Drum and Bugle Corps is an original American art form. The beginning can be traced to veteran organizations such as the VFW and the American Legion, as well as organizations such as the Catholic Youth Organization. Soldiers returning from World War I celebrated Veteran's Day and the Indenpence Day by marching parades to the drum and the bugle, just as they had done during the war.
Drum and Bugle Corps is a musical marching unit (similar to a marching band) comprised of three distinct sections; brass, percussion and visual. The visual department also encompasses the colorguard. The Colorguard of yesteryear focused solely on honoring or guarding the national 'Colors'. Today's color guard does that and much, much more. The guard interprets the music played by the brass and percussion sections. They do this by use of specific choreography, specially designed props and elaborate costumes. The percussion section incorporates all types of rudimental drumming and utilizes a variety of traditional and non-traditional percussion instruments. The brass section performs on bellfront horn pitched in the key of Bb and F.
Racine Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps begun as an activity of Boy Scout Troop 15 of Racine’s Lutheran Church of the Atonement in October 1927. The Racine Scouts plans to perform in a number of parades and events during the months of November through August parallel to our rehearsal schedule and end the season at Drum Corps International Championships in Indianapolis, IN.
Racine Scouts will work through the winter months to select, prepare and perfect a field show that is between nine and eleven minutes in length in addition to our parade and exhibition repertoire. Referred to as Broadway on a football field, drum corps members spend countless hours rehearsing music, choreography and drill. The season begin in the fall, in November, when the corps meets, usually once a month, for a weekend camp. These rehearsals run from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon and are typically held in school facilities, with practices in bands rooms, choir rooms, cafeterias and gymnasiums. The focus of these rehearsals is to assess basic skills and raise the performance level while teaching the music for the upcoming season.
The organization's vision is to create a healthy environment that allows young people to display great attitudes, winning strategies and a fearless commitment to become true ambassadors of the art of music pageantry. Our ultimate goal is for our members to become great performers, experienced leaders and exceptional citizens.
Racine Scouts focuses on the musicians living in the Southern Wisconsin/Northern Illinois but is open to all regions for membership and will offer the members the chance to interact with the community and develop their leadership skills, travel the Midwest and compete at an unequaled level.
Our management team consists of a Board of Directors which will work closely with the Administrative Team of the Drum & Bugle Corps to develop a community organization to be proud of.
The mission of the Racine Scouts is to create performing arts programs which enrich the lives of young people through our commitment to the achievement of performance excellence. This commitment combined with participation in competitive Music Pageantry creates an educational environment where young people learn the important values of dedication, self-discipline, self-confidence, character and achievement. With this unique experience, our young people will carry these key values back into the community.