Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps
The Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, the Madison Scouts was one of the thirteen founding member corps of Drum Corps International and is a two-time DCI World Champion. Until the Madison Scouts in 2018 featured a female performer for only the fourth time in the corps' history, naming her the "first female full-member" of the corps, they had remained one of only two all-male corps, the other being The Cavaliers. On July 7, 2019, The Scouts made it official, adopting a "non-discrimination policy that expands membership to both genders to participate in the Madison Scouts, effectively opening the way for women to become members of the corps."
History
In 1938, a group of Madison businessmen saw a performance of the Racine Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps. They decided that Madison should also have a Boy Scout drum corps, and they formed the Madison Scouts, which they affiliated as Troop 600 with the local Scout council. They named Clarence H. Beebe as the corps' first director, a position he would hold for thirty years until his death in 1968. In its early days, the corps performed concerts and appeared in many local parades. During World War II the corps participated in War Bond rallies. The corps was split in 1951, with the older members becoming the Madison Explorer Scouts and the younger assigned to the Madison Junior Scouts, a cadet "feeder" corps for the older unit.In 1954 the Explorer Scouts entered field competitions and, in their first "national" competition, finished second at the VFW Nationals in Philadelphia. They repeated as runners-up at Boston in 1955. In 1956, they attended the American Legion Nationals in Los Angeles and also placed second. They were then finalists at VFW Nationals from 1957 through 1962, and also made American Legion Finals in 1958 and 1959. In the early 1960s the corps switched from Explorer Scout uniforms to West Point cadet style uniforms. While attending VFW Nationals from 1964 through 1969, they made a finals appearance only with a 10th place tie in 1966. In 1969, Bill Howard became corps director, and the corps returned to wearing Explorer uniforms. The corps made immediate improvements and returned to VFW finals in 1970 and 1971.
In 1971, at the urging of Cavaliers founder Don Warren and Troopers founder Jim Jones, the Blue Stars, Cavaliers, Madison Scouts, Santa Clara Vanguard, and Troopers formed the Midwest Combine. This was 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 the existing competitive circuits stifled creativity and starved corps financially. The Combine members believed that member corps should be able to make their own rules, operate their own competitions and championships, and keep the bulk of the monies 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 booked into a number of shows together. They even hosted a multi-corps competition themselves, which was a spectacular success despite fears of failure that lasted until a standing-room-only crowd arrived at the last moment.
In 1972 all ten 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 the sanctioning body for junior corps in North America. At the first DCI World Championships in Whitewater, Wisconsin, the Scouts finished in fourteenth in a competition that featured thirty-nine corps from the East, the South, the West Coast, the Midwest and Great Plains, and Canada. In 1973, the Scouts rose all the way up to fourth place. The following year they were DCI runners-up, and in Philadelphia in 1975, the Madison Scouts became the third corps to win the DCI World Championship. Throughout the 1970s the Scouts became regulars in CYO Nationals as well, making Finals in 1973 through 1979 and winning in 1974 and 1975.
In 1980, after sixteen previous appearances and ten prior Finals, the Madison Scouts won VFW Nationals in Chicago. That year they toured Canada, finishing sixth at the DCI Finals in Birmingham, Alabama, with only a 3.55 points difference between first and sixth. At this time the corps started working towards composing the entire staff with Scouts alumni, with Bill Howard stepping down and being replaced by Scott Stewart as corps director.
Through the 1980s Madison stayed in DCI Finals but generally never made it to the championship level. In June 1988, after winning their first five Drum Corps Midwest shows, the Madison Scouts went to Europe as part of their fiftieth anniversary celebration. They presented clinics and performed in exhibition at contests that included all of the corps from Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Germany. The corps returned to find themselves trailing Phantom Regiment, Star of Indiana, and The Cavaliers at the DCM Championships in DeKalb, Illinois. At DCI Midwest in Whitewater, they were behind the Santa Clara Vanguard and Blue Devils. Improving as the season went on, by DCI South in Birmingham, Alabama, they trailed only Santa Clara. And, by DCI Semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri, the Madison Scouts were in command, with a performance that left the crowd screaming for more. They gave more in Finals and won their second DCI World Championship.
In 1990 the organization dropped the name Scouts from the corporate name and allowed the charter for Boy Scout Troop 600 to lapse, although the corps remained affiliated with Scouting for another two decades. The Scouts began the conversion to three valve horns in 1991. By 1992, Madison was marching more than a dozen members from outside the U.S., with members coming from Canada, Great Britain, Japan, and the Netherlands. In 1995 the Junior Scouts merged with the Capitolaires Drum and Bugle Corps, an all-girl corps from Madison. The resulting coed Capital Sound Drum and Bugle Corps would operate under the Madison banner, and the Capitolaires' bingo game further solidified the Scouts' finances. Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps was brought into the Madison organization in 1997, relocating from Montgomery, Alabama to Lexington, Kentucky in order to compete in DCM. Through the 1990s, the Scouts would continue to place as a Finalist in DCI with a series of successful programs. m
The century turned with the Madison Scouts still in the DCI Top Twelve. In 2002, South Africa was added to the list of countries represented in the corps' membership, and Scott Stewart retired after a fourteenth-place finish at the 2002 DCI Finals, at home in Camp Randall Stadium. This was the first year the Scouts had not placed in the Top Twelve since 1973, and only the second time that the Scouts had missed Finals in DCI's 31 seasons. The corps would return to Finals in 2003-2006, but with frequent staff turnover they fell to fifteenth in 2007 and again in 2009. The Organization would also sever its ties to both Capitol Sound and Southwind.
In 2010 Jim Mason, former director of Star of Indiana and its offshoots, was hired as program coordinator / artistic director. The Madison Scouts returned to DCI Finals under his guidance in 2010 through 2014. In 2014 Mason's petitions to DCI brought about a major change of format: for the first time, any brass instrument was allowed in field competition. The Scouts' 2014 show featured a trombone quartet to some controversy.
2015 brought the return of Scott Boerma, who had previously arranged Madison's music from 1989-2006, as brass arranger. The Scouts achieved a momentary rise to 8th place that year. However, success did not last long, as the corps dipped to their lowest-ever positions of 16th place in 2018 and 17th in 2019.
Sponsorship
The Madison Scouts are sponsored by Forward Performing Arts Association, Inc., a 501 musical organization that has a Board of Directors, corps director, and staff assigned to carry out the organization's mission. The Executive Director is Chris Komnick and the Programs Director is Dann Petersen.Since 2017 the organization has also sponsored the Mad Brass SoundSport team, a marching band competing in DCI's SoundSport activity. In 2018 the organization will add Fleurish Winds, a coed ensemble that will perform in WGI Winds.
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 | American History | Civil War Music / Yankee Doodle by Richard Shuckburgh | 77.45 | 14th |
| 1973 | Ballet in Brass by Vic Schoen / Bajour by Walter Marks and Ernest Kinoy / God Bless the Child by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. / Brian's Song by Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman, and Marilyn Bergman / Battle Hymn of the Republic by William Steffe and Julia Ward Howe / Marching Through Georgia by Henry Clay Work / Camptown Races by Stephen Collins Foster / Just Before The Battle, Mother by George F. Root / Jesus Loves The Little Children by George F. Root and Clare Herbert Woolston / Dixie by Daniel Decatur Emmett | 83.55 | 4th | |
| 1974 | Ballet in Brass by Vic Schoen / Bond Street by Benjamin Frankel / God Bless the Child by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. / Slaughter on 10th Avenue by Richard Rodgers / Brian's Song by Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman, and Marilyn Bergman | 88.85 | 2nd | |
| 1975 | Slaughter on 10th Avenue by Richard Rodgers / Mac Arthur Park by Jimmy Webb / Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin / Dueling Banjos by Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith / The Way We Were by Marvin Hamlisch, Alan Bergman, and Marilyn Bergman | 92.50 | 1st | |
| 1976 | Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa / Macarthur Park by Jimmy Webb / Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin / Dueling Banjos by Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith / The Way We Were by Marvin Hamlisch, Alan Bergman, and Marilyn Bergman | 90.70 | 2nd | |
| 1977 | New York, New York & Selections from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein | 87.30 | 5th | |
| 1978 | Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona / God Bless the Child by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. / Main Theme, Ben's Theme, Princess Leia's Theme, The Last Battle & The Coronation From Star Wars by John Williams / How Deep is Your Love? by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb | 89.55 | 4th | |
| 1979 | The Sorcerer and the Latin by Vic Schoen / Bohemian Rhapsody by Freddie Mercury / Granada Smoothie by Mark Taylor / Pieces of Dreams by Michele Legrand | 84.50 | 8th | |
| 1980 | They're Playing Our Song by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager / Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona / New Country by Jean-Luc Ponty / Through the Eyes of Love by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager | 87.05 | 6th | |
| 1981 | Numero Uno by Louie Bellson / Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona / Down Wind by Pierre Moerlen / Through the Eyes of Love by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager | 92.60 | 3rd | |
| 1982 | Slaughter on 10th Avenue by Richard Rodgers / Strawberry Soup by Don Ellis / Down Wind by Pierre Moerlen / Through the Eyes of Love by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager | 90.75 | 5th | |
| 1983 | Colas Breugnon Overture by Dmitry Kabalevsky / Strawberry Soup by Don Ellis / Calico / Memory by Andrew Lloyd Webber | 86.45 | 5th | |
| 1984 | Ballet in Brass by Vic Schoen / Waltz of the Mushroom Hunters by Greg Hopkins / Calico / Memory by Andrew Lloyd Webber | 94.60 | 5th | |
| 1985 | Four Score and Seven & Ballet In Brass by Vic Schoen / Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin | 95.00 | 4th | |
| 1986 | Alex's Rag by Whistlin' Alex Moore / Harlem Suite by Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington / Starlight Express by Andrew Lloyd Webber | 91.3 | 7th | |
| 1987 | Captain from Castile by Alfred Newman / An American In Paris by George Gershwin / Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa | 90.40 | 6th | |
| 1988 | Concerto For Guitar and Jazz Orchestra by Paul Hart / Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona | 97.10 | 1st | |
| 1989 | Make His Praise Glorious by Bill and Robin Wolaver/ Slaughter on 10th Avenue by Richard Rodgers | 93.60 | 7th | |
| 1990 | Undiscovered Madison | The Lemon Squeeze by Mark Kirk/ Remembrance by Paul Hart / I Can Cook Too by Leonard Bernstein | 88.70 | 9th |
| 1991 | City of Angels | Prologue and Theme, With Every Breath I Take, Alaura's Theme, Funny & I'm Nothing Without You From City of Angels by Cy Coleman | 92.0 | 7th |
| 1992 | City of Angels | Prologue and Theme, L.A. Blues, You Gotta Look Out for Yourself, With Every Breath I Take & Funny From City of Angels by Cy Coleman | 93.70 | 5th |
| 1993 | Reflection and Evolution | Numero Uno by Louie Bellson / Strawberry Soup by Don Ellis / Encore by Scott Boerma and Taras Nahirniak | 91.90 | 6th |
| 1994 | Santos by Louie Bellson / Cuban Overture by George Gershwin / Malaga by Bill Holman | 92.20 | 6th | |
| 1995 | A Drum Corps Fan's Dream: A Day in the Life of a Bull Fighter | El Toro Caliente by Scott Boerma / Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo / La Danza Pasillo by Taras Nihirniak and Jeff Moore / Malaga by Bill Holman | 95.40 | 4th |
| 1996 | A Drum Corps Fan's Dream: Part Dos | A Mis Abuelos by Arturo Sandoval / Bolero by Maurice Ravel / En Fuego by Michel Camilo / Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona | 91.50 | 6th |
| 1997 | The Pirates of Lake Mendota | The Adventure Begins by Scott Boerma / A day in port by Goff Richards / Moods of the Sea by David Royalance / Confrontation and Finale by Taras Nihirniak | 93.90 | 5th |
| 1998 | Power, Pizzaz, and All That Jazz! | Lupin by Yuji Ohno / Swingin' Peter... Sweet & Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg / Remembrance by Paul Hart | 91.90 | 6th |
| 1999 | Selections from Jesus Christ Superstar | I Don't Know How to Love Him / Heaven on Their Minds, Everything's All Right, King Herod's Song, Trial and Crucifixion, John 19:41& Superstar All from Jesus Christ Superstar' by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice | 93.40 | 6th |
| 2000 | The Cossack Brotherhood | The Gadfly – Finale by Dmitri Shostakovich / Meadowland / Ballet Suite No 1 – Galop by Dmitri Shostakovich / Gopak & Masquerade – Romance by Aram Khachaturian / Taras Bulba – Overture by Franz Waxman | 85.50 | 10th |
| 2001 | Hot Jazz - Madison Style | The Fire and the Flame; Oh, Those Martian Blues; Symphonie Pour L'Orchestre Americain & Ballet In Brass All by Vic Schoen | 86.55 | 11th |
| 2002 | Conquest | Captain from Castile by Alfred Newman / Asturias by Isaac Albéniz / Conquistador by Jay Chattaway / Conquistadores by Jim Centorino / Save El Dorado by Hans Zimmer | 84.85 | 14th |
| 2003 | GOLD, GREEN AND RED: The Music of Benoit Jutras | Jardin Chinois, Distorted, Atmadja, Urban, Reve Rouge & Incantation All by Benoit Jutras | 89.55 | 8th |
| 2004 | MadiSonic | Sound Piece for Jazz Orchestra by Oliver Nelson / Malaga by Bill Holman | 91.175 | 8th |
| 2005 | The Carmen Project | Carmen by Georges Bizet | 92.625 | 6th |
| 2006 | Primal Forces | Feast Day In Seville by Isaac Albéniz / Harp Concerto by Alberto Ginastera / Gabriel's Oboe by Ennio Morricone / Malambo by Alberto Ginastera | 87.70 | 9th |
| 2007 | Unbound | Uninvited by Alanis Morissette / Kashmir by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Bonham / Pie Jesu by Gabriel Fauré / Libertango by Astor Piazolla | 81.85 | 15th |
| 2008 | La Noche de la Iguana - Inteligencia, Pasión, Progreso | La Noche de los Mayas by Silvestre Revueltas / Danza de los Duendes by Nancy Galbraith / Estancia Ballet & Harp Concerto by Alberto Ginastera / Danzon No. 2 by Arturo Marquez / Concierto Candela for Solo Percussion and Orchestra by Gabriela Ortiz | 85.225 | 12th |
| 2009 | Relámpago | The Forces of Nature by Vince Oliver / Malaga by Bill Holman / Two Left-Footed Mambo – Baron Cimetiere's Mambo by Donald Grantham / Love Is in the Air by Vince Oliver / A Turn to the Dark Side – Candela by Gabriela Ortiz / Relámpago's Triumphant Return – Margariteña by Inocente Carreño | 82.40 | 15th |
| 2010 | Slaughter on 10th Avenue by Richard Rodgers / Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin | 88.95 | 10th | |
| 2011 | New York Morning | New York, New York by Leonard Bernstein / Oh What a Beautiful Morning from Oklahoma! by Rodgers & Hammerstein / Beautiful Mourning & Requiem by Robert W. Smith / Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keys | 87.55 | 10th |
| 2012 | Reframed | Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky / Malaga by Bill Holman / The Way We Were by Marvin Hamlisch, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman / Through The Eyes Of Love by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager / Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona | 88.00 | 9th |
| 2013 | Corps of Brothers - 75 Years of Survival | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 by Brian Tyler / Corps of Brothers Fanfare by Robert W. Smith / Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky / The Battle Rages by Lee Beddis, Nick Pourcho, and Robert W. Smith / Afghanistan 2025 by Jack Wall / You'll Never Walk Alone by Rodgers & Hammerstein | 90.10 | 9th |
| 2014 | Time Trip - The Music of Stan Kenton and Don Ellis | Fanfare for the New by Hugo Montenegro / Passacaglia and Fugue by Allyn Ferguson / Concerto to End All Concertos by Stan Kenton / Bulgarian Bulge, Open Wide, Niner Two & Final Analysis by Don Ellis | 87.575 | 11th |
| 2015 | 78th & Madison | Fanfare and opener featuring NYC by Charles Strouse / Gotta Dance & Good Morning by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed / I Got Rhythm by George & Ira Gershwin / Moses Supposes by Roger Edens, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green / The Boy Next Door by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane / Traffic Jammin’ by Jeff Tyzik / Get Happy by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler / Happy Days Are Here Again by Milton Ager and Jack Yellen | 88.750 | 8th |
| 2016 | Judas | Overture, Heaven on their Minds, Everything's Alright, Gethsemane, Trial before Pilate, I Don't Know How to Love Him, and Superstar All from Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice / Judas by Stefani Germanotta and Nadir Al-Khayat | 85.263 | 13th |
| 2017 | The Last Man Standing | Territorial Claim – Pilentze Pee / Miraculous Mandarin by Béla Bartók / Depletion – Original composition by Nick Pourcho / O2 – Original composition by Scott Boerma, Nick Porcho, & James Sparling / Hope & Despair – Original composition by Scott Boerma, Nick Pourcho, & James Sparling The Battle Within – Music for Prague 1968 by Karel Husa / Pilentze Pee Reprise | 85.25 | 12th |
| 2018 | Heart & Soul | You Are Variations by Steve Reich / Serenada Schizophrana by Danny Elfman / Rhyme of Taigu by Zhou Long / Shape of My Heart by Gordon Sumner / Aurora Awakes by John Mackey / Ainadamar by Osvaldo Golijov / 34 Klezma by Michael League / End of the Game by Sting. Heart and Soul by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser | 82.988 | 16th |
| 2019 | Majestic | Afterburners by Chuck Naffier / Backlash by Simon Dobson / 715–CR∑∑KS by Justin Vernon / Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten / One Voice by Barry Manilow | 82.138 | 17th |
| 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 high average scores from prelims, semifinals, and finals in five captions. The Madison Scouts have won these captions:High General Effect Award
- 1974, 1988
High Visual Award
- 1988
High Brass Award
- 1974, 1975
Traditions
Corps logo
Having originated as a unit within the Boy Scouts, the Madison Scouts have historically utilized some form of the fleur-de-lis in their logo. Over the past several decades, different customized fleurs have been created and used to represent the corps. In 2009 the corps developed and officially adopted and a unique fleur and badge logo that is currently in use as the corps' official trademarked logo. The corps' official colors are dark green and white.Corps song
The Scouts first performed You'll Never Walk Alone as a part of their first field show in 1954. Challenged by the Cavaliers singing Somewhere, Over The Rainbow in 1957, the corps responded with You'll Never Walk Alone, and it has remained the official corps song to this day.Female performers
In both the 1971 production of "The Wizard of Oz" and the 2005 production of "Carmen", the Scouts used one female performer in each show. At VFW Nationals in 1980, 3 females joined the corps as guests in the "American party," which displayed the Wisconsin, American, and VFW flags. All females were considered "guest performers" of the all-male corps. In 2018, the Scouts featured a female performer for the fourth time in the corps' history, the first ever to be designated a full member.On July 7, 2019, The Scouts made it official, adopting a "non-discrimination policy that expands membership to all genders to participate in the Madison Scouts, effectively opening the way for women to become members of the corps."