The alumni corps movement has been a rapidly growing segment of the drum and bugle corps activity, largely inspired by the quest to extend tradition and rekindle friendships. But in the case of the Erie Thunderbirds alumni corps, that fraternity isn’t the only reason to exist. They’re a competitive success, too.
The corps, currently consisting of 60 active members (30 horns, 22 drums and six in the American flag squad), will compete at the DCA mini corps and ensemble competitions again this year, where they have had quite a successful track record. The T-birds had a mini corps championship streak that lasted from 1993 through 1996. A scheduling conflict kept them from a possible fifth consecutive crown, but they earned another title in Allentown, PA in 1998.
Erie Thunderbirds in DCA Competition
| Year |
Placement |
Category |
| 1992 |
Third |
Mixed Ensemble |
| 1993 |
First |
Mini Corps |
| 1994 |
First |
Mini Corps |
| 1995 |
First |
Mini Corps |
| 1996 |
First |
Mini Corps |
| 1997 |
|
|
| 1998 |
First |
Mini Corps |
| 1999 |
Fourth |
Percussion ensemble |
| 2000 |
Second |
Percussion ensemble |
| 2001 |
Second |
Mini Corps |
"In 1999 and 2000, many of our regulars wanted to compete on the field again," said Gary Matczak, corps business manager. So they marched with the Empire Statesmen and the Rochester Crusaders. "Jeff Gibbens played soprano solos for Empire along with seven others in the horn and drum lines, Tom Davenport and Nick Filia played sop solos with Cru along with six others. This severely hampered our ability to man and rehearse the mini corps.
"But the drum line was still as strong as ever, so we competed as a battery ensemble in the percussion ensemble category. These guys got the field competition stuff out of their system and were tired of the three-to-four hour one-way trip to Rochester for rehearsals, or to catch a bus to some show nine hours away on the East Coast and returned to full-timing the T-birds again.
"Up until this year’s competition, we were undefeated at mini corps and wanted to return to that area of competition. We wrote and learned the show in six weeks in an effort to reclaim the title for 2001, only to be defeated by the Renegades."
Competitive success is nothing new to the Thunderbirds. Originating in Meadville, PA in 1956 as a parade corps, the unit continued operation until 1968 when it joined forces with the Shoreliners Drum Corps to form the Erie Thunderbirds. The corps went on to compete in the Red Carpet Association (RCA) and captured that circuit's titles in 1973 and 1976, while consistently placing high in the championship event. Also during this period, the Thunderbirds were successful at winning a number of Pennsylvania American Legion State Championships. In 1976, the Thunderbirds placed eighth at the DCA Championships, in Rochester, NY. From 1976 through the early 1980s, the corps maintained a position in DCA’s top 10. However, a malady that affected many corps struck the Thunderbirds. The corps disbanded due to a lack of funding.
But the flame that burned in many of their marching members couldn’t be snuffed...
