Michael Boo - DCI Hall of Fame

Michael Boo

Inducted in 2021

Affectionately dubbed by many as the “Pen of Pageantry” after working on projects for Drum Corps International, Winter Guard International and Bands of America for decades, there is perhaps no one who has amassed a bigger portfolio of writings about the breadth of the modern-day competitive marching arts than the late Michael Boo.

Originally hired in 1989 as a Drum Corps International staff writer to put together the corps program synopses for the organization’s annual souvenir yearbooks, Boo’s byline has been a fixture across DCI’s print publications and website ever since, credited to a diverse array of media including feature articles, CD and DVD liner notes, live play-by-play event blogs, podcast and video commentary, and more.

Growing up in the Cavaliers organization as a French horn player and mallet percussionist from 1975-1977 and “bleeding green” in all that he did, Boo was a super fan of all drum corps, from the smallest Open Class groups all the way up through the World Class ranks.

“Michael worked tirelessly to ensure that every corps’ story was told, down to the smallest detail,” said DCI Hall of Fame member Tom Blair (‘15). “And he did so always with the intent of supporting those corps and DCI. His self-appointed mission was to shine a bright light on an activity he dearly loved.”

When it came to writing about and reporting on DCI corps and events, Boo helped usher in a digital age of marching music content creation. He pioneered and perfected the “live blog,” utilizing his rare talent to write as fast as his brain could think, effortlessly describing performances as they happened at a time before webcasting the biggest shows of the DCI Tour became commonplace. In doing so he exponentially increased the audience size of DCI events by bringing those who might not have had the opportunity to be sitting in the stands right into the middle of the action.

“Michael recorded, marketed and preserved the history of our amazing activity with an eloquence, vocabulary and passion that gave a voice to what drum corps has meant to so many of us,” DCI Hall of Fame member Dennis DeLucia (’91) said.

Prior to devoting the majority of his time to Drum Corps International, Boo served as a writer for the magazine “American Skating World” and in 1998 published an honors-winning book on the history of figure skating. Boo also had an affinity for writing music. His compositions have been part of the catalogs of Carl Fischer Music, Ludwig Music Publishing, Alfred Music, TRN Music Publisher and Grand Mesa Music.

Boo passed away November 18, 2020 in his hometown of Chesterton, Indiana at the age of 65.

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