Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps


Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps is a competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Santa Clara, California, United States, the Santa Clara Vanguard is one of the thirteen founding member corps of Drum Corps International and a DCI World Champion, having won the title for the seventh time in 2018.

History

On the evening of March 6, 1967, citing differences of opinion in the artistic direction of the Sparks Drum & Bugle Corps, its parents support group voted to return the corps to its former activity as a drum and bell corps with majorettes. After the vote, three dissident adults took the corps' members aside and asked them if they preferred to continue as a drum and bugle corps or to become a drum and bell corps. After the members declared for drum and bugle, their parents immediately started a new booster club to support the new corps. Gail Royer, a local elementary school music teacher and a judge for American Legion music competitions, who had been the Sparks' music instructor, was named as the director for the new corps. The new corps waited until its members met for rehearsal the following week to select a name. After discussing and rejecting several possible names, the corps chose: Santa Clara Vanguard.
Only one week after its founding, the newly christened corps marched in and won its first parade, San Francisco's St. Patrick's Day Parade. The unit's major trip of the 1967 season was to Southern California to compete in the Anaheim Kingsmen's second annual Festival of Music, placing fourth. At that show, Royer recruited Kingsmen instructors Pete Emmons and Fred Sanford to instruct the Vanguard color guard and drum line.
In 1968, the corps embarked on its first tour to the Midwest in order to measure itself against more experienced corps in full contests. Gail Royer was trying to prepare them for VFW Nationals in Philadelphia the following year. Although they did not place high at any of the competitions, the tour was a success because of the competition experience and the exposure to the national drum corps scene. On the local front, the SC Vanguard Color Guard beat the Anaheim Kingsmen in 1968 to win their first California Color Guard Circuit Championship, and the corps won its first standstill competition. The corps also won its first field show that year, on August 3, 1968, at the Anaheim Kingsmen's Festival of Music. Santa Clara Vanguard capped off its year by winning the first of many California State Open Championships.
The Vanguard made its first trip to the East Coast in 1969. At their first VFW Nationals in Philadelphia, the corps finished in thirteenth place of the sixty-three corps, just missing Finals. The members then visited Washington, D.C., where the corps played their musical program on the steps of the Capitol Building, and New York City. In the corps' second "major" show of the season, SCV placed ninth of the forty-one corps in Class A at the U.S. Open in Lynn, Massachusetts. Santa Clara closed out the Sixties by beating every other major corps in the country in 1970; they lost to several corps, but repaid those losses with wins. Finances prevented the corps from attending VFW Nationals in Miami, but the corps traveled in their own automobiles to Portland, Oregon for the American Legion Nationals, where they defeated 21 mostly West Coast corps to win the 1970 American Legion Junior National Championship.
In 1971, at the urging of Troopers founder Jim Jones and Cavaliers founder Don Warren, the Blue Stars, Cavaliers, Madison Scouts, Santa Clara Vanguard, and the Troopers formed the Midwest Combine. This action was taken in reaction to the rigid rules of the American Legion and VFW and the low or nonexistent performance fees paid for appearing in the various competitions. The corps felt that not only were they having their creative potential as artistic performing groups stifled, but they were being financially starved. The Combine members felt that the corps should be making their own rules, operating their own competitions and championships, and keeping the bulk of the monies that those shows earned. For the 1971 season, the corps stuck together, offering show promoters the five corps as a package. Despite pressure on show sponsors, judges, and other drum corps, the Combine corps were not only booked into a number of shows together, but they found a host for a show of their own, which was a spectacular success despite fears of failure that lasted until a standing-room-only crowd arrived literally at the last moment. Otherwise during that season, SCV competed in three "majors"; they were third at the CYO Nationals, second among thirty-seven corps at the World Open, and won the VFW National Championship in Dallas, Texas.
In 1972, the Santa Clara Vanguard, along with the nine other corps from the Midwest Combine and the Alliance, plus the Anaheim Kingsmen, Argonne Rebels, and De La Salle Oaklands were founding members of Drum Corps International, which remains as the sanctioning body for junior corps in North America. At the first DCI World Championships in Whitewater, Wisconsin, SCV finished in third place in a competition that featured thirty-nine corps from the East, the South, the West Coast, the Midwest and Great Plains, and Canada. Santa Clara would remain among DCI's top three corps for the organization's first eight years, winning the DCI World Championship in Whitewater in 1973, in Ithaca, New York in 1974, and in Denver in 1978. SCV would close out the Seventies by falling to seventh place in Birmingham, Alabama in 1980 with a totally asymmetrical drill that was probably slightly ahead of its time. The corps' dominance was partly due to superb drumming, partly due to innovative drill, but largely due to a strong, supportive organization.
Santa Clara recovered from the down season of 1980 by winning its fourth DCI World Championship in '81. Then, over the next seven years, SCV would place second five times and third twice before winning its fifth DCI title in 1989 with its 'Phantom of the Opera' show. After that nine-year streak, the Vanguard had sixt, fourth, and seventh place finishes before the corps' original director, Gail Royer, stepped down after the 1992 season and died soon after. Dr. Len Kruszecki was appointed as Royer's successor, but SCV placed no better than 5th during his four seasons. In 1996, J.W. Koester became SCV's director, and the corps placed fifth at DCI, improved to third in '97, second in '98, and won its sixth DCI World Championship in 1999. Under the directorship of Rick Valenzuela, 2000–05; Jeff Pearson, 2006–08; Jeff Fiedler, 2009–15, and Charles Frost through 2019, the Santa Clara Vanguard continued its unbroken string of appearing in every DCI Finals since 1972. The Vanguard is the only corps able to make such a claim. After a 19-year drought, their 2018 show 'Babylon' returned Vanguard to the top of the leader board, with its 2nd highest score ever in a DCI final's event.

Sponsorship

The Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps is sponsored by Vanguard Music and Performing Arts, a 501 non-profit organization that has a Board of Directors, corps director, and staff assigned to carry out the organization's mission. Kevin Brooks is Chairman of the Board, and Charles Frost is the Executive Director. The organization also sponsors the Vanguard Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, the Santa Clara Vanguard Independent World Winter Guard, the Vanguard Winter Percussion, and the Vanguard Community Arts Initiative which provides music education programs to the community, including private music lessons and performing ensembles such as the SCV Big Band and the SCV Youth Brass Ensemble.

Show Summary (1972–2020)

Source:
Gold background indicates DCI Championship; pale blue background indicates DCI Class Finalist; pale green background indicates DCI semifinalist.
YearThemeRepertoireScorePlacement
1972Fanfare and Allegro by Clifton Williams / Henry V by Sir William Walton /
Now Thank We All Our God by Johann Crüger, Martin Rinkart, and Catherine Winkworth /
Wedding Celebration and Bottle Dance, If I Were A Rich Man & Chava Ballet by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick		87.353rd
1973Fanfare and Allegro by Clifton Williams / Young Person's Guide To the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten /
Wedding Celebration and Bottle Dance & Chava Ballet by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick		88.651st
1974Siegfried's Rhine Journey by Richard Wagner /
Young Person's Guide To the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten / Overture to Candide by Leonard Bernstein /
A Little Night Music, Weekend in the Country & Send In the Clowns by Stephen Sondheim		89.501st
1975Entrance of the Emperor and His Court by Zoltán Kodály / Dance of the Buffoons by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov /
To Life, If I Were A Rich Man, Sabbath Prayer, Chava Ballet & Bottle Dance
From Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick		91.002nd
1976Hary Janos Suite by Zoltán Kodály / Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland /
Black Orchid by Neal Hefti / Send In the Clowns by Stephen Sondheim		89.503rd
1977Overture to a New Era by Caesar Giovannini / Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland /
Make Our Garden Grow by Leonard Bernstein		89.853rd
1978Overture to a New Era by Caesar Giovannini /
Dance of Welcome, Adagio, Lezghinka & Gopak by Aram Khachaturian /
If You Believe by Charlie Smalls /
Bottle Dance by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick		91.551st
1979Verdi's Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi / Adagio, Lezghinka & Hopak by Aram Khachaturian /
If You Believe by Charlie Smalls / Bottle Dance by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick		90.703rd
1980Fanfare Symphony No. 4 Opus 36 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Procession of the Nobles by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov /
Stone Ground Seven by Roger Kellaway / Selections by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice /
Jupiter by Gustav Holst		85.607th
1981Northridge by David Schaffer / Young Person's Guide To Drum Corps by Benjamin Britten /
Slava by Leonard Bernstein / Don't Cry For Me Argentina by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice		94.001st
1982Third Symphony, Fourth Movement by Vittorio Giannini / Capriccio Espagnol by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov /
Slava by Leonard Bernstein / Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland /
Bottle Dance by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick		93.552nd
1983Third Symphony, Fourth Movement by Vittorio Giannini / On The Town by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green /
Appalachian Spring & Dream Sequence by Aaron Copland		92.753rd
1984Fanfare and Allegro by Clifton Williams / Musika Bohema by Zdeněk Lukáš /
On The Town by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green / Tender Land by Aaron Copland		97.403rd
1985Festive Overture by Dmitri Shostakovich /
Grover's Corner, Tender Land & The Red Pony by Aaron Copland		97.202nd
1986Festive Overture by Dimitri Shostakovich / Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky97.002nd
1987Russian Christmas Music by Alfred Reed / Dance of the Tumblers by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov /
Lezghinka & Lullaby by Aram Khachaturian /
Hut of Baba Yaga & Great Gate of Kiev by Modest Mussorgsky		97.802nd
1988Phantom of the OperaMusic of the Night, Angel of Music, Phantom of the Opera, Masquerade, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,
Track Down This Murderer & All I Ask Of You
All from Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe		96.902nd
1989Phantom of the OperaAngel of Music, Masquerade, Think of Me, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,
All I Ask Of You, Track Down This Murderer, and Music of the Night
All from Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe		98.801st
1990CarmenPrelude and March, Intermezzo, March of the Toreadors, Changing of the Guard,
Allegro Moderato, La Habanera & Gypsy Dance
All from Carmen by Georges Bizet		94.006th
1991Miss SaigonOverture - What's This I Find?, Sun and Moon, Morning of the Dragon, Wedding Ceremony, The Fall of Saigon
All from Miss Saigon by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, and Richard Maltby Jr.		94.404th
1992Fiddler on the RoofTradition, Sabbath Prayer, To Life, If I Were A Rich Man, Chava Ballet, Wedding Celebration and Bottle Dance
All from Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick		91.807th
1993Walton TrilogyJohannesburg Festival Overture, Richard III & Agincourt Song by Sir William Walton90.407th
1994The Red PoppyHymn to Red October by Basil Poledouris /
Triumphal Dance of the Coolies, Chinese Dances, Phoenix
& Russian Sailor's Dance by Reinhold Glière /
Great Gate of Kiev by Modest Mussorgsky		92.305th
1995Not the NutcrackerThe Clock Breaks by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / War of the Nuts by Dave Carico /
Romance and Seduction, Celebration & The Journey Concludes by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky		91.906th
1996La MerLa Mer, 1st Movement by Claude Debussy / Oceans by Goff Richards /
The Skyboat by James Newton Howard / La Mer 3rd Movement by Claude Debussy		92.305th
1997Fog City SketchesLonely Town/Pas de Deux / Presto Barbaro & City Dreams /
The Masque, Variation 14 Poco più vivace & The Epilogue
All by Leonard Bernstein		96.903rd
1998Copland, The ModernistGrohg, Dance Panels, Down a Country Lane, Hear Ye! Hear Ye! & Grohg, Part II by Aaron Copland97.902nd
1999Inventions for a
New Millennium		The Canyon by Philip Glass / Symphonies No. 2 & Symphony No. 1 by Samuel Barber / Blue Shades by Frank Ticheli98.401st
2000Age of ReverencePrayers of Kierkegaard by Samuel Barber /
String Quartet No. 4, mvt. 5 & Piano Concerto No. 1 mvt. 3 by Béla Bartók / Agnus Dei by Samuel Barber /
Stained Glass, 1st and 3rd movements by David Gillingham		94.704th
2001New Era MetropolisThe Alarm by Dean Westman and Jim Casella / Short Ride in a Fast Machine by John Adams /
Jug Blues and Fat Pickin' by Don Freund /
Variants on a Medieval Tune by Norman Dello Joio / New Era Dance by Aaron Jay Kernis		95.354th
2002Sound, Shape, and ColorTrivandrum by Gordon Henderson / Symphony No. 2 "Romantic" by Howard Hanson /
Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, mvt. 2 & 3 by Aaron Copland		95.654th
2003PathwaysOrawa by Wojciech Kilar / One Man Show by Jeff Beal /
Anima Mundi by Richard Danielpour / Orawa by Wojciech Kilar		94.705th
2004Attraction:
The Music of
Scheherazade		Excerpts from Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov96.8253rd
2005Russia: Revolution -
Evolution 1917 - 1991		Carol by Alfred Reed / Symphony #12 by Dmitri Shostakovich /
Cathedral Chorus by Alfred Reed		88.658th
2006Moto PerpetuoChains of Reaction, Newton's Cradle, Echoes of Time & Speed of Sight. All from Moto Perpetuo by Key Poulan92.356th
2007! Introduction & War Dance & String Quartet in F Major, 2nd Movement by Maurice Ravel /
Romanian Dance for Orchestra, Sz. 47a by Béla Bartók / St. Gregory the Great by Ottorino Respighi /
Finale by Maurice Ravel		94.1755th
20083HREE
Mind, Body and Soul		The Chairman Dances by John Adams /
The Man in the Bath by Philip Glass / Eclipse by Talvin Singh / Cloudburst by Eric Whitacre		93.0257th
2009Ballet For MarthaAppalachian Spring by Aaron Copland95.655th
2010BartókConcerto for Orchestra & Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta by Béla Bartók92.007th
2011The Devil's StaircaseFirst Essay for Orchestra by Samuel Barber / Piano Sonata #2 Mvt 2 by Avner Dorman /
The Eternal Knot by Karl Jenkins / Etude 13: The Devil's Staircase by György Ligeti		92.206th
2012Music of the Starry NightLeonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine by Eric Whitacre / Hymn to a Blue Hour by John Mackey /
Jupiter & Mars by Gustav Holst /
Music of The Night by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe		94.455th
2013Les MisèrablesLook Down, At the End of the Day, On My Own, Castle on a Cloud, One Day More, I Dreamed a Dream,
Attack on Rue Plummet, Red and Black, Bring Him Home, Do You Hear the People Sing?
All from Les Misèrables by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel & Herbert Kretzmer		96.854th
2014Scheherazade:
Words 2 Live By		Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov96.0754th
2015The Spark of InventionOriginal composition based on Johann Sebastian Bach's Invention in A minor
by Paul Rennick, Sandi Rennick, and J. D. Shaw /
Virus Attack by Amin Bhatia / Pure Imagination by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley /
Piano Concerto by John Corigliano		93.8505th
2016Force of NatureSpring 1 by Max Richter / Without Warning by Stephen Melillo /
Earth Song by Frank Ticheli / Winter 1 from "Recomposed" by Max Richter / After the Storm by Stephen Melillo		95.3004th
2017OuroborosInterplay for Piano Four Hands and Orchestra by David Gillingham /
The Triumph of Time by Peter Graham / Song of Eight Unruly Tipsy Poets by Zhou Long /
Into a Virtual World by Amin Bhatia / Remembering the Future by Stephen Melillo		97.6002nd
2018BabylonMy Body is A Cage by Peter Gabriel / Journey to the Center of the Earth by Peter Graham /
Metropolis 1927 by Peter Graham / Apology by Zacarías M. de la Riva /
Club Sound by Billy Bennett & Long Phung 		98.6251st
2019Vox EversioFraternity by Thierry Deleruyelle / Audivi Media Nocte by Oliver Waespi /
Nothing Else Matters by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich /
Rise Up by Paul & Sandi Rennick		96.6003rd
2020Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Caption Awards

At the annual World Championship Finals, Drum Corps International presents named awards to the corps with the high average scores from prelims, semifinals, and finals in five captions. Santa Clara Vanguard has won these caption awards:
Don Angelica Best General Effect Award
John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award
George Zingali Best Color Guard Award
Jim Ott Best Brass Performance Award
Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award
Prior to 2000 and the adoption of the current scoring format, Santa Clara Vanguard won these captions:
High General Effect Award
High Visual Award
High Brass Award
High Percussion Award