
1998 Madison Scouts
1998 Madison Scouts performance excerpt.
Next came a lively rendition of “In the Hall of the Mountain King” (“I Dovregubbens Hall”), with some contemporary bluesy mallet vamping adding to the contemporizing of the popular melody. The visual highlight of the entire show was when the cluster of soprano players moved cross-field, riding the ebb of an undulating lateral wave made by the rest of the horn line. (Think of a side view of a surfer riding the bottom of a wave instead of the top.) A short standstill “park-and-blow,” a trio of soprano player and fireworks unleashed from the tenor drums directed the piece to its joyous conclusion. The jazz-rock fusion of Paul Hart’s “Remembrance,” (from “Concerto Grosso,” a suite of five parts in memory of various people), was brought back from the corps’ ninth place 1990 show. Starting fairly subdued and reflective and slowly building up steam amidst a long series of sustained background chords, the piece suddenly changed character as the mood kicked into overdrive, leading into a sense of joyful proclamation and ending with a full horn line company front. This week only, you can save on 1998 World Championship Audio and Video Performance Downloads on the DCI Fan Network. Buy the 1998 Madison Scouts Video Performance Download. (Available this week only for $3.99. Regular price: $4.99.) Buy the Audio Performance Download bundle of all 12 Finalists from 1998. (Available this week only for $15.99. Regular price: $19.99.) Offer ends Monday, March 5 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Michael Boo was a member of the Cavaliers from 1975-1977. He has written about the drum corps activity for more than a quarter century and serves as a staff writer for various Drum Corps International projects. Boo has written for numerous other publications and has published an honors-winning book on the history of figure skating. As an accomplished composer, Boo holds a bachelor's degree in music education and a master's degree in music theory and composition. He resides in Chesterton, Ind.