Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps
-Madison, Wisconsin-

I was a member of the Madison Scouts from 2000 and aged-out with three full years in August of 2002. It was a truely life-changing experience for me. I was in the front line and served as the timpanist, having won the 2001/2002 DCM and DCI Individual Timpani titles with my own original compositions for five timpani. After aging-out, I taught the front line in 2003.

The Madison Scouts, founded in 1938, is one of the oldest and most successful drum corps in the history of the activity. Throughout the years, the Madison Scouts have combined an exciting educational and developmental approach designed to give each member the opportunity to achieve personal and performance excellence, while sharing in a unique fraternal experience. The corps has also established an admirable tradition of consistently presenting innovative, challenging and exciting programs designed to communicate with and entertain each and every person who views the Madison Scouts.

http://www.madisonscouts.org

The 2003 production, Gold, Green, and Red: The Music of Benoit Jutras, depicted different moods of the historic corps colors for the 65th Anniversary production. Music was selected from two Cirque du Soleil shows, La Nouba and Quidam. Each movement of the show revealed a different facet of the Madison legacy. Gold: "Jardin Chinois/Distorted"; Green: "Atmadja/Urban"; Red: "Reve Rouge"; Finale: "Incantation".

The 2002 production, CONQUEST, was based on the Spanish soldiers and explorers called Conquistadors, who brutally conquered Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America in the 16th century. The musical book was blended and crafted from several sources including the soundtrack from the epic movie classic "Captain from Castille" (Newman), the hauntingly beautiful yet driving "Asturius" (Albinez), two powerful pieces entitled "Conquistador" (one by Maynard Ferguson and the other by Jim Centorino), and finally, the incredibly dramatic "Save Eldorado" (Powell). The percussion feature utilized authentic instruments, rhythms, and melodies indigenous to the Aztec and Incan civilizations that were the victims of the Spanish invasions. Combine this with the conquistador-imaged color guard and an exciting interpretive visual show, and you have another Madison Classic!

The 2001 production, HOT JAZZ--Madison Style!, continued the Madison tradition of presenting the most exciting, powerful and challenging programs in the activity and was based on music from an album entitled "Stereophonic Suite for Two Bands." This hard-to-find, groundbreaking jazz work was a collaboration between two icons of the 50's and 60's big band movement, Les Brown and Vic Schoen. If one were to search for a definitive example of steaming hot, hard-hitting, "Madison-style" jazz, this would be it.

The 2000 production, The Cossack Brotherhood, displayed the passion of these fierce, loyal, and independent people who protected Russia and the Ukraine from invading armies for many centuries. The Cossacks' lusty approach to life was captured in the source music which included traditional Slavic melodies, excerpts from Khachaturian and Shostakovich, and the film score from "Taras Bulba" by Franz Waxman.

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