Vogel with Phantom Regiment, 1980
Front ensemble sections today feature multiple full-size concert keyboard percussion instruments, including five-octave marimbas and four-octave vibraphones. But four decades ago, the “keyboard section” of most drum and bugle corps consisted of a set — one each — of marching bells, xylophone, marimba, and battery-operated ‘motorized’ vibraphone.
“When I joined the Phantom Regiment 40 years ago, the percussion section was quite different than it is now,” explains Lauren Vogel Weiss, who won “Best Individual Keyboard” at the Drum Corps International Individual & Ensemble competition (I&E) in 1982. “There was not much solo repertoire you could play on a two-octave marching marimba!”
In fact, her first entry at I&E in 1980 was a ragtime piece on xylophone, “Cross Corners” by George Hamilton Green. “I give [DCI Hall of Fame member] Marty Hurley credit for encouraging me to compete that year so I would gain experience for future competitions,” she said.
Although she placed 10th at I&E that year, Vogel Weiss, playing marimba, was also a member of Phantom Regiment’s winning percussion ensemble, along with fellow marching keyboard players Gregg Gilboe on bells, Chris Arrowood on xylophone, and Jim Tucker on vibes. They performed keyboard instructor Bill Woods’ arrangement of J.S. Bach’s “Concerto in A minor.” Arrowood also won the keyboard category in 1980.
Vogel with Phantom Regiment, 1982
Lauren Vogel Weiss
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