Gino Cipriani - DCI Hall of Fame

Gino Cipriani

Inducted in 2023

While composers and arrangers make up a lion’s share of those commemorated in the DCI Hall of Fame, it’s often the instructors teaching the notes and rhythms of their musical scores who are ultimately responsible for inspiring performers to reach for excellence and to achieve greatness. Gino Cipriani embodies this notion, and as a brass instructor and caption head in the drum corps activity for decades, it’s something he has perfected.

“A quiet person, Gino has demanded excellence from his students, and year after year, his brass lines from the mid ‘90s on have been phenomenal,” said 2009 DCI Hall of Fame inductee Jay Bocook. “Through endless preparation and great instruction, his brass sections are always a force in the activity.”

Cipriani got his start in drum corps with the Florida Vanguards in 1979, performing with the corps as it transitioned to the Florida Wave between 1980 and 1982. Joining the Blue Devils from 1983 to 1985, he continued to hone his craft as a performer, soloist and section leader.

Switching gears from performer to instructional staff member, Cipriani joined the Blue Devils “B” educational team in 1989, before joining the staff of the Blue Devils in 1990. Here he’d teach for a decade during one of the most competitively dominant periods of time in the California corps’ history. Cipriani played an integral part in leading the Devils to multiple Jim Ott Best Brass Performance caption awards and DCI World Championship titles.

“During that undefeated (1994) championship year, (Cipriani) was the first to understand the benefits of warming up in a circle while bleeding crescendoing chord progressions, developing a seamless, perfectly balanced sound,” said Stephen Bentley, a fellow Blue Devils corps member and later instructor with Cipriani who currently serves as associate professor of piano collaboration and orchestral studies at the University of Utah Valley. “The 1994 Blue Devils horn line completely changed the standard and direction of DCI.”

In 2000 and 2001, Cipriani seized the opportunity to spread his wings even further on the instructional stage, assuming brass caption head responsibilities with The Cadets. There, Bentley says, “Gino crafted and refined his signature sound, focused on absolute ensemble clarity expressively performed.”

Cipriani spent time running the horn lines of the Magic of Orlando and Santa Clara Vanguard before returning to The Cadets in 2005, where he would lead the brass program until 2016 while racking up two more DCI World Championship titles and two more Jim Ott brass caption awards.

Beyond countless competitive accolades, during his time in front of some of the most talented horn lines in DCI history, Cipriani has had the opportunity to positively mold the lives of hundreds of future musicians and educators.

“His enthusiasm and natural sense of motivation provided an excellent role model for his fellow performers and students to emulate and respect,” said DCI Hall of Fame member Wayne Downey. “Gino’s unique and masterful teaching style has been a true inspiration to aspiring teachers across the country both in our activity and beyond.”

“Many of his students are now very successful band directors, and all of his students grow as performers and most importantly as people,” added Bocook.

Always on the lookout for new challenges and opportunities even decades into his DCI career, in 2017 Cipriani took on yet another post, this time with the Boston Crusaders to serve as director of music. As witnessed in previous stages of his career, Cipriani got right to work, helping the corps realize an instant surge in competitive placement, jumping six spots at the DCI World Championship Finals in just his first year on the job. With no signs of slowing down, Cipriani looks poised to pen yet another significant chapter in his storied drum corps career.

“Not many folks teach for 30 years in the drum corps activity.” Bocook said. “Not many reach the pinnacle of success that Mr. Cipriani has achieved.”