Download of the Week: 1998 Glassmen

1998 Glassmen

Of the 16 times the Glassmen have been a DCI World Championship finalist, 1998 was the first of three years the corps has placed as high as fifth place. (The other two years were in 1999 and 2001.) From 1986 through 1995, a total of 10 years, the corps had improved upon its position each and every year from the season before, a feat no other corps has attained. After building up to eighth place in 1997, the corps shocked a lot of other units as the season progressed. In the first show of the season on June 13, the Glassmen came within 1.10 of Phantom Regiment and 2.20 of the Cavaliers, and three days later beat both those corps. After coming in sixth at the World Championship Quarterfinals in Orlando, the Toledo corps topped the Madison Scouts the last two shows of the season and finished in fifth place. “Dreams of Gold: The Music of Alexander Borodin” was a significant step up the sophistication ladder for the corps. In many ways, it had no heritage in any of the Glassmen shows that preceded it, except for 1996, which pointed the direction to the corps’ new style and level of refinement. A short introduction of the main theme of “On the Steppes of Central Asia” led into a powerful fanfare from “Prince Igor” that made fans sit up and take notice. The power of the brass sound was nothing like anything the corps had ever produced before. With a color guard that was unexpectedly elegant and a visual program that looked nothing like any of the previous years’ efforts, the production left many fans wondering how they didn’t see this corps coming down the pike. Suddenly, Glassmen were one of DCI’s most sophisticated corps, and many fans didn’t know quite what to make of this.