Established in 1985, the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame honors the outstanding achievements of marching music's passionate and committed administrators, creators, instructors, judges, and others who have made significant contributions through years of hard work, innovation, and direction.
Joining the DCI Hall of Fame ranks in 2024 will be Scott Boerma, Michael Duffy, Gordon Henderson and Jon Vanderkolff. They will be honored as part of the 2024 DCI World Championships this August in Indianapolis.
Scott Boerma
Brass arranger/composer
Scott Boerma
Scott Boerma is a teacher’s teacher. He’s also part of the Madison Scouts’ DNA.
For more than a decade, Boerma has served as the Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Western Michigan University. Before that, he led the University of Michigan Marching Band onto that giant yellow “M” at “The Big House” every Saturday. Throughout his stellar academic career, Boerma has been creating memorable drum corps performances as well.
Boerma started his marching career as a baritone player with the Madison Scouts in 1984. He became a member of the brass staff in ’86. As co-caption head, he was charged with reworking some of the corps’ brass arrangements in 1988, and the Scouts went on to win their second DCI World Championship title. In 1989, Boerma officially became the corps’ arranger, teaching as he wrote.
Under his leadership, the Madison Scouts brass section placed in the top five in brass performance at the DCI World Championships nine times, taking home the Jim Ott Best Brass Performance caption award in 1995. In all, Boerma has spent more than a quarter of a century shaping the Scouts’ sound and programs.
“Scott not only contributed of himself tirelessly but led by example,” DCI Hall of Fame member Sal Salas said. “He has inspired young adults to teach passionately and to be creative. His passion not only comes through his music but his teaching as well.”
Boerma was the arranger for a resurgent Spirit of Atlanta from 2008-2014, and throughout his career he also arranged music for Southwind, Seattle Cascades, Pioneer, Magic of Orlando, and the Americanos. His arrangements have also been featured by a number of all-age and international corps including the Yokohama Inspires, Minnesota Brass, Racine Kilties, Hawthorne Caballeros, and the Pride of Paisley (Scotland).
While Boerma may be best remembered for his timeless arrangements and compositions for the Madison Scouts the likes of “Malaga,” “The Pirates of Lake Mendota” and “Jesus Christ Superstar,” another one of his arrangements was extensively woven into the fabric of Drum Corps International history, played by thousands of performers across DCI’s corps.
In 1994, Boerma was commissioned to arrange “America the Beautiful” for Drum Corps Midwest, which was featured as corps assembled and played en masse during each event’s awards ceremony. He added “O Canada” to the arrangement in 1996, and it became an annual staple to celebrate the conclusion of the DCI World Championship Finals into the 2000s. When Drum Corps International celebrated its 40th anniversary, Boerma once again stepped up with a new arrangement for the combined corps, as “Simple Gifts” took center stage during the finale of the 2012 DCI Finals in Indianapolis.
“Scott represents the best of us and what we claim is at the core of our values,” said Phantom Regiment’s Dr. Todd Snead. “He is talented, hardworking, collegial, kind, passionate, and makes the world a better place through his craft. He has dedicated his life to music, to education, and to this activity.”
Michael Duffy
Brass arranger, instructor
Michael Duffy
Michael Duffy holds a Drum Corps International distinction that has never been matched and likely never will.
He was the musical arranger for the first- and second-place corps during the inaugural DCI Championship in 1972. Duffy wrote the book for the Anaheim Kingsmen and La Crosse Blue Stars that year, in addition to working with the horn lines.
“His musical adaptations provided a fresh approach to the emerging complexity of drum corps at that time,” DCI Hall of Fame member John Phillips said. “Additionally, he applied a brass pedagogy that was unique in the Canadian drum corps milieu and across the U.S. His method of teaching helped infuse a ‘new sound’ for drum corps that represented more artistic interpretation and expression than had previously been attained.”
Duffy also arranged for and taught the Casper Troopers, Racine Kilties, Seattle Imperials and De La Salle Oaklands in the 1970s. As De La Salle merged with the Etobicoke Crusaders in 1975, Duffy was an integral piece as the Oakland Crusaders notched the highest Finals placement ever for a Canadian unit, finishing sixth.
His “McDuffy’s March” became a Kilties trademark back in the days when drum corps horn lines were far different from those of today. In his nomination letter, DCI Hall of Fame judge Dave Richards said of Duffy, “He excelled in an activity that used instruments poorly manufactured that were played by persons ‘off the streets’ to fill out horn lines.”
Duffy also worked with the famed Alberta Girls from Alberta, Canada when they toured Europe, playing for the Pope and the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. The girls also entertained during the FIFA World Cup.
“It is no exaggeration to state that their music — his music — defined a significant part of what came to be the ‘Sound of DCI,’” DCI Hall of Fame member Frank Dorritie said. “Mike has always been held in the highest regard by his fellow arrangers, the judging community, the fans, and his instructional colleagues.”
Gordon Henderson
Brass arranger, instructor, program coordinator
Gordon Henderson
Gordon Henderson is a marching music talent that has been able to expertly straddle the line between the college band and drum corps worlds.
A professor emeritus at UCLA, Henderson served as director of the UCLA Bruin Marching and Varsity Band from 1982 to 2019 while also having a major hand in the DCI World Championship titles of the Santa Clara Vanguard (1989, 1999) and The Cavaliers (1992).
Henderson, a man of many talents, started out as a soprano bugle instructor with the Vanguard in the early ‘80s but soon became part of the visual design staff and eventually musical arranger. He gained a reputation as a big-picture thinker who served the corps he worked with well.
“Gordon’s past long-standing involvement as a member of various DCI corps’ staffs is illustrious, particularly when one considers the variety of roles in which he served, including brass arranger, brass instructor, drill designer, visual coordinator, program consultant and program coordinator,” DCI Hall of Fame member Tim Salzman said.
The length of Henderson’s association with various top-level corps is also impressive: 14 years with the Santa Clara Vanguard, six seasons with The Cavaliers, two seasons with The Cadets and additional seasons with The Academy, Colts, Pacific Crest, Troopers, Imperial Guard, Pride of Cincinnati and Capital Regiment.
Henderson is also a highly-regarded arranger, consultant, clinician, and adjudicator around the world. From the Netherlands to Thailand, his expertise and passion for the marching arts know no boundaries. Nor does his gift for bringing along the next generation of educators.
“Gordon gave me my start,” Bluecoats program coordinator Dean Westman said. “He put my championship medal around my neck on the field at Camp Randall Stadium (with The Cavaliers in 1992) and said ‘So, do you want a job?’”
“That moment changed my life,” Westman explained. “Every single wonderful thing that has happened to me in my career in DCI and public education can be directly traced back to that life-changing moment.”
Jon Vanderkolff
Artistic director, visual designer
Jon Vanderkolff
”Jon Vanderkolff — artistic director, visual designer, music composer, choreographer. Such a rich and diverse talented individual with artistic depth, voice and vision.” DCI Hall of Famer Jeff Sacktig sums up 2024 Hall of Fame inductee Jon Vanderkolff.
Vanderkolff was born into drum corps in Canada where his father was founder of the all-girl division Ventures. He marched as a member of the Kiwanis Kavaliers and then moved on to the Garfield Cadets where he finished his junior drum corps career in 1987. Those were formative years, learning from Hall of Fame designer George Zingali. He has shared that knowledge and artistic touch with some of DCI’s top corps, including The Cadets, Santa Clara Vanguard and Madison Scouts.
A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, Vanderkolff brought a unique perspective when he took over the visual program for Star of Indiana in 1993. He helped bring the music of Barber and Bartók to the field in an innovative way, showcasing an ahead-of-its-time production to audiences across the country.
When DCI Hall of Fame member Bill Cook decided to take Star from the field to the stage after the 1993 DCI World Championships, he called on Vanderkolff to lead the transition. Vanderkolff did so masterfully. “Brass Theater” became “Blast!” “Blast!” became a Tony and Emmy award-winning production on Broadway in 2001.
It seems Jon Vanderkolff can do it all.
”Jon is on a very short list of people who have designed shows at the highest level in drum corps, marching band and winter guard,” says Sacktig.
What’s his secret?
“Jon is an ‘all-in’ creative force in every program he's involved with,” said 2016 DCI Hall of Fame inductee Denise Bonfiglio. “Jon's process is unique. He creates a collaborative environment that extends beyond staff and reaches out to the performers.”
Vanderkolff has been the artistic director and visual designer for the Bluecoats since 2013, and his creative handprint is all over the corps’ success. We’ve seen and heard some of DCI’s most innovative and popular shows come out of Canton, Ohio in that time.