Santa Clara Vanguard has long been celebrated for its breathtaking precision, and on the 2026 Drum Corps International Tour, the corps is channeling that trademark excellence into a raw, new direction. With its latest production, Vanguard pairs its elite execution with a powerful, youthful energy on the field. Derived from direct insights from the show’s design team, here are four artistic details to watch for as Vanguard takes audiences on a journey “With Reckless Abandon.”
1. The freedom of recklessness
In pursuit of its first title since the legendary “Babylon” in 2018, Santa Clara Vanguard is leaning into a space of controlled chaos. Rather than focusing solely on mechanical perfection, the corps’ program coordinator, Dan Morrison, noted that the show’s design grapples with the duality of its title.
“It could be something that feels dangerous that maybe is not quite right and we’re going too close to the edge,” Morrison said. “Or it could be the most freeing thing someone could do, coming from a state of vulnerability and kind of finding themselves and owning themselves.”
Wayne Harris, Vanguard’s performance coach, highlighted the show’s inherent simplicity and how easily the membership has connected with it. He says because the concept is so relatable, performers have the creative freedom to channel their inner mayhem, boosting the show’s overall effectiveness.
“Everything you need to know is in the title; we always want to have a program that can connect to our performers,” Harris said. “There’s a certain youthful energy about being reckless and not caring about all of the things that could happen.”
Harris explained that the show’s emotional arc centers on breaking free from restraint, asking the audience to “imagine being able to see through that oppression, freedom, and how much you would work to get out of that.” Ultimately, Vanguard wants its members to “bring their honest selves to the moment and actually take that same journey from oppression and being bound, to freedom… and taking our audience on that ride.”
2. The aesthetics of restraint
The idea of pushing boundaries with a nothing-to-lose attitude is stitched directly into the production’s visual identity. Vanguard costume designer and choreographer Michael Rosales looked to extreme sports for the uniform’s inspiration, embedding hidden features that enhance the show’s thematic elements.
“We got inspiration from motocross so you’ll see elements of this in the uniform design, from the pleather on the jacket to the ripped shorts on top of the pants,” Rosales said. “There’s a really cool feature on the brass uniform where when their horns are up and they’re playing, it kind of covers their full arm and the moment they drop their arms you’ll see a little peek of skin, which kind of also represents a little bit of vulnerability.”
While the brass and percussion lean into extreme sports, the color guard’s look takes a different approach, sporting a black-and-white, school uniform style that serves as another youthful expression. According to Rosales, the guard is visually “pushing boundaries and trying to test things.”
Woven throughout the costumes and the larger field design is the physical symbol of chains. They can be seen linked at the waist, binding the brass players’ arms, and strewn across the field in larger scales. Vanguard visual coordinator Andy Toth explained that the chains are a necessary narrative anchor for the show’s title.
“If we’re going to live life with reckless abandon, it has to come from someplace bound. It has to come from someplace restrictive,” Toth said. “Those chains represent restriction. Ensuring these tight bonds with each other was another metaphor for the chains.”
3. Battle born
A dramatic, aggressive, and no-holds-barred visual production requires a musical repertoire to match, and Santa Clara Vanguard wastes no time checking that box. “Remains” by German film composer Volker Bertelmann — featured in the 2022 film “All Quiet on the Western Front” — underscores the first movement with pure menace.
“I think it’s a little edgier than normal, but the variety is the thing that really hits me as interesting,” Vanguard percussion arranger and music coordinator Paul Rennick said. “This year, Dan Morrison pitched the soundtrack to “All Quiet on the Western Front.” If you know that soundtrack, it really can be summed up in the first three notes of the whole thing.”
Those three distinct notes loom heavy over the beginning of the production. Later, they collide with the vibrant, rhythmic world of “Baianá” by Barbatuques, shifting the show into a more melodic focus as the two contrasting sounds weave in and out of the texture.
“The first four notes of the ‘Baianá’ melody have a very different feel, and that juxtaposition exists through the show in vastly different ways,” Vanguard brass arranger Evan VanDorren said. “As we move through the show, we hear more of the “Baianá” theme, and in the end, that three-note motif actually resolves and is transformed through the process of the show… Our visual team is bringing that to life and bringing that tension into what we’re seeing.”
4. Leaps and bounds
To fully capture the show’s youthful energy and the liberating feeling of breaking free, Vanguard’s design team introduced an unexpected visual element: jump ropes. By weaving them directly into the choreography, the corps utilizes a distinct physical prop that helps direct the show’s emotional trajectory.
“The idea of the jump rope came first, and the jump rope for me was very symbolic of youth,” Toth said. “From what I’ve seen from jump rope artists, there was a parallel to drum corps. It’s very athletic, but it’s also choreography, and it’s artistic.”
Santa Clara Vanguard’s next performance of “With Reckless Abandon” will take place at the Gold Showcase in Santa Clarita, California on July 9.
