Racine Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps

The Racine Explorer Scouts
Founded 1927
Location Racine, Wisconsin
Division Open Class
Symbol Chrome Dome
Uniform Red, White, and Blue jacket with white honor cord. White and red pin-stripped sash with explorer corps logo. White bibbers. Chrome Dome. White gloves, socks, and shoes.
Staff
President Tom Chase
Corps Director Anthony King

The Racine Scouts - formally the Racine Explorer Scouts - based in Racine, Wisconsin, are the oldest continually competitive Drum Corps in North America. Beginning in November 1927 as the Boy Scout of America Troop 15 of the Lutheran Church of the Atonement, the Racine Scouts are the oldest musical scouting unit. The Scouts' purpose is to make available a superior performing ensemble with an emphasis on education as well as inspire work ethic and promise in today's youth. They currently are an active junior drum corps in Drum Corps International's Open Class. The corps is currently under the direction of Anthony King.

Contents

History

The Racine Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps were first created as the Boy Scout Troop 15 of the Lutheran Church of the Atonement in November 1927. The corps is the creation of Elof Erickson, the scoutmaster of Troop 15 at the time. Drum corps forming from Boy Scout troops were becoming popular at the time, although Troop 15 wasn't the first drum corps to be formed from a Boy Scout Troop nor the first Boy Scout drum and bugle corps in Racine, Wisconsin. They’re now one of two remaining drum corps in Drum Corps International that maintains its ties to Boy Scouts of America.

Troop 15 began with a group of boys that got together in the Sunday school room in the Lutheran Church of the Atonement in Racine, WI. The very beginnings of the corps consisted of a piano, three pairs of drum sticks – provided by their drum instructor Earl Ray, a sandbox that was located in the Sunday school room, and the boys learned to whistle “Taps”.

The 2011 season saw an important change to the Racine Scouts hornline. During the early off-season, the staff of the corps decided it would be important to switch the corps to perform on horns in the key of B-flat, rather than in the key of G (which the corps has performed on during the preceding few decades). After a few tribulations with attempts early on in the pre-season to get the corps new horns, one of the associate directors at the time got in contact with the Vigilantes (a DCA corps that decided not to field for the 2011 season); he made an agreement with the corps to lease their B-flat horns for the summer. The 2011 season then became the first summer the Racine Scouts performed on B-flat horns. The membership for the summer - after performing on G horns for many years prior - found the adjustment to be rather smooth; the corps found it to be still competitive with their new sound and received numerous compliments, including from the Chicago Royal-Airs mentioning Racine still had a G-horn sound and they made the bigger Royal-Airs sound weak and sick (the two corps performed against each other in an SDCA show in 2011). The Racine Scouts were the last corps in DCI to switch from horns keyed in G to B-flat.

Mission

"The Racine Scouts' purpose is to provide a quality performing ensemble with an emphasis on education as well as instill work ethic and promise in today's youth. The goals and ambitions of the Racine Scouts are to create a performing unit that accepts nothing less than a member's best effort and a strong willingness to improve every day, leading to a unit that is competitive with the top corps in our class. As the ensemble prospers it will be a driving force for the marching arts in Wisconsin and the world. We will create a positive environment for youth to evolve, grow and mature as musicians, performers and young adults." [1]

Shows by year

1936

1954

1955

1962

1964

1965

1968

1969

1970

1972

1975

1982

1992

1994

1995

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1999

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2003

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2008

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2010

2011

2012

Traditions

Uniform

Scouting Heritage

Trivia

Sponsors

External links

References

  1. ^ http://www.racinescouts.com/about_us.php
  2. ^ http://www.corpsreps.com/corpsreps.cfm?view=corpshist&corps=115&corpstype=Junior
Drum Corps International Open Class member corps

7th Regiment • Blue Devils • Blue Saints • Citations* • City Sound • Colts • Dutch Boy* • Forte • Genesis • Gold • Impulse* • Legends • Les Stentors • Memphis Sound* • Music City • Oregon Crusaders • Racine Scouts • Raiders • Revolution • Spartans • Spirit of Newark • Vanguard Cadets • Velvet Knights Drum and Bugle Corps • Yamato Drum and Bugle Corps

* corps either inactive or currently not competing in DCI Open Class