All music for the Vanguard Cadets’ 2008 production was original.
That’s not anything new in drum corps, per se; various corps’ in-house composers have, on many occasions, written most or all of their productions from scratch.
It’s an opportunity to put the exact notes, soundscapes and feelings that you want on the field. In essence, it’s a clean slate for design.
So, yes, for drum corps, original music is nothing out of the ordinary, and that was the case as well in 2008.
But Vanguard Cadets, that summer, brought a different flair to the idea of an originally-written production. One of the corps’ two composers for that season, James Peterson — the other being Robby Elfman — was an established film and television composer and Santa Clara Vanguard alum.
The majority of Peterson’s cinematic work came in the form of short films and documentaries. Prior to the summer of 2008, he was fresh off of scoring a pair of short films, titled “On One Night…” and “Palms.” A Telly award-winner, Peterson also scored multiple television advertisements, including for AT&T and Bank of America.
Elfman had plenty of his own accolades as well. He, too, had worked on his fair share of short films and attended the highly-acclaimed ASCAP Summer Film Scoring workshop in 2004.
As such, Vanguard Cadets’ “clean slate” in 2008 was painted by two of the more unique faces in drum corps music design.
Out of this approach, “Perspectives” — which became the corps’ second gold medal-winning production — was born.
2008 Vanguard Cadets | “Perspectives”
1st Place • 96.825
“Perspectives” which was broken into three distinct movements, was based around the concept of unique ideas and viewpoints. Each of said three movements was meant to take on a different tone — as it were, a different “perspective.”
Vanguard Cadets’ 2008 uniform was similar to that which served as the corps’ overarching look throughout the early 2000s; a dark green top with a thick cross-sash that featured sparkling black and lighter green accents. The corps’ crest, a shield containing a ‘V’, was positioned next to the sash, with iconic aussie headgear above and black pants below.
Movement No. 1 of the triple-faceted program was titled “Audacious.” Per Vanguard Cadets’ program description, the movement was meant to embody a “fearless and bold” character of one “willing to take surprising and unexpected risks.
The production opened on an asymmetrical drill formation; the high brass instrumentalists were grouped in the middle and left side of the football field, with the low brass players arced behind them. The battery percussionists were situated off to the right.
The corps’ front ensemble was isolated for the first 30 seconds or so of this opening section, building alongside soft, swelling brass music toward a more syncopated crescendo into a strong opening statement. This first impact was plenty bold featuring a series of punching chords.
From there, some of the “risks” were taken. Sections of the corps were featured in an exposed capacity, as dynamics rose and fell throughout an uptempo opening section. With about 50 brass, 20 battery percussion and 15 color guard members, the Vanguard Cadets didn’t have an exceedingly large corps, but they didn’t shy away from filling a substantial amount of the field with spacious drill maneuvers in their first movement.
The corps slowed things down coming into the second movement of the production. However, it wasn’t a typical drum corps ballad. Titled, “Whimsical,” Vanguard Cadets described the middle section as “playfully quiet, given to fanciful and capricious notions.”
The first chunk of this section was slow, soft and beautiful. However, playing to the “capricious” descriptor, the music rose and fell in tone and tempo. Vanguard Cadets handled tempo changes well, transitioning smoothly from a slightly speedier passage of front ensemble percussion music — typified by a ticking clock-like wood block sound — into a strong brass chorale.
The brass and percussion sections continued to trade passages with one another, toggling back and forth between the “playful” and the “fanciful” throughout their show’s middle portion. Visual movements matched the musical tone well. Corps members rarely moved at the same speed for more than a few bars, and certain sections rarely moved in the same style as other sections, keeping the overall atmosphere light and keeping audience members on their toes.
Vanguard Cadets’ third and final movement was a strong and impactful closing number. Titled, “Inspired,” and intended to be “encouraging and full of life,” the latter third of the show was rich with power and fanfare.
Percussion performers had their chance to fill the spotlight throughout the first portion of this movement; an extended battery and front ensemble feature gave the Vanguard Cadets more than their fair share of time to display the talents of a percussion section that convincingly won first place in its caption at the Open Class World Championship Finals.
From there, the brass section — which also took first place — re-entered, with rousing music all building toward a triumphant, driving finish.
In the end, Vanguard Cadets featured a ‘V’ shape in the brass and Vanguard staple ‘V’ cymbal visual, putting their trademark punctuation mark on a production that covered many emotions and textures.
Title No. 2
2008 marked the first year of Drum Corps International’s reorganization into two different competitive divisions. Division I became DCI’s World Class while DCI’s DIvisions II & III were combined into the Open Class. Competition in the newly-formed division proved to be fierce throughout the summer season.
“It’s been a great season, and I think the better everybody is, the more exciting it is for the fans,” Vanguard Cadets director Rob Ripley said during the finale of the Open Class World Championship Finals. “I know our group and speaking with the Blue Devils’ staff … it’s been a lot of fun playing cat and mouse with everyone. It’s just a great season for Open Class drum corps.
Vanguard Cadets’ race to the top, head-to-head against Blue Devils B in particular, was season-long.
As is often the case, the two faced off several times during the early days of the 2008 DCI Tour; Vanguard Cadets won the first meeting, June 22 in Stockton, California, but Blue Devils B took the next four over a period that stretched into mid-July.
By the time August rolled around, Vanguard Cadets fell into third, scoring below Blue Devils B 1.575 points, and Jersey Surf — which moved to World Class the following year — at an August 3 event in Dayton, Ohio.
By the Open Class Quarterfinals, the Vanguard Cadets were back in second, but still faced a deficit of 1.350 points to Blue Devils B. That gap closed to just 0.25 the following night in Semifinals, before Vanguard Cadets ultimately completed the corps’ climb back into first on Finals day.
"We had the show of our lives today, and I don't think any placement really mattered to us,” Vanguard Cadets drum major Brandon Beck said. “[The corps] has worked incredible hours and is made up of some of the greatest people I could ever be around. I love them with all my heart, and I can't wait to go celebrate with them."
Vanguard Cadets’ leapfrog was a close one. In the end, the corps’ final margin of victory over Blue Devils B was a razor-thin 0.050 points. Blue Devils B held advantages in the visual and general effect captions; things were close atop the visual caption specifically, with Vanguard Cadets in fourth place but just 0.25 points behind first-place Blue Devils B.
Ultimately, Vanguard Cadets’ first-place music scores made the difference; the corps won brass, percussion and total music, as well as the visual performance caption.
Prior to 2008, Vanguard Cadets had earned just one other World Championship title, in 2000.