billy the Kid (Copland)
1992: Flag of Stars / Cool Water / Unsquare Dance / The Ecstasy of Gold / Ghost Riders in the Sky

. . . and I know it wasn't part of the 1985 or 1986 Troopers productions

Of note: This melody gets a more drum-corps-ready treatment on "The Auction," one of the cuts on Windham Hill's soundtrack to the 1984 movie "Country," by Charles Gross. Mark Isham is listed as a contributor to the soundtrack. Here's the link.

AllMusic lists Gross as "arranger, composer, producer," and Isham as flugelhorn, piano, synthesizer, and trumpet.

I don't find any reference to "The Auction" in the Troopers' corpsreps archive during the post-1984 Madison years. So, perhaps they were playing "Threshold," and perhaps they were playing "Auction." The two are very closely related, to my ear.

And, boy howdy, would I love to hear either "On the Threshold of Liberty" or "The Auction" on the field with today's Troopers horn line.
Edited by 2muchcoffeeman
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1990 Troopers in Buffalo

Thanks. Where was it in the show? corpsreps.com lists only the following selections:

Music for the Centennial of the State of Wyoming - How the West Was Won * Silverado * Pops Hoedown* Shenandoah * America
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1990 Troopers in Buffalo

I really wish the DCI FanNetwork would spend some more time on the show archives and give us the shows that did not make finals. Would it be so hard to just work on a few years at a time in the off-season when things are not busy?

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Thanks. Where was it in the show? corpsreps.com lists only the following selections:

Music for the Centennial of the State of Wyoming - How the West Was Won * Silverado * Pops Hoedown* Shenandoah * America

It's used to open the America section I believe, towards the end of the show. I remember hearing it and thinking what a cool arrangement of America it was, not realizing it was from the piece you are talking about.
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I really wish the DCI FanNetwork would spend some more time on the show archives and give us the shows that did not make finals. Would it be so hard to just work on a few years at a time in the off-season when things are not busy?

I think it's a licensing issue for DCI. Paying for all of the sync rights for video, and audio rights to post all of those older 13-25 shows may be too much of an undertaking financially...just my opinion though. I may be way off...

Edited by leed17
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Thanks. Where was it in the show? corpsreps.com lists only the following selections:

Music for the Centennial of the State of Wyoming - How the West Was Won * Silverado * Pops Hoedown* Shenandoah * America

It's used to open the America section I believe, towards the end of the show. I remember hearing it and thinking what a cool arrangement of America it was, not realizing it was from the piece you are talking about.

That was a really great show musically. I'd love to find a recording of it worth hearing someday

Edited by KVG_DC
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...So, perhaps they were playing "Threshold," and perhaps they were playing "Auction." The two are very closely related, to my ear...

I just listened to the link, and thank you for that. What Troopers played was definitely "On the Threshold of Liberty."

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