MADISON, Wisconsin — The goal of any drum corps is to create special moments for members and audiences every summer on football fields across the country. But often, moments and traditions off the field stick with corps members long after their time in drum corps is finished.
For Madison Scouts, one of their more memorable occasions took place prior to embarking on their 2023 tour.
As a part of their annual “Goodwill Ambassador Day” on June 29, Madison Scouts performed a new choral rendition of their corps song, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” in the rotunda of the Wisconsin State Capitol building.
The day in downtown Madison is a yearly tradition dating back decades, during which the Madison Scouts take time to embrace the local community. Along with a performance of the corps song, the day also includes taking a corps photo on the steps outside the capitol, and typically includes a standstill concert. The concert, however, was canceled this year due to air quality issues in the Wisconsin area.
The corps shared a two-minute long video of the vocal performance in the state capitol building on Facebook. The video has garnered more than 9,100 likes, 655 comments and nearly 300,000 views in just the first week it’s been posted.
“To hear that people have been loving that video means a lot,” drum major Carter Doby said. “It’s a really special song and moment for the corps as a whole. To see the online drum corps community appreciate it is so cool.”
Once the corps received the arrangement from Madison Scouts brass arranger Scott Boerma, it was time to put all the pieces together. During Madison Scouts’ spring training rehearsals at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, corps executive director Chris Komnick reached out to a choral director to help the corps work on the song.
We’re proud to share our new arrangement of You’ll Never Walk Alone by Scott Boerma! 💚⚜️ #MYNWA #MadisonScouts #DCI2023
Posted by Madison Scouts on Friday, June 30, 2023
“It was a little interesting figuring out all the ins and outs of the vocal process, but it was really special to be able to refine that kind of performance,” Doby said.
The overwhelmingly positive reaction to the video online came as a surprise to Doby, who said that he’s been otherwise focused on the corps’ rehearsals.
Even so, he’s glad to have the performance memorialized, both now and for the future.
“It’s something that I’ll always be able to go back to and think about how special this summer and my time with the corps is,” Doby said.