allie Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Hi! I am currently taking a Women in Music class at my college, and for my final capstone project, I have chosen to talk about how drum corps started out as mainly a male activity, and women weren't involved too much. I'm fairly new to the activity (going on my third season), so I thought I would ask if anyone knows anything about this topic that could help me? This could be along the lines of first female drum majors, drummers, when women started really becoming involved with the activity, etc... If anyone has anything to say about this, it would be a great help :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ContraRich77 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I don't know much about overall female history in corps, but Santa Clara Vanguard started allowing females in the hornline in 84 (or was it 83?) and Cathy Clark was the first and ONLY so far female drum major of the Concord Blue Devils in 1991. There used to be, back in the olden times, scores of ALL female corps........that would be a good place to start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camel lips Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Know anything about women in music...drum corps wise? Yes.There are women in drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornsUp Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Research the Hormel Girls Caravan for a fascinating piece of drum corps history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Drum Corps Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 The Irondequoit Statesmen had a female drum major named Lois Weibold in the late fifties early sixties. Donny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ellis Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Hi! I am currently taking a Women in Music class at my college, and for my final capstone project, I have chosen to talk about how drum corps started out as mainly a male activity, and women weren't involved too much. I'm fairly new to the activity (going on my third season), so I thought I would ask if anyone knows anything about this topic that could help me? This could be along the lines of first female drum majors, drummers, when women started really becoming involved with the activity, etc...If anyone has anything to say about this, it would be a great help :) Hi Abigail. First, let me say that this is a great idea for a project. Junior corps, with the exception of all male units like the Chicago Cavaliers and the Madison Scouts, were traditionally mixed, with women in the color guard and men in the horn and drum sections. Senior corps, up until the 1960's, were all male. The Long Island Sunrisers were among the first, if not the first, major senior corps to include women, beginning around 1968 in their color guard. I'm sure someone will jump in with the exact information. They in fact created a controversy as to whether or not it was legal under American Legion rules for women to participate in competition. I played with the Hamburg Kingsmen senior corps from Hamburg NY from 1972 through 1976 in the DCA and RCA circuits. The 1971 season was the last season as an all-male corps for the Kingsmen. In 1972, we included five women in the color guard, all wielding sabers. In 1973, the horn line and drum line were opened to women. My first wife, Virginia Ellis, was the first woman horn player in the corps and she was followed shortly by a baritone player (nickname "Binky" - can't recall her name). The drum line in short order had several women - Rose (cymbals), Barbie (bells), and a tenor player whose name I don't recall were among the very first. Over the course of the next several years, the seniors corps allowed women into their ranks one by one. I believe the Hawthorne Caballeros were among the last of the all-male corps. Again, I'm trusting my memory - someone will hopefully jump in with additional facts. I would suggest that you put your article in the broader context of the Women's movement of the 1960's. Organizations such as NOW were pushing on all fronts for equal rights for women in all aspects of our culture. In the 1960's there were a number of all-girl junior corps that competed among themselves. In fact, DCI held an All-Girl championship for a number of years after the circuit was formed in 1972. There was at least one all-female senior corps at that time (1960's), the Keynotes from Erie PA. Finally, I did some research on the RCA circuit a while ago for an article for Drum Corps World, and found that it was difficult getting information that was entirely factual and documented. Many people would write and say things like "I think", "If I remember correctly", "Maybe it was...", and so on. Be careful to verify facts for your article. Best wishes, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 (edited) Research the Hormel Girls Caravan for a fascinating piece of drum corps history. You might want to ask around your corps mates to see if any one has copies of "History of Drum Corps" Volunes 1 & 2. Volume 1 has a lot of All-Girl Jr scores and Volume 2 has histories of Hormel and other All-Girl corps like Bon Bons (Audobon, NJ). Can't remember who else might be in. On the Sr side Cabs and Skyliners stopped being all male in the 80s and think they were the last all male Sr corps. Westshoremen (my old corps) opened up in 1974 and had a female DM around 76-78. No idea about the Sunrisers, but most of the Sr corps I know of opened up the ranks to females because they needed more members. Thought that hit while typing: Drum Corps big start was when WWI vets came home and started local American Legion Posts. For years members of the corps had to be veterans to compete in AL and VFW contests. Guess that's why corps started out all male and stayed that way for quite a while. Edit: Just noticed what you play in Crusaders. Also noticed no one mentioned that some corps had all female guard with their all male or mixed horn/drum lines. Edited April 2, 2009 by JimF-3rdBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlseeley Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Sandra Opie, Bonnie Ott and Barb Maroney are three that I can think of that were not only ground breakers in the activity but also set new standards for all in the activity. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allie Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 Thank you so much for all your help! This will really help me in starting to research Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKatzmellophone Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Hi! I am currently taking a Women in Music class at my college, and for my final capstone project, I have chosen to talk about how drum corps started out as mainly a male activity, and women weren't involved too much. I'm fairly new to the activity (going on my third season), so I thought I would ask if anyone knows anything about this topic that could help me? This could be along the lines of first female drum majors, drummers, when women started really becoming involved with the activity, etc...If anyone has anything to say about this, it would be a great help :) As some have already stated, in the Jr ranks, several corps had women. Mostly in the color guard. However, and I'm guessing the time frame, there were women in the hornlines and drumlines as far back as the early to mid 60's. But there were ALL GIRL drum corps from that far back, St. Ignatius All-Girls Drum & Bugle Corps from Hicksville, NY, Emerald Grenadiers, and I believe even at that time the Stardusters were all female. I believe there might have been an all girl circuit also...But I'm not certain there. As for the Cabs. 1st season to introduce females in the corps was in 1982. Only in the color guard. The 1st female musician didn't arrive until 1986. Jeanie Florek was the very first female in the hornline. She played soprano. Since we have had females throughout the entire corps. I'm very proud to say that this years contra line he filled with some very talented young ladies. Amazing group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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