Phantom Regiment
| Location | Rockford, IL |
|---|---|
| Division | World Class |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Director | Rick Valenzuela |
| Championship Titles | 1996 (tie) |
| Corps Uniform | White jackets and pants, black baldric and white gauntlets, white pith helmets with white plumes |
The Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps, founded in 1956, is a World Class (formerly Division I) drum and bugle corps based in Rockford, Illinois, and is a member corps of Drum Corps International. Often just "Phantom" or "The Regiment," the corps is a long-standing DCI member corps and a fan favorite.
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History
Originally founded as the Rockford Rangers, the corps name was changed after a group of staff members heard another corps perform a Stetson D. Richmond piece entitled "The Phantom Regiment". The corps existed for several years from 1956 to 1965, but a fire destroyed the corps hall as well as almost all corps property. Re-formed with a new board of directors in 1967, the corps started back up and the history of the modern Phantom Regiment began.
DCI Placement
Phantom Regiment was the DCI Division I World Champion one time, in 1996, in a tie with the Blue Devils. In addition, the corps has placed second five times (1977, 1978, 1979, 1989, and 2006) as well as placing third four times (1991, 1993, 1994 and 2005). Phantom Regiment's streak of 32 consecutive Drum Corps International championship finals appearances (a record shared with the Concord Blue Devils) is second only to Santa Clara Vanguard out of California.
Repertoire
Phantom Regiment has aggressively brought challenging classical music to the field, including the music of Dmitri Shostakovich, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Antonín Dvořák. One commentator noted that the corps is "drum corps' classical music identity." In addition, Regiment shows have included the music of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ode to Joy, Spartacus by Aram Khachaturian, and the New World Symphony. In 2005, Phantom Regiment took a step away from classic music repertoire and explored George Gershwin's symphonic Classical/Jazz work, Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris (although this is not the first time the corps has had success with this approach, as evident with "I Pagliacci," 1991, and "Goin' Home (Largo from New World)," 1989). The jazzy 2005 show won the Spirit of Disney Award and took third place at DCI Finals. Phantom Regiment's 1989 show, based on Dvořák's New World Symphony, was voted the top show in the 2006 DCI Classic Countdown, a movie-theater showing of the most popular DCI shows in its second year. Phantom Regiment has announced that their 2008 program will be entitled "Spartacus." The corps has yet to announce whether or not the 2008 repetoire will again be based on Aram Khachaturian's Spartacus ballet, as the 1981 and 1982 shows were.
50th Anniversary
Celebrating 50 years as a corps, the 2006 show, "Faust," took the corps back to its true classical heritage and included works such as: Scythian Suite by Sergei Prokofiev, Ave Maria by Franz Biebl, Piano Concerto by John Corigliano, and Symphony No. 2 ("Resurrection") by Gustav Mahler. The 2006 Phantom Regiment took second place with a score of 96.850 at the Drum Corps International World Championships in Madison, Wis., Regiment's highest finish since 1996. The corps also received its first Fred E. Sanford High Percussion Award that year, under percussion caption head Paul Rennick. As a humorous side note, a judge described this show as "touching my very soul" and then proceeded to announce "I need a cigarette, and I don't even smoke"
Show Summary (1990-2007)
| Year | Position | Score | Show |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4 | 95.30 | Dreams of Desire - 4th Movement (from Symphony No. 3) - The Elephant (from Carnival of the Animals) - Finale (from Carnival of the Animals) - Bacchanale (from Samson and Delilah) |
| 1991 | 3 | 95.40 | Phantom Voices - Nessun Dorma (from Turandot) - Pagliacci - Bacchanale (from Samson and Delilah) |
| 1992 | 8 | 91.50 | War and Peace - Marche Slav - Le Marsellaise - 1812 Overture |
| 1993 | 3 | 96.20 | The Modern Imagination - The Landworkers (From Estancia Ballet) - The Wheat Dance (From Estancia Ballet) - Danza Final (From Estancia Ballet) - The Fire of Eternal Glory (from Novorossik Chimes for Orchestra) - Death Hunt (from On Dangerous Ground) |
| 1994 | 3 | 96.20 | Songs for a Summer Night - Ritual Fire Dance (from El Amor Brujo) - Suite Bergamasque (Claire De Lune) - Talking Drums (from White Witch Doctor) - North by Northwest - Death Hunt (from On Dangerous Ground) |
| 1995 | 5 | 94.10 | Adventures Under a Darkened Sky - Symphonic Dances - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (variation 18) - Piano Concerto No. 2 - Capriccio Bohemian |
| 1996 | 1 (tie) | 97.40 | Defiant Heart: The Music of Dmitri Shostakovich - Fourth Ballet Suite - First Symphony, Second Movement - Fifth Symphony, Fourth Movement |
| 1997 | 4 | 94.20 | The Ring - Hagen's Call to the Clan (from The Ring) - Magic Fire Music (from The Ring) - Hammerring of the Ring (from The Ring) - Die Gotterdammerung (from The Ring) |
| 1998 | 8 | 90.40 | Songs from the Eternal City . . . The Music of Rom - Roman Carnival Overture - E Lucevan le Stelle (Aria - Un Bel Di) - Pines of the Villa Borghese (First Movement from Pines of Rome) - Pines of the Appian Way (fourth Movement from Pines of Rome) |
| 1999 | 8 | 91.20 | Tragedy and Triumph - Fourth Symphony - Fifth Symphony (2nd Movement) - Sixth Symphony |
| 2000 | 7 | 90.65 | The Masters of Mystique - The Dawn of Modern Music - Jeux - Petrouchka - Transfigured Night - Rite Of Spring |
| 2001 | 6 | 91.90 | Virtuoso - Finale (from Concerto For Orchestra - 5th Movement) - Game of Pairs (from Concerto For Orchestra - 2nd Movement) - Festive Overture |
| 2002 | 5 | 92.40 | Heroic Sketches: The Passion of Shostakovich - Tenth Symphony, Second Movement - Piano Concerto No. 2, Second Movement - Piano Concerto No. 2, First Movement - Seventh Symphony, Fourth Movement |
| 2003 | 4 | 94.75 | Harmonic Journey - Canon in D - Wild Nights from Harmonium - The Lord's Prayer (from King of Kings) - Ostinato (from Mikrokosmos) |
| 2004 | 5 | 93.575 | Apasionada 874 - Music of Ástor Piazzolla |
| 2005 | 3 | 96.825 | Rhapsody - American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue |
| 2006 | 2 | 96.85 | Faust - Scythian Suite - Prokofiev, Piano Concerto - Corigliano, Ave Maria - Biebel, Resurrection Symphony - Mahler |
| 2007 | 4 | 94.85 | On Air - Vespertine Formations-Deane, 1000 Airplanes on the Roof-Glass, Flower Duet from Lakme-Delibes, Suggestion Diabolique-Prokofiev, Firebird-Stravinsky |
External links
- Phantom Regiment official website
- Phantom Regiment repertoires at Corpsreps
- Phantom Regiment at DrumCorpsWiki
- Drum Corps International
- Phantom Regiment Winterguard
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