Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps
Encyclopedia
The Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps is an all-age or senior drum and bugle corps
based in Reading, Pennsylvania
. The Buccaneers, also known by the nickname The Bucs, are charter members of Drum Corps Associates
.
circuit. The Reading Buccaneers captured the VFW
championship in 1960, 1961, and 1962. The Reading Buccaneers were the last drum and bugle corps
to win the VFW
championship as the award was retired in 1962.
. The Buccaneers won the first DCA Open Class World Champions
in 1965. They have since repeated nine times, in 1968, 1979, 1980, 2005, 2006, 2007 their 50th anniversary, 2008, 2009, and most recently in 2010. The corps has also placed second eight times (1973, 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1999, 2001, and 2011) and third seven times (1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 2000, 2002, and 2004). They have missed being a DCA finalist only twice.
, the Bucs captured the last DCA title of the 1970s with a score of 90.5
's Farandole
, Béla Bartók
's String Quartet No. 4 - Movement 5
, Benjamin Britten
's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
, and Samuel Barber
's Adagio for Strings
.
's Boléro
, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol
, Claude Debussy
's Clair de Lune
and Scheherazade
, with a score of 97.238.
' New Era Dance, Aaron Copland
's The Promise of Living, Alberto Ginastera
's Malambo, and George Gershwin
's Rhapsody in Blue
.
's Canon in D
, David Holsinger
's Abram's Pursuit, Giacomo Puccini
's Nessun Dorma
, and Ludwig von Beethoven's Ode to Joy
.
's Dies Irae
, Manuel de Falla
's Ritual Fire Dance
, Leonard Bernstein
's A Simple Song, and David Holsinger
's Symphonia Resurrectus.
's Pines of the Appian Way from Pines of Rome, Ottorino Respighi
's Circuses from Feste Romane
, Aram Khachaturian
's Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from the ballet Spartacus
, and Ottorino Respighi
's Epiphany from Feste Romane
.
Post # 637 of Hamburg, Pennsylvania
, the Ray A. Master American Legion
Post #217 in Topton, Pennsylvania
, many businesses in the Reading
and Berks County
area, the Buccaneer Alumni Association and devoted fans.
Drum and bugle corps (modern)
A drum and bugle corps, also known as a drum corps, is a musical marching unit consisting of brass instruments, percussion instruments, and color guard. Typically operating as independent non-profit organizations, drum corps perform in competitions, parades, festivals, and other civic functions...
based in Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
. The Buccaneers, also known by the nickname The Bucs, are charter members of Drum Corps Associates
Drum Corps Associates
Drum Corps Associates is the governing body for modern senior or all-age drum and bugle corps in North America. It is the counterpart of Drum Corps International which governs junior drum corps...
.
Pre-DCA (VFW/American Legion)
The Reading Buccaneers were formed in 1957 as a parade corps for WWII veterans. A field corps was formed in 1958 competing in the VFWVeterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
circuit. The Reading Buccaneers captured the VFW
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
championship in 1960, 1961, and 1962. The Reading Buccaneers were the last drum and bugle corps
Drum and bugle corps (classic)
Classic drum and bugle corps are North American musical ensembles that descended from military bugle and drum units returning from World War I and succeeding wars. Traditionally, drum and bugle corps served as signaling units as early as before the American Civil War, with these signaling units...
to win the VFW
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
championship as the award was retired in 1962.
Modern Years (DCA)
In 1965, The Reading Buccaneers became a charter member of Drum Corps AssociatesDrum Corps Associates
Drum Corps Associates is the governing body for modern senior or all-age drum and bugle corps in North America. It is the counterpart of Drum Corps International which governs junior drum corps...
. The Buccaneers won the first DCA Open Class World Champions
DCA Open Class World Champions
During Labor Day Weekend, Drum Corps Associates Open Class corps compete to earn the title of DCA Open Class World Champion. The championships consist of 2 rounds held on 2 consecutive nights . All corps compete at Prelims, with the top 10 Open Class and top 4 Class A corps competing at Finals...
in 1965. They have since repeated nine times, in 1968, 1979, 1980, 2005, 2006, 2007 their 50th anniversary, 2008, 2009, and most recently in 2010. The corps has also placed second eight times (1973, 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1999, 2001, and 2011) and third seven times (1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 2000, 2002, and 2004). They have missed being a DCA finalist only twice.
Traditions
- The official corps nickname is The Balance in Blue because of the variety of musical styles they have presented over the years, although the corps has programmed mostly classical choices since the late 1990s.
- The official corps symbol is a ship's wheelShip's wheelA ship's wheel is the modern method of adjusting the angle of a boat or ship's rudder in order to cause the vessel to change its course. Together with the rest of the steering mechanism it forms part of the helm. It is typically connected to a mechanical, electric servo, or hydraulic system...
in blue with a falchionFalchionA falchion is a one-handed, single-edged sword of European origin, whose design is reminiscent of the Persian scimitar and the Chinese dao....
laid horizontal with the name of the corps. - The official corps song is sung to the theme of An Affair to RememberAn Affair to RememberAn Affair to Remember is a 1957 film starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, and directed by Leo McCarey. It was distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation....
. Beyond the SeaBeyond the Sea (song)"Beyond the Sea" is a 1946 contemporary pop song with music taken from the song "La Mer" by Charles Trenet and lyrics by Jack Lawrence.Trenet had composed "La Mer" with French lyrics totally different and unrelated to the English language version that Lawrence composed...
is also an unofficial corps song.
1968
The corps won their second DCA championship, becoming the first DCA corps to win a second DCA title.1979
Led by future World Drum Corp Hall of Fame drum major George N. ParksGeorge N. Parks
George N. Parks was the director of the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1977 until his sudden death in 2010. Considered a national authority on drum majoring, he led the George N...
, the Bucs captured the last DCA title of the 1970s with a score of 90.5
2005
With new uniforms, new instruments in all sections, and a full hornline playing on instruments in the key of B-flat, the Buccaneers finished their first undefeated season, cruising to victory with the second-highest score in DCA history, 98.45. The show, entitled Variations in B, featured Georges BizetGeorges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's Farandole
L'Arlésienne Suites
The incidental music to Alphonse Daudet's play L'Arlésienne was composed by Georges Bizet for the first performance of the play on 1 October 1872 at the Vaudeville Theatre...
, Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
's String Quartet No. 4 - Movement 5
String Quartet No. 4 (Bartók)
The String Quartet No. 4 by Béla Bartók was written from July to September, 1927 in Budapest.The work is in five movements:#Allegro#Prestissimo, con sordino#Non troppo lento#Allegretto pizzicato#Allegro molto...
, Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34, is a musical composition by Benjamin Britten in 1946 with a subtitle "Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell"...
, and Samuel Barber
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
's Adagio for Strings
Adagio for Strings
Adagio for Strings is a work by Samuel Barber, arranged for string orchestra from the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11. Barber finished the arrangement in 1936, the same year as he wrote the quartet...
.
2006
After coming off an undefeated season, the corps emerged victorious with another undefeated season with Exotic Impressions including the RavelMaurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
's Boléro
Boléro
Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel . Originally composed as a ballet commissioned by Russian ballerina Ida Rubinstein, the piece, which premiered in 1928, is Ravel's most famous musical composition....
, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol
Capriccio espagnol
Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34, is the common Western title for an orchestral work based on Spanish folk melodies and written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1887. Rimsky-Korsakov originally intended to write the work for a solo violin with orchestra, but later decided that a purely orchestral work...
, Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
's Clair de Lune
Suite bergamasque
The Suite bergamasque is one of the most famous piano suites by Claude Debussy. Debussy commenced the suite in 1890 at age 28, but he did not finish or publish it until 1905.-History:...
and Scheherazade
Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)
Sheherazade , Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888. Based on One Thousand and One Nights, sometimes known as The Arabian Nights, this orchestral work combines two features common to Russian music and of Rimsky-Korsakov in particular: dazzling, colourful...
, with a score of 97.238.
2007
Celebrating the corps' 50th anniversary, the Buccaneers again finished another undefeated to capture their third consecutive DCA title. The show, entitled Blue Era, also gave the Bucs the third-highest score in DCA history, a 98.313. The show consisted of Aaron Jay KernisAaron Jay Kernis
Aaron Jay Kernis is an American composer and professor at the Yale School of Music.-Biography:Aaron Jay Kernis is Jewish, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and studied at the Manhattan School of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory, and Yale University .,Notable works include the...
' New Era Dance, Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
's The Promise of Living, Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Evaristo Ginastera was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered one of the most important Latin American classical composers.- Biography :...
's Malambo, and George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
's Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band written in 1924, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects....
.
2008
At the 2008 DCA Championships, the Buccaneers tied the Brigadiers' record by winning their fourth consecutive championship with a fourth consecutive undefeated season, and earned the Buccaneers the highest prelims score in history, a 98.138, and a final score of 97.913. The show, entitled The Pursuit of Joy, consisted of Johann PachelbelJohann Pachelbel
Johann Pachelbel was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher, who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most...
's Canon in D
Canon in D
Pachelbel's Canon is the most famous piece of music by German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel. It was originally scored for three violins and basso continuo and paired with a gigue in the same key. Like most other works by Pachelbel and other pre-1700 composers, the Canon remained forgotten for...
, David Holsinger
David Holsinger
David R. Holsinger is an American composer and conductor writing primarily for concert band. Holsinger is a graduate of Hardin-Central High School in Hardin, Missouri, Central Methodist University, the University of Central Missouri, and the University of Kansas...
's Abram's Pursuit, Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's Nessun Dorma
Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto , who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot...
, and Ludwig von Beethoven's Ode to Joy
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
.
2009
At the 2009 DCA Championships, the Buccaneers became the first DCA corps to win five consecutive championships with a fifth consecutive undefeated season. The show earned the Buccaneers the highest score in DCA history, a 99.025. The show, entitled Demons & Angels, consisted of Giuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Dies Irae
Dies Irae
Dies Irae is a thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano . It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic...
, Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla y Matheu was a Spanish Andalusian composer of classical music. With Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados and Joaquín Turina he is one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20th century....
's Ritual Fire Dance
El amor brujo
El amor brujo is a piece of music originally composed by Manuel de Falla for a chamber group, then re-scored as a symphonic suite, and eventually as a ballet...
, Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
's A Simple Song, and David Holsinger
David Holsinger
David R. Holsinger is an American composer and conductor writing primarily for concert band. Holsinger is a graduate of Hardin-Central High School in Hardin, Missouri, Central Methodist University, the University of Central Missouri, and the University of Kansas...
's Symphonia Resurrectus.
2010
At the 2010 DCA Championships, the Buccaneers added another notch to their streak with their sixth consecutive undefeated season finishing with a score of 98.263. The show, entitled ROME, consisted of Ottorino RespighiOttorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
's Pines of the Appian Way from Pines of Rome, Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
's Circuses from Feste Romane
Feste Romane
Feste Romane is a work for very large symphony orchestra composed in 1926, by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. It is a tone poem depicting scenes from Ancient Rome of the Roman Empire...
, Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
's Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from the ballet Spartacus
Spartacus
Spartacus was a famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable...
, and Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
's Epiphany from Feste Romane
Feste Romane
Feste Romane is a work for very large symphony orchestra composed in 1926, by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. It is a tone poem depicting scenes from Ancient Rome of the Roman Empire...
.
Notable alumni
- George ParksGeorge N. ParksGeorge N. Parks was the director of the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1977 until his sudden death in 2010. Considered a national authority on drum majoring, he led the George N...
, founder of the George Parks Drum Major Academy http://www.drummajor.org/, frequent clinician with Bands of AmericaBands of AmericaBands of America , a division of Music for All, Inc., is an organization that promotes and organizes marching band competitions for high school students. Competitions include both Regional and Super Regional Championships as well as the Grand National Championships...
, and director of the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching BandUniversity of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching BandThe University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band is the marching band for the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The band currently has about 352 members and was directed by George N. Parks from 1977 until his sudden death in September 2010. Assistant Thomas Hannum was named interim...
. - Al ChezAl CheznovitzAl Chesnovitz, also Alan Chez is an American musician who principally plays the trumpet and the flugelhorn on the CBS Orchestra for the Late Show with David Letterman...
, lead trumpet in Paul ShafferPaul ShafferPaul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM is a Canadian musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian, and composer who has been David Letterman's sidekick since 1982.-Early years:...
's band on Late Show with David LettermanLate Show with David LettermanLate Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
.
Sponsorship
The Buccaneers are currently sponsored in part by the Behler-Hein American LegionAmerican Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
Post # 637 of Hamburg, Pennsylvania
Hamburg, Pennsylvania
Hamburg is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,114 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Hamburg, Germany.-Geography:Hamburg is located at ....
, the Ray A. Master American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
Post #217 in Topton, Pennsylvania
Topton, Pennsylvania
Topton is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,948 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Topton is located at ....
, many businesses in the Reading
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
and Berks County
Berks County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 175 per square mile...
area, the Buccaneer Alumni Association and devoted fans.
Trivia
- The Buccaneers hold the DCA record and tie the DCI record for the longest winning streak at 64 consecutive wins. The winning streak began with the first show of the 2005 season, and finally ended September 3 2011 when the Buccaneers placed 2nd to Minnesota Brass Inc.
- The Buccaneers' 6 consecutive championships and undefeated seasons, from 2005 through 2010, is both a DCI and a DCA record.