Vanguard Cadets focus on building bonds as summer approaches

Recently completing the corps’ April rehearsal camp, the defending Open Class World Champion Vanguard Cadets are heading into 2018 with a focus on strengthening the bonds between all members of the Vanguard organization.

Vanguard Music and Performing Arts in recent years has worked to unify the systems and educational approaches utilized by its Open and World Class drum corps. Most recently setting out to create a combined brass educational program between the two groups, the cohesive vision has steadily taken root and spread throughout all areas of the organization.

“Over the past few years there’s been a huge effort to unify the cadet corps (Vanguard Cadets) with the A-corps (Santa Clara Vanguard) and really work on a lot of different ways to build bridges so that the performers in the cadet corps are getting the experience and the skills and the tools they need to move into the A-corps,” Vanguard Cadets program coordinator Rob Ripley said.

The Open and World Class corps hosted several joint audition camps during the off-season, giving current and prospective members a chance to work with each other and learn from various educational staff members. As the summer season approaches and the schedules of the two corps take them in different directions, 2018 Vanguard Cadets drum major Jessica Jackman says that she hopes to be able to find more opportunities for the two corps to continue to interact with each other.

“We’ve been talking a lot to the A-corps drum majors about taking any opportunities we have to get the corps to be more united as one family and one organization,” Jackman said.

Vanguard Cadets spent April 27-29 rehearsing at William C. Overfelt High School in San Jose. The weekend camp brought color guard members back together for the first time since the winter as they hosted their callback auditions and worked to set the final roster that will take the field with the 2018 corps.

 

For the brass and percussion sections, corps members headed outside to learn the drill formations to the first movement of the corps’ 2018 production. The title and theme of that show has yet to be announced to the public, but it’s one that Jackman thinks will turn heads in 2018.

“There’s always a tendency to come out each season saying that we’re bringing something different to the field, but this season I really think that it’s something people are really going to be excited to see,” she said. “I have never seen the Vanguard do a show like this, so I’m really excited and I hope you are too.”

The Vanguard Cadets are set to kick off their 2018 summer tour on June 22 in Clovis, California.

View Vanguard Cadets’ 2018 tour schedule.