The Showband from Calgary Stampede into Drum Corps Fans' Hearts
With their first competitive showing in DCI, this Showband made sure to leave an impact on everyone watching
The Calgary Stampede Showband made history performing this year for quite a few reasons. Firstly, they very notably are the first group in DCI history to officially compete with woodwinds in the ensemble. Secondly, they are the first group from Canada other than Les Stentors) to compete in DCI since Blue Saints last competed in 2015. Thirdly, they are the closest an International Class corps has ever gotten to making semi-finals, placing 26th and only 0.675 points behind 25th place Jersey Surf in World Class Prelims. While all this could end up being important looking forward, the Showband also took us back through DCI history with their musical selections pulling from some of the activities’ most iconic shows.
The Firebird Suite (Finale) - Igor Stravinsky
Morning Mood Variations - Ketan & Vivan Bhatti
Appalachian Morning - Paul Halley
There’s No Place Like Home (from Lost) - Michael Giacchino
Somewhere (from West Side Story) - Leonard Bernstein
Fire in the Blood - Paul Lovatt-Cooper
The first selection, the Finale from The Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky, is one of the most iconic moments in classical music that has led to its consistent usage throughout DCI history, with its first appearance in DCI finals going back to 1974 when the Anaheim Kingsmen played it in their bronze medaling show. The next corps to take it on would be The Cavaliers in 1976, who would bring it back twice - in 1988 and 1997 - taking music exclusively from the suite. Phantom Regiment was the next corps to bring Stravinsky’s piece into finals in 1978 with their second out of three consecutive silver medals. Phantom Regiment played it again in 2007 in their 4th place show titled “On Air,” with one of the most iconic mellophone sustains in DCI history. Also in 2007, Blue Devils were the next corps to first play this piece in finals with their championship show “Winged Victory.” Despite not making finals the same year, Blue Stars in their second year back in World Class finished 14th playing the same piece. The last corps to have played Firebird in finals was the Blue Knights in 2012 with their show “Avian.”
While Morning Mood Variations hasn’t specifically been played in DCI finals, it is based on “Morning Mood” from the Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Grieg which has had a limited yet important place in DCI repertoire history. Phantom Regiment first used it in their third consecutive silver medaling show in 1979, leading into “Hall of the Mountain King” from the Peer Gynt Suite which has its place as one of the most iconic tunes in early DCI History (also performed by Blue Stars (1974), The Cadets (1975), Madison Scouts (1998) and The Cavaliers (2012)). It would come close to finals in 2017, with The Academy finishing in 14th place with their show “By A Hare” just one year after their first time in finals.
The next piece used is Appalachian Morning by Paul Halley, it’s iconic fast 5/4 mixed-meter groove (1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2 1-2) can be heard played by the Crossmen in their highest placing show of all time (finishing sixth in finals) “Songs for the Planet Earth,” which would be quoted again in the follow up shows in 1993 and 1994. The Crossmen would reprise it in 1999 with their show “Changing Perspectives: A Silver Celebration,” and it remains one of the most iconic tunes in the corps’s history. Spirit of Atlanta (going by Spirit from JSU at the time) played it in their 2003 show “TIME” with their highest finish since the turn of the century, placing 10th overall in finals. Colts got close to bringing the iconic piece back into finals in 2010 with their 13th place show “True Colors.”
The ballad starts with Michael Giacchino’s There’s No Place Like Home from the television series Lost. The only time this piece has appeared in finals was in Carolina Crown’s 2014 show “Out of This World,” a show that many consider underappreciated until more recently. Michael Giacchino’s music is becoming more common in the activity, including Blue Stars playing a stunning arrangement of Confrontation on Eadu from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Finishing off the ballad is Somewhere from West Side Story, a piece ingrained into the fans of drum corps fans going back more than a decade before DCI was chartered. The Cavaliers were the first to play the beautiful melody in finals in 1974 and 1975 with consecutive 8th place finishes. Madison Scouts featured it in their 1977 program, finishing 5th overall in finals. One of the most iconic corps of the era, the Bridgemen, played it in their 1981 show that finished 6th place. Sky Ryders also performed the song in their 1987 show based on the music of West Side Story. Despite being the corps most well known for West Side Story with their 1984 championship show drawing music exclusively from the musical, The Cadets didn’t play Somewhere until their 1990 championship show “A Bernstein Celebration.” This tune didn’t make a return to finals until 2008 with Carolina Crown’s 4th place finishing show “Finis,” bringing it back again in 2009 with “The Grass is Always Greener” which was their first medal (silver, to be specific) as well as their first of many times winning the Jim Ott Award for Best Brass Performance. Troopers also featured it the last time they made finals in 2009, finishing 12th with their show “Western Side Story.”
The last piece, Fire in the Blood by Paul Lovatt-Cooper, is the only one with no immediate connection to anything a corps has ever played, and I think this was intentional. Lovatt-Cooper’s name is another one of those composers that should sound familiar to you as a drum corps fan despite how relatively new his music is to DCI. He mostly writes for brass bands involved with the European Brass Band Championships, an ensemble style whose music is influencing drum corps more and more. Lovatt-Cooper’s music has been used by Carolina Crown in 2014 and 2016, the Troopers in 2016, the Blue Devils in 2018, and The Academy in 2019. This music gives a “familiar but new” feeling because of the similar style to some iconic moments in recent memory for drum corps fans.
Overall, the music of the show gives something for the most hardcore drum corps fans to enjoy with a combination of classics and towing the line between new and old, which I think demonstrates their intention in the activity. They want to fit in with their competitors despite their very untraditional instrumentation for DCI and demonstrate that just because they have woodwinds doesn’t mean they can’t connect with drum corps fans in the same way.