| Location | Toledo, OH |
|---|---|
| Division | World Class |
| Founded | 1961 |
| Director | Brian Hickman |
| Championship Titles | none, 5th place in 1998, 1999, 2001 |
| Uniform | Black pants with broken shield on left leg. Black jacket with cream, shield located on right shoulder and another shield located at the bottom left connecting the broken shield to the jacket. Black and Cream Shako with a diagonal shield located in the front with cream plumes. |
The Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps is a Drum Corps International World Class (formerly Division I) drum and bugle corps based out of Toledo, Ohio that was founded in 1961. A member of Drum Corps International, it is one of two World Class corps in Ohio, along with the Bluecoats. The name "Glassmen" comes from Toledo's prominent glass industry, which has earned the city the nickname of "the Glass City." They have placed fifth three times at DCI World Championship Finals (1998, 1999, and 2001) and have made the prestigious Top 12 sixteen times, most recently in 2010. In 2006, the corps made its first European tour, visiting France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England.
The current director is Brian Hickman, and the corps song is "Madre de la Tierra." Previously, the director was Dan Acheson, who left the corps to become the Executive Director of Drum Corps International in 1995.
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"The Glassmen provide opportunities that promote and develop life skills and personal enrichment through education, participation and performance" [1].
"The Glassmen organization strives to achieve three basic goals. The first goal is to attract, train and further the artistic skills of young people. The second is to teach life skills to young people, including money management, conflict resolution, teamwork, leadership, and time management. These skills, along with the summer touring experience, forever change the lives of the participants. The program produces not only dedicated and talented artists, but also self-sufficient, confident young people who have seen the positive effects that their behavior and talents have created. The third and final goal is to give a diverse group of people the opportunity to not only hear wonderful music and witness an extraordinary performance, but also to give them the opportunity to become a member of this very special organization" [2].
Originally founded as the Maumee Suns in 1961 by the Maumee Demons Senior Drum & Bugle Corps, the group performed in parades throughout Northwest Ohio in its early years [3][4]. Eventually entering the Ohio American Legion competition circuit, the corps was renamed the Glass City Optimists in 1967 [5]. Then, in 1971, the name “Glassmen” became official [6]. Glassmen is derived from Toledo’s standing as the “Glass Capital of the World" [7]. That same year, the corps entered Division II competition [8]. Following a couple years of inactivity which began in 1977, the Glassmen moved up to Division I, soon achieving DCI Member status in 1983, when they placed in the Top-25 [9]. Between 1985 and 1995, the corps set a drum corps record by consistently placing higher at finals every year, starting in 31st position and constantly climbing to 8th [10]. The director at this time was Dan Acheson, who was instrumental in shaping the new face of the corps and guiding them continuously upward. He went on to become director of Drum Corps International [11].
The Glassmen first placed in semi-finals in 1991 (17th), missed finals by a tenth of a point the next year, and broke into the Top-12 in 1993, where they have been all but two years to the present [12][13]. Since 1985, the Glassmen are one of five corps to break into the elite Top-5 without winning a title [14]. The other four are the Bluecoats, Boston Crusaders, Suncoast Sound, and Carolina Crown. [15]. The Glassmen have been featured in LIFE magazine, on PBS Finals broadcasts, and on Japanese television [16]. In 2004 the Glassmen began a partnership with Dynasty USA/DEG Music Products, Inc [17]. Most recently, the 2006 season saw the first European tour by the corps, where they spent time in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England [18].
In addition to their usual summer DCI tour, the Glassmen also engage in a variety of extra performances, parades, clinics, and fundraising events, many of which have grown to be annual events.
Chief among these are their EnterTRAINment clinics, which have the motto “training the leaders of tomorrow with the music of today” [19]. These events allow audience members to take the field with the corps in sectionals (brass, percussion, color guard), where they learn the basics of a day in the life of the corps [20]. Staff members explain basics of the activity, and the clinics conclude with a full show run-through [21]. During the 2006 season, the Glassmen gave a clinic in Peterborough, England during the "East of England" Invitational to over 500 local musicians and students [22][23]. Outside of this standard schedule, the Glassmen have also had the honor of giving additional clinics through the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) [24].
This event is an actual drum corps competition that features the EnterTRAINment clinic and a number of Midwestern corps [25]. Hosted at the University of Toledo’s Glass Bowl stadium, and in recent years Whitmer High School stadium, this event was known as “Key to the Sea” throughout the 1970s and 1980s [26][27]. A typical line-up for this competition includes the Glassmen, Bluecoats, Southwind, and Cavaliers, with occasional appearances from other corps such as the Phantom Regiment [28].
The Glassmen have held this season-starting concert for the past two years and are planning to continue the trend in coming years [29]. This indoors event in late May features the entire corps musical repertoire, both in sections and as a drum corps [30]. The 2005 concert was held in Toledo at the Valentine Theatre, and the 2006 show occurred at the Maumee Performing Arts Center [31]. The 2006 Showcase concert also featured percussionist Mark Ford on the marimba [32].
The Glassmen have performed with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra three times, in 2004, 2006, and 2008 [33]. They presented “The Pines of Rome” in 2004, and 2008, and “The 1812 Overture,” in 2006 [34]. All performances were conducted by Chelsea Tipton II, a resident conductor with the orchestra [35].
Like a lot of groups in the drum corps activity, the Glassmen have a bingo hall to raise funds for the summer tour [36]. However, it is necessary to do some additional events to supplement the weekly income of this facility. The Monte Carlo fundraisers occur twice a year in February/March in Toledo, and they simply consist of 35 hours of poker in one weekend [37]. Cards are dealt by Glassmen members to local poker players [38].
The following table provides the repertoire, scores, and placements for the entire recorded history of the Glassmen [39]:
| Year | Position | Score | Theme & Musical Selections |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | N/A | N/A | Enter the Conquering Hero – The Ecstasy of Gold – One Fine Morning –Declaration of Independence – Wooden Ships – We Will Never Pass This Way Again |
| 1974 | N/A | N/A | Scythian Suite – One Fine Morning – Skybird – In the Mood – We Will Never Pass This Way Again |
| 1975 | 25th | 63.050 | Aristophonic Suite ‘The Wasps’ Overture – Hill Where the Lord Hides – March of the Three Oranges – In the Mood – Prelude for an Occasion |
| 1980 | 42nd | 45.550 | N/A |
| 1981 | 38th | 53.600 | N/A |
| 1982 | 34th | 55.500 | N/A |
| 1983 | 24th | 58.250 | Wind Machine - Recuerdos - Hide & Seek - Big Noise from Winetka - Time for a Change |
| 1984 | 28th | 68.900 | Wind Machine – Groovin’ Hard – Race with the Devil on a Spanish Highway – Chain Reaction |
| 1985 | 39th | 53.900 | N/A |
| 1986 | 31st | 62.900 | This Could be the Start of Something Big – Coconut Champagne – Misty – Everything’s Coming Up Roses (from Gypsy) |
| 1987 | 30th | 62.400 | This Could be the Start of Something Big - Sambita - As Time Goes By - Groove Merchant |
| 1988 | 25th | 67.500 | South 21st Street Shuffle – Caravan – Watch What Happens – Just a Gigolo |
| 1989 | 23rd | 68.700 | Key to Her Fararri – Jive Samba – Caravan – Swing Low, Sweet Chariot |
| 1990 | 18th | 79.500 | Suite for Jazz Orchestra – Threshold – In the Eighties – After All |
| 1991 | 17th | 78.500 | Appalachian Morning – Escapades of Pan – After All |
| 1992 | 13th | 83.900 | A Childhood Remembered- The North Wind – Madre de la Tierra – Escapades of Pan |
| 1993 | 11th | 82.800 | A Voyage Through Imagination- Overture – Morning Sun on the Sailes – The Lion’s Breath – The North Wind – Sailing |
| 1994 | 10th | 83.900 | Days of Future Past- Dawn – Another Morning – Peak Hour – Tuesday Afternoon – Nights in White Satin |
| 1995 | 8th | 88.300 | A Joyful Celebration- Little Fugue – Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee – A Mighty Fortress |
| 1996 | 13th | 82.700 | An(other) American Revolution- Stars and Stripes Forever – Second Symphony, Fifth Movement – I Got Rhythm – Rhapsody in Blue – Strike up the Band – An American in Paris |
| 1997 | 8th | 90.000 | The Age of Gold: The Music of George Bizet- Scene and Variations – Changing of the Guard (from Carmen) – Intermezzo: The Mountain Pass – Farandole |
| 1998 | 5th | 92.800 | Dreams of Gold: The Music of Alexander Borodin- Asia Fantasia – Prince Igor Overture – Notturo: String Quartet No. 2 in D Major – Kismet Suite – Polovetsian Dances (from Prince Igor) |
| 1999 | 5th | 93.700 | Empire of Gold- Symphony No. 1 – Variations of a Hungarian Folk Song (The Peacock) – Entrance of the Emperor and His Court (from the Harry Janos Suite) |
| 2000 | 8th | 90.350 | Music of George Gershwin - Piano Concerto in F |
| 2001 | 5th | 94.300 | IMAGO - Panambi Invocation to the Powerful Spirits – Pameana No. 3 Impetuosamente – Concertino for Oboe and Strings – Panambi Dance of the Warriors – Pavana (from the Tres Versiones Sinfonica) |
| 2002 | 8th | 91.000 | Odyssey – Javelin – Millennium Symphony |
| 2003 | 14th | 84.500 | The Elements: Air, Earth, Fire & Water – AIR: Danza de los Duendes – EARTH: October – FIRE – WATER |
| 2004 | 12th | 85.950 | Voice of One – Prologue – Diversions: Serenade for Orchestra – The Saint (from Seraphic Dialogues) – The Cave – Finale for Martha |
| 2005 | 11th | 87.700 | A New World – New World Symphony |
| 2006 | 11th | 86.000 | Beethoven: Mastery & Madness – Selections from Symphonies 1 to 8 – Moonlight Sonata – Diabelli Variations – Ninth Symphony (Ode to Joy) |
| 2007 | 11th | 85.750 | Gitano –– Alborada –– La Noche –– Danzas –– Fandango—Source: Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol and Maurice Ravel's Rhapsody Espagnole |
| 2008 | 11th | 87.200 | Kar-ne-vel - Life - Love - Passion |
| 2009 | 10th | 87.750 | The Journey of ONE - Multiples of One (Joseph Curiale) and You are wherever your thoughts are (Steve Reich) -- The Heart Asks Pleasure First (Michael Nyman) and Tristan & Yvaine (from Stardust)[1](Ilan Eshkeri) -- Joy (from Awakening) (Joseph Curiale) and One (Harry Nillson) |
| 2010 | 12th | 85.800 | The Prayer Cycle - The Prayer Cycle by Jonathan Elias, Primacy of Number by Philip Glass, Terminal by James Dooley, Epiphanies Fanfares and Chorales by Ron Nelson, We're Jungle Creatures by John Barry |
| 2011 | 13th | 83.400 | My Mortal Beloved |
Past Brass arrangers for the Glassmen's show music include Chris Tomsa, Bruce McConnell, Robert W. Smith and most recently Don Hill. The current brass arranger is Key Poulan. Past Percussion arrangers and instructors for the corps include George Shepperd, Lee Beddis, Colin McNutt, and Chris Hestin. The current percussion arranger is Rob Ferguson. In addition to their regular show music, the corps maintains a selection of encore tunes that are used for non-competitive events such as parades and stand-still concerts. These currently include the following:
The Glassmen have a variety of traditional elements that reappear often in their programs. Chief among these is the modern corps symbol, a triangular shield (shown at top). Most shows have at least one occurrence of the shield in the drill, even if it appears for only a couple of seconds. Triangular forms are also prevalent in drill design. In addition to this, the color gold has been a traditional element, most notably in the successful seasons of 1997 through 1999. Another annual tradition is to modify the shield that goes on the left breast of the Glassmen uniform. Each year has a different variation on the corps symbol that corresponds to the show and adds individuality to each season without changing the simplistic, clean-cut look of the overall uniform [40].
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