On the field . . .

                        Source: Wikimedia Commons                 

Every summer, football fields across the United States fill up with young people playing brass and percussion instruments and spinning flags, sabers, rifles, and other equipment. And though it has transformed quite a bit over the past forty years, the drum and bugle corps activity remains a focal point for many music education programs in the country.

Musical tastes have changed in the short history of Drum Corps International (DCI), which began sponsoring competitive shows in 1972. Popular music has been a strong source of show material, and corps today find new ways of bringing old standards as well as new songs to life as part of their shows.

But classical music continues to be a key to many corps performances. From obscure works to beloved favorites, the 2018 season should offer a little something for everyone.

When one thinks of classical music and drum corps, Phantom Regiment immediately comes to mind. This year, they will perform parts of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9, a work that earned them a second place finish at the DCI World Championships in 1989.

This season, the Cavaliers, ever a boundary-pushing ensemble, will perform music by George Crumb, Ravel, Hans Zimmer, James Horner, and Wojciech Kilar as part of their program, “On Madness and Creativity.”

Carolina Crown will offer selections from the fourth movement of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8, and the Crossmen, a corps not usually known for fielding classical repertoire, will perform portions of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6.

As part of a program entitled “The Unity Project,” the Cadets will perform Revueltas’s Sensemaya and David Holsinger’s Ballet Sacra, a work that won the corps the 1993 DCI world title.

The Blue Knights will perform Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, and Steve Reich’s music will be heard in the Madison Scouts’ production entitled “Heart & Soul,” featuring the composer’s You Are Variations.

Ever wonder what Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude would sound like with brass and percussion? The Jersey Serf will perform the work along with David Maslanka’s popular Symphony No. 4. Brahms’s Academic Festival Overture and Samuel Barber’s School for Scandal Overture will make up part of The Academy’s 2018 show. And the Oregon Crusaders will bring Copland’s Symphony for Organ and Orchestra and Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste to the field this summer.

Some corps haven’t released details as to the specific works they will be playing. The Blue Devils will perform selections by John Adams, and the Heat Wave of Florida will perform music of Dvorák and Copland. Blue Devils B will be pulling out old classical favorites with Dance Macabre and The Carnival of the Animals.

As for popular music, the most interesting show looks to be “Damned” by the Guardians, which will feature music of Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Chance the Rapper, Beyoncé, and music of Gustav Mahler. An eclectic mix indeed!