Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps
The Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Crusaders are a charter member of Drum Corps International.
History
The Boston Crusaders were founded in 1940 as the Most Precious Blood Crusaders, a youth activity of the Most Precious Blood Catholic parish in the Hyde Park section of Boston. The Corps and the parish parted ways in 1956, and the corps took a new name, the Hyde Park Crusaders. During this period, two ardent, if unofficial supporters of the corps were two of the Kennedy brothers, John F. and Edward M. "Ted". Although John is often credited, Ted was responsible for acquiring West Point uniforms that the Crusaders converted to their own colors. The corps was honored by the newly elected President Kennedy by being invited to be the first drum and bugle corps to march in a Presidential Inauguration Parade. The corps' tight financial situation prevented their attendance in 1961, but the corps marched in President Lyndon B. Johnson's Inauguration Parade in 1964. JFK was formally made an honorary member of the corps only 34 days before his assassination.By 1959, the corps had become the Boston Crusaders, although they often were referred to as "BAC" or the Boston Area Crusaders, and BAC was one of the East Coast powerhouse corps of the 1960s. They won the first CYO National Drum and Bugle Championship in 1964 and repeated as CYO champions in 1967 & '68. In 1966 and again in 1967 the Boston Crusaders were crowned World Open Champions. The corps was a finalist at VFW Nationals in 1969 & '70 and would have won the 1967 American Legion Junior Championship, if the powers-that-be had not voided the scores for the corps' inspection, allowing the Cavaliers to outscore them.
In 1971, the Boston Crusaders, along with the 27th Lancers, Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights, Blue Rock, and Garfield Cadets formed the United Organization of Junior Corps. This action was taken in reaction to the rigid, inflexible 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 Alliance members felt that the corps should be making their own rules, operating their own competitions and championships, and keeping the bulk of the monies 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 corps were booked into a number of shows together.
In 1972, the Boston Crusaders, along with the nine other corps from the Alliance and the Midwest Combine, 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. That summer, there was a fire in the corps hall that destroyed much of the corps' equipment. The corps was forced to withdraw from many of its scheduled contests, and at one point, could claim only nineteen active members. Rather than attending the first DCI World Championship in Whitewater, Wisconsin, BAC returned to the field to compete at CYO Nationals, where they finished ninth of thirteen corps and solidified their reputation as, "the corps that would not die."
Disaster struck again a decade later when, while on a 1982 tour in the United Kingdom, the corps' funds were embezzled, leaving members and staff stranded and financially insolvent in England. The Corps made it back home with the assistance of the US State Department for members under the age of 18, and all others paid their own way or received assistance from a handful of very generous supporters. The airline involved filed a receivership action, and several alumni stepped in to negotiate the release of title to the Corps' assets. Once more, the corps refused to die, fielding a small unit in 1983 as the Boston Drum and Bugle Corps. The instructional staff produced a first-class program, working tirelessly without compensation. During that year, the Corps marched in every parade possible within a day's drive of Boston, and repaid all of the Corps' debts, with the exception of the airline, which was never pursued. Three years later, the Corps resumed the use of the Boston Crusaders name.
Through the years, BAC had fostered a well-earned image of toughness. Prior to DCI Prelims in Miami in 1983, a gang of street thugs was harassing corps as they prepared to enter the Orange Bowl Stadium. The Boston Crusaders, "...as adept with fists as with bugles..." solved the problem by chasing the gang away. However, this attitude was not conducive to attracting sufficient numbers of talented members to be a truly competitive corps, and in combination with a reputation for being troublemakers, the corps was relegated to middling rankings within DCI through the 1980s and '90's.
Under corps director Jim Cronin from 1996 to 2000, the corps adopted a new philosophy of "professionalism, accountability, and responsibility" for its members. In 1999, the Boston Crusaders finally earned a place among DCI's Top Twelve Finalists. They have returned to Finals in every year since, placing as high as fifth in 2000 & 2002 & 2018.
Historically, the Boston Crusaders have often been drum corps innovators. They were the first corps to march double tenor drums in 1967; the first to march tympani in 1968 ; the first with slides on their horns to allow playing a chromatic scale; and, although they were penalized for it in every show, the first to use a synthesizer in 1985.
On January 21, 2013, the corps marched in President Barack Obama's second inauguration parade.
The Boston Crusaders experienced one of its most competitive and successful seasons in the summer of 2018. The corps finished in 5th place at the 2018 Drum Corps International World Championships, with the color guard winning the George Zingali caption award for Best Guard--- the first time the Boston corps had ever won a caption at the world championships. This was followed in 2019 by a 6th place finish, despite an improved score, and a second successive Zingali Award.
Sponsorship
The Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps are sponsored by Inspire Arts & Music, a 501 musical organization that has a Board of Directors, an Executive Director, and staff assigned to carry out the organization's mission. The board president and CEO is James Cronin, Christopher Holland is the COO and Executive Director of Inspire Arts and Music, Inc. and the Boston Crusaders.In April 2015, the organization announced the purchase of a building in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston, where the corps was founded in 1940. This building will house the Inspire Arts & Music offices and provide a retail location for its Great East Music Store.
Show Summary (1972–2020)
Source:Gold background indicates DCI Championship; pale blue background indicates DCI Class Finalist; pale green background indicates DCI semifinalist.
| Year | Theme | Repertoire | Score | Placement |
| 1972 | Opening Scene by Modest Mussorgsky / Yankee Doodle / Zorba The Greek by Mikis Theodorakis / Beginnings by Robert Lamm / Make Me Smile by James Pankow / Persian Market by Albert Ketèlbey | --- | --- | |
| 1973 | El Capitan by John Philip Sousa / Yankee Doodle / Man of La Mancha by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion / War March And Battle Hymn Of The Vikings by Alfred Reed / Cast A Giant Shadow by Elmer Bernstein / Hava Nagila / Meat And Metal Shoes / California Dreamin' by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 51.85 | 39th | |
| 1974 | Oklahoma Crude by Henry Mancini / Pop Goes the Weasel / Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield / Hatikvah by Giuseppe Cenci, adapted by Samuel Cohen / California Dreamin' by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 62.60 | 37th | |
| 1975 | Lohengrin by Richard Wagner / Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield / Cast a Giant Shadow by Elmer Bernstein / Sader Stomp / Captain from Castile by Alfred Newman / Eberhard / Love's Theme by Aaron Schroeder / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 67.20 | 27th | |
| 1976 | Coronation March by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Love's Theme by Aaron Schroeder / Simple Song & Kyrie by Leonard Bernstein / Hatikvah by Giuseppe Cenci, adapted by Samuel Cohen / Hava Nagila / Sabre Dance by Aram Khachaturian / When Will I See You Again by Kenneth Gamble and Leon A. Huff / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 75.20 | 20th | |
| 1977 | Fifth Symphony by Dmitri Shostakovich / Coronation March by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Threshold by Patrick Williams / Mass by Leonard Bernstein / Hava Nagila / Sabre Dance by Aram Khachaturian / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 81.15 | 17th | |
| 1978 | Finale from the Fifth Symphony in E Flat & Festive Overture by Dmitri Shostakovich / Hatikvah by Giuseppe Cenci, adapted by Samuel Cohen / Hava Nagila / Spanish Fantasy by Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea / Threshold by Patrick Williams / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 78.50 | 15th | |
| 1979 | Coronation of Boris Gudonov by Modest Mussorgsky / Ode to Joy by Ludwig van Beethoven / Threshold by Patrick Williams / Birdland by Joe Zawinul / Fantasy by Maurice White, Verdine White, and Eddie del Barrio / Time for a Change by Hank Levy / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 74.75 | 19th | |
| 1980 | The Aristophanic Wasp by Ralph Vaughan Williams / Kid Charlemagne by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen / And on the Sixth Day by Patrick Williams / Ode to Joy by Ludwig van Beethoven / Time for a Change by Hank Levy / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 63.90 | 25th | |
| 1981 | Coronation of Boris Gudonov by Modest Mussorgsky / Best Coast by John LaBarbera / Flamenco by Chick Corea / Wacky Dust by Oscar Levant and Stanley Adams / And on the Sixth Day, Threshold & Lady Beside Me by Patrick Williams / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 66.55 | 25th | |
| 1982 | Samson and Delilah by Camille Saint-Saëns / Threshold by Patrick Williams / Kitty's Back by Bruce Springsteen / Spain by Chick Coera / While My Guitar Gently Weeps by George Harrison / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 65.30 | 26th | |
| 1983 | Mexicali Nose by Harry Betts / Billie Jean by Michael Jackson / Ode to Joy by Ludwig van Beethoven / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 63.75 | 21st | |
| 1984 | Mexicali Nose by Harry Betts / The Rainmaker by Earl Klugh / Moments in Japan / California Dreamin' by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 76.20 | 19th | |
| 1985 | Romantic Symphony #2 by Howard Hanson / Turquoise / Exception to the Rule / Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer / The Rainmaker by Earl Klugh / California Dreamin' by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 74.40 | 20th | |
| 1986 | Fifth Symphony by Dmitri Shostakovich / Coronation March by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Smooth Operator by Sade Adu and Ray St. John / Bluesette by Toots Thielemans / Conga by Enrique E. Garcia / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 79.90 | 16th | |
| 1987 | Music for Wind and Percussion by Elliot del Borgo / Havalah / Hava Nagila / Unsquare Dance by Dave Brubeck / Hello Again by Chick Corea/ Conquest by Alfred Newman | 82.80 | 14th | |
| 1988 | Music for Wind and Percussion by Elliot del Borgo / At the End of the Day, Attack on Rue Plumet, One Day More & Do You Hear the People Sing? All from Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel, and Herbert Kretzmer / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 77.60 | 20th | |
| 1989 | Man of La Mancha by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion / A Whiter Shade of Pale by Gary Brooker, Keith Reid, and Matthew Fisher / Conquest by Alfred Newman | 78.80 | 17th | |
| 1990 | Coronation of Boris Gudonov by Modest Mussorgsky / Captain from Castile & Conquest by Alfred Newman | 84.05 | 15th | |
| 1991 | Selections from Rocky | War, Conquest & Training Montage by Bill Conti | 81.00 | 16th |
| 1992 | Pictures at an Exhibition | Promenade, Hut of Baba-Yaga, Tuileries, Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, The Old Castle, Market Place at Limoges & Great Gate of Kiev All from Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky | 82.20 | 14th |
| 1993 | Russian Easter Overture, Sheherazade: The Prince and the Princess & Sheherazade: Festival in Baghdad All by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | 82.40 | 14th | |
| 1994 | Russian Cameos | Russian Easter Overture by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov / Troika & Romance by Sergei Prokofiev / Russian Sailor's Dance by Reinhold Glière | 82.60 | 13th |
| 1995 | Pat Metheny Music | Are We There Yet? by Lyle Mays / Beat 70 & Cathredral in a Suitcase by Pat Metheny / First Circle by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays | 74.40 | 16th |
| 1996 | Portraits of Our Homeland- The East | Variations on America by Charles Ives / America The Beautiful by Samuel A. Ward / Festival Overture on the Star Spangled Banner by Dudley Buck / Grover's Corner by Aaron Copland / Children's Dance by Howard Hanson / Times Square by Leonard Bernstein | 74.70 | 17th |
| 1997 | Portraits of Our Homeland, Conflicts & Resolution | Original Fanfare by Michael Klesch and Thom Hannum / Chester Overture by William Schuman / Lincoln Portrait by Aaron Copland / Eternal Father by Johan Lindegren / Navy Hymn by John Bacchus Dykes / Victory at Sea by Richard Rodgers | 80.50 | 15th |
| 1998 | Seascapes: From the Big Screen | The Sea Hawk by Erich Wolfgang Korngold / Captain from Castile & Conquest by Alfred Newman | 81.20 | 15th |
| 1999 | A Collection of Symphonic Dances | Armenian Dances by Alfred Reed / Allegro Risoluto & Allegretto by Malcolm Arnold / Prelude by H. Owen Reed / Symphonic Dance No. 3 - Fiesta by Clifton Williams | 88.60 | 9th |
| 2000 | RED | Bolero by Maurice Ravel / Intensity by Marty McCartt / / Time To Say Goodbye by Lucio Quarantotto / Day Danse by Chick Corea / Symphonic Dance No. 3 - Fiesta by Clifton Williams | 92.35 | 5th |
| 2001 | Harmonium | Wild Nights from Harmonium by John Adams / Marimba Spiritual by Minoru Miki / Brothers & Gabriel's Oboe by Ennio Morricone / Dance of the New World & Shakata: Singing the World into Existence by Dana Wilson / Original Music by Marty McCartt and Rich Viano | 88.80 | 9th |
| 2002 | You Are My Star | Intro to Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland / The American President by Marc Shaiman / Allegro by Aaron Copland / America / Clarinet Concerto by Artie Shaw / You Are My Star by Robert Seeley / Simple Gifts by Aaron Copland | 92.40 | 5th |
| 2003 | BRAVO! | Bolero by Maurice Ravel / Pavana by Julián Orbón / The Prayer by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Alberto Testa, and Tony Renis / Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo / Spanish Fantasy by Chick Corea / Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona | 90.95 | 6th |
| 2004 | The Composition of Color | Introduction / Colored Rhythms / Colored Harmonies / Colored Dynamics / Colored Combinations / Closing All original compositions by the Boston Crusaders staff | 90.525 | 9th |
| 2005 | Ode to Joy | Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Johann Sebastian Bach / Overture to Candide by Leonard Bernstein / The Promise of Living by Aaron Copland / Sing Sang Sung by Gordon Goodwin / Ode to Joy by Ludwig van Beethoven | 88.40 | 9th |
| 2006 | Cathedrals of the Mind | blue cathedral & Concerto for Orchestra by Jennifer Higdon / The Windmills of Your Mind by Michel Legrand / Original by Jay Kennedy, Rich Viano, and Jerry Carpenter | 87.325 | 10th |
| 2007 | A Picasso Suite | In Pace by Patrick Doyle / Cruzados by Jay Kennedy / Oblivion by Astor Piazzolla / La Fiesta by Chick Coreea | 89.10 | 9th |
| 2008 | Neocosmos | Also Spracht Zarathustra by Richard Strauss / Kingfishers Catch Fire by John Mackey / Moondance by Van Morrison / August Rhapsody by Mark Mancina / Burly Brawl by Juno Reactor vs. Don Davis | 87.275 | 10th |
| 2009 | The Core of Temptation | Bacchanale by Camille Saint-Saëns / Salome by Richard Strauss / Belkis, Queen of Sheba by Ottorino Respighi / Dance of the Maenads by John Psathas / Myst by Steve Zuckerman / Oceana by Osvaldo Golijov | 90.70 | 7th |
| 2010 | Thy Kingdom Come | Throne Procession and Fanfare by Jay Kennedy / Tenth Symphony, Second Movement by Dmitri Shostakovich / Power Shift by Jay Kennedy / Planet Damnation by John Psathas / Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff / The Quest for Glory by Jay Kennedy | 89.35 | 9th |
| 2011 | Revolution | Do You Hear the People Sing / I Dreamed a Dream / The Attack on Rue Plumet / On My Own / Bring Him Home / One Day More All from Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel, and Herbert Kretzmer / 1812 Overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | 90.65 | 8th |
| 2012 | The Titans | Pines of Rome & Roman Festivals by Ottorino Respighi / Symphony #10 by Dmitri Shostakovich / Evey Reborn by Dario Marianelli / War Dance by Ottorino Respighi / Symphony No 1 by Gustav Mahler | 89.10 | 7th |
| 2013 | Rise | Sit Down, Stand Up by Thom Yorke / Water Night by Eric Whitacre / Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard / Lean on Me by Bill Withers / Test Drive by John Powell / Time by Hans Zimmer /Original Music by Ryan George | 90.40 | 8th |
| 2014 | Animal Farm | Old MacDonald Had a Farm / The Battle on the Ice by Sergei Prokofiev / Oh My Darling, Clementine by H. S. Thompson adapted by Percy Montrose / Polyuska Polye & Symphony No 4 in D Minor by Levi Knipper / Symphony No 11, Mvmt. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich / Concert Romanesq, Mvmt, 4 by György Ligeti / Concert for Violin and Orchestra by Samuel Barber / Conquest by Alfred Newman/ Original Music by Ryan George | 88.950 | 10th |
| 2015 | Conquest | Game of Thrones by Ramin Djawadi / Conquest by Alfred Newman / Palladio by Karl Jenkins / Take What is Ours by Brian Tyler / 5 Variants of Dives & Lazarus by Ralph Vaughan Williams / The Battle by Hans Zimmer / Original Music by Ryan George and Ellis Hampton | 86.800 | 10th |
| 2016 | Quixotic | The Impossible Dream, Man of La Mancha, Dulcinea All from Man of La Mancha by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion / Asturias by Isaac Albéniz/ Kiriki Film by Danny Elfman / Quixotic by Ryan George, Ellis Hampton, and Marty O'Donnell | 84.800 | 12th |
| 2017 | Wicked Games | I.Full Forest Moon and Rising of the Sun– Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven / An Invocation of Veles and Ala by Sergei Prokofiev / II. Whispers and Accusations –Whispers by Colin McNutt, Iain Moyer, and Michael Zellers / Contrage Macabre by Aaron Copland / III. Tortured– Wicked Game by Chris Isaak / IV. Hunt for the Afflicted– Toccata by Alberto Ginastera / V. Trial and Execution– The Verdict by Ryan George, Colin McNutt, and Iain Moyer | 92.963 | 6th |
| 2018 | S.O.S. | Act 1 : Distress — Salvation is Created by Pavel Chesnokov / A Breathless Alleluia by Philip Wilby / Act 2 : Survival — Marimba Spiritual by Minoru Miki / Sensemaya by Silvestre Revueltas / Extinguished by Ryan George, Colin McNutt, Iain Moyer, and Michael Zellers / Act 3 : Salvation — End Credits by Alan Silvestri / Amazing Grace and John Newton. adapted by William Walker | 94.3125 | 5th |
| 2019 | Goliath | Enough of Our Machines by Ryan Lott / Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes / On the Shoulders of Giants by Peter Graham / Giant Steps by John Coltrane / My Shot by Lin-Manuel Miranda / Fanfare for Rocky by Bill Conti / Once Upon a Castle by Michael Daugherty | 94.488 | 6th |
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
Caption Awards
At the annual World Championship Finals, Drum Corps International presents awards to the corps with the highest average scores from prelims, semifinals, and finals in five captions. The Boston Crusaders have won these caption awards:George Zingali Best Color Guard Award
- 2018, 2019
Traditions
Conquest
The Boston Crusaders first performed Alfred Newman's "Conquest" from the 1947 swashbuckling motion picture, Captain From Castille in 1969 and repeated it in 1970. The corps brought the tune back in 1973 & '74, then performed it as a part of their show every year from 1976 through 1990. Since then, "Conquest" had become a signature piece for the Crusaders even so far as including a two-measure quote called the "conquest shots", six unison and high dynamic notes, in various forms throughout the corps' shows. Fans and alumni of the corps take the shots as their cue to fill in the two rests with a shouted "HUH!"Longer, extended quotes from "Conquest" have also commonly been heard in shows as recently as 2008's Neocosmos, 2010's Thy Kingdom Come, 2013's Rise, 2014's Animal Farm, and specially in the corps' 75th anniversary show Conquest in 2015.
Waldo
The Boston Crusader's symbol is King Richard's split-tailed lion. Affectionately known as "Waldo", the lion can be seen on all of the corps' vehicles, on the corps members' jackets, on corps merchandise, and as tattoos on many members and alumni of the Crusaders.Fans
Fans and alumni of the Boston Crusaders often scream "Eat 'em up, Boston!" before the start of a show.Giant
The Crusaders' corps song "Giant" is based on the main theme from the 1956 movie, Giant. Traditionally sung by the corps before shows, "Giant" has also been commonly played at the end of rehearsals, in the lot before shows, and as an on-field warm-up.Nicknames
The corps is commonly referred to as "BAC", which officially stands for "Boston Area Crusaders". However, the corps in its earlier days earned the alternative nickname of the "Bad Ass Crusaders", representing their aggressive attitudes both on and off the field.On July 2, 2015, it was formally declared by the corps' administration that, henceforth, "BAC" would also stand for "Building A Champion".