Edmonton Strutters Drum and Bugle Corps

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Edmonton Strutters
Location Edmonton, Alberta
Founded 1963 (1963)
Website http://www.strutters.org

The Edmonton Strutters Drum & Bugle Corps is a modern style youth drum & bugle corps in Edmonton, Alberta that was founded in 1963. They have competed on and off over the years in Drum Corps International and Winter Guard International events. Currently, they are rebuilding their program in an attempt to return to Drum Corps International competition.

History

1960s-1980s

The Edmonton Strutters began in 1963, and originally operated as the Wink Strutters Drum and Bugle Band. The band toured playing half time games, at Edmonton Eskimos Football games, and various parades.

In 1968, the Wink Strutters Drum and Bugle Band reorganized, and were founded as a non-profit organization, becoming the Edmonton Strutters Drum Corps. Composed of young men and women ranging from age 12 to 21, the Corps averaged around 80 members. The Corps included a horn section, drums, color guard, rifles, and drum majors. Sopranos, mellophones, French horns, baritones and contrabass made up the brass section, while bass, snare, triplets, timpanis, and cymbals made up the drum section.

The first tours as a Drum Corps took the group to British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and back into Alberta. The Northwest Drum Corps Association provided most of their competition during touring dates. In 1974, with an extensive competition schedule, they traveled to Vancouver (Washington), Bellevue (Washington), Seattle (Washington), Hillsboro (Oregon), St. Albert, Red Deer, Calgary, and Edmonton (Alberta), Kerkrade (Holland), Rastede (Germany), and then to Great Falls (Montana), for the Northwest Drum Corps Association Class 'B' Championships. They took 10 first places, 3 second places and 1 third place.

The Edmonton Strutters continued to tour and compete throughout the USA and Canada. In 1976, they reorganized once again. In 1977 the Edmonton Strutters Drum Corps, dressed in Red, Black and Chrome, marched on the field as the 1st Canadian Regiment. In 1984 the corps merged with the Calgary Cavaliers to become the 1st Canadian Cavaliers for one competitive season. In 1988, The Strutters name was once again adopted, and the corps began rebuilding with a new image and much more casual style.

1990s

The competitive spirit of the group maintained, and the Corps' experienced a banner year at Drum Corps International World Championships in 1990, where they earned a 9th-place finish.[1]

Immediately after their exceptional 1990 season, The Strutters organization began to work toward maturity in their performance programs, resulting in increases to their overall score in DCI competition each year from 1992–1999, when they earned their highest score on record at Drum Corps International Finals.[2] The 1999 Strutters took on a new look yet again, with modern white, green and black uniforms. The Edmonton Strutters drumline were the stadium drummers who performed at the 2001 IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Athletics, hosted in Edmonton, AB. This event was broadcast to over 200 countries.

2000s

In 2004, the Edmonton Strutters joined with Allegiance Elite[3] of Calgary to temporarily form a group called "Fusion".[4] This "Fusion" of the two groups brought The Edmonton Strutters great success as they made their way into DCI World Championship Finals for the first time in their history.[5]

The Edmonton Strutters performed for the Queen of England and the Duke of Edinburgh during the royal visit for Alberta's centennial celebration in 2005.[6]

In Spring 2005, the Strutters organization went temporarily inactive on the DCI circuit.[7] Beginning immediately afterward, re-organization began to facilitate a return to competition again in the coming years. The Strutters maintained their program offering drum lessons and a competitive Winter Guard International program throughout 2005–2007. In the fall of 2008, the Strutters introduced a new WGI program called "Movado" and competed for the first time at WGI's Power Regional in Nashville, TN, where they received 9th place, missing a finalist position by two spots.

Also in 2008, the Strutters experienced a change of leadership in their organization and an overhaul of their programs, resulting in a more modern organization. They began building by temporarily introducing a "Junior Corps" program, aimed at a younger audience to begin growing their programs again. Strutters' "Junior Corps" was well received in their city, winning a number of parades, and increasing in membership throughout the season.

In 2010, The Strutters became inactive as the organization restructured. The year 2014 marked the beginnings of a restoration of this group, who are now organizing to once again offer programming within the City of Edmonton and beyond.

See also

References

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External links

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