20th Maine Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The "20th Maine Regiment" was a competitive junior drum & bugle corps from Oakland, Maine. It existed for 3 seasons (1984-1986) before disbanding. The organization was nammed in honor of the civil war volunteer infantry regiment which gained fame for its defense of Little Round Top at the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg.
[edit] History
20th Maine Regiment was founded by brothers and Drum Corps veterans, John and Rick Makowski, and grew quite rapidly amid the popularity of competitive high school marching bands that were prevalent in Maine during the 1980s.
In 1984, the fledgling 20th Maine surfaced as a Class A-60 (now called division III) Corps, and competed in only a few competitions in the Eastern Massachusetts circuit. Being no other competitive Drum & Bugle Corps in Maine, the 20th Maine had to travel 4 hours south to the Boston area, the closest region in which Drum Corps competitions were regularly held.
Each trip out of central Maine was made on a chartered coach bus, an unusual and expensive way for typical Corps to travel. Helping to offset a weekend on the road, the Drum Corps exhibitioned (for a fee) in whatever local parades and community events that could be scheduled along the way.
The following year saw marked gains in membership, both in performers and instructional staff. The Corps' organizational structure became better defined, and the brass, percussion, and visual captions were now managed by dedicated teams of instructors. The recruiting had brought many new members to the corps, but meant the travel would now require two buses, plus other support vehicles in order to move the 75+ people and equipment from city to city.
With additional funding provided by a local drug store chain, the corps was able to travel further and compete against drum corps from outside the Massachusetts area. The exposure in larger DCI sponsored competitions helped the 20th Maine to overcome some of the political boundaries and "newcomer" stereotyping that plagued them the previous year. Their first visit to the DCI World Championships earned them an impressive 6th place finish in class A-60 prelims. In a heartbreaking moment, 20th Maine narrowly missed the cut into finals by merely four-tenths of a point.
During the winter and spring of 1986, membership and staff alike further solidified. The horn line had filled out rather nicely with many new and talented players. All four voices were strong and well balanced, and were relentlessly polished by two full time brass instructors. The percussion section sported new members, and also new equipment. The color guard also transcended into it’s new self. The guard's previous regimented style suddenly became more mainstream and emphasized more modern dance in its routine rather than traditional flag and rifle spinning.
Now having the membership needed to break out of class A-60, the 20th Maine entered the third season with a pronounced intensity and momentum that quickly convinced everyone they were finally ready to shake up the status quo in Class A.
In June, the new and improved 20th Maine emerged in the Eastern Massachusetts circuit, and again was seemingly unable to close the gap between the older, well-established corps. In July, the corps packed up and embarked on a rather aggressive tour schedule, paring them against some of DCI's Open Class heavy-hitters. The finishes were not impressive, but the experience, exposure and constructive feedback were ultimately beneficial.
In August the 20th Maine rejoined its class A counterparts in Madison, Wisconsin for the DCI World Championships. Having displayed an immense improvement over the summer, 20th Maine caused quite an upset when it placed a very strong 4th place in class A. They returned home, receiving and heroes welcome by supporters, including the Mayor of Waterville.
The 20th Maine Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps officially disbanded in the spring of 1987.
