Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps

Junior drum corps from Denver, Colorado

"Blue Knights" redirects here. For the U.S. Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron, see VMM-365.

Blue Knights

Location| Denver, Colorado
Division| World Class
Founded| 1958
Director| Mark Arnold
Website| ascendperformingarts.org

The Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps  is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Denver, Colorado, the Blue Knights are a member corps of Drum Corps International (DCI).

## History

[edit]

Fred and Fae Taylor were a pair of former vaudeville comedians and musicians who had settled in Denver and operated the Fred and Fae Talent School, where they taught vocal and instrumental music to young people. Fred was an accomplished drummer and a member of the Denver American Legion Grenadiers Senior Drum and Bugle Corps, and he believed that a junior corps would provide an opportunity for their music students to perform before the public.[1][2]

Although the intent was for the corps to be a parade corps, it entered its first field competition during its first season, and in 1959, the corps traveled to the VFW National Championships in Minneapolis. In 1963, the corps joined the Great Plains Drum and Bugle Corps Association and entered into a period extending through the sixties and seventies where they were regularly competing in Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska.

The Blue Knights, 2008

The corps attended its first DCI Championships in 1975 in Philadelphia, finishing 11th in the Class A preliminaries. In 1977, 1978, and 2004 the Blue Knights were hosts for the Drum Corps International World Championships.[3] In 1979, the corps renamed its home competition, Drums Along The Rockies and turned it into both a major national competition and one of the corps' primary fundraising activities.[4][5]

In 1984, George and Lynn Lindstrom became the corps directors. The Lindstroms were to instill the corps with a professional attitude toward competition; the successful bingo operation, in place since the early 80s, made it possible for the corps to purchase the equipment necessary to fulfill the goals of the new attitude. The Lindstroms departed after the 1985 season, and director Mark Arnold was hired. Under Arnold's leadership, the corps became a major competitor, earning its first finals spot in 1991.[6] Since then, the corps been a finalist twenty-four times across twenty-eight seasons.

After working as acting director during the 2021 season, Daniel Belcher was promoted to executive director.[7] After several seasons, Daniel Belcher moved on to other opportunities with Mark Arnold returning to his role as executive director for the 2024 season.[8]

## Blue Knights Percussion Ensemble

[edit]

The Blue Knights Percussion Ensemble was established in 1993 and first competed in the 1994 Winter Guard International season where they won their first world championship. They also won world championships in 1999, 2000, and 2003. The Blue Knights are also the longest continually running WGI Percussion Ensemble.

The Blue Knights also operated an open class ensemble that made appearances at WGI Percussion Independent Open finals in 2005 and 2006. After years of inactivity, the Blue Knights Independent Open ensemble returned for the 2024 WGI season.[9]

## Show summary (1975–2024)

[edit]

Source:[10]

Key  Pale green background indicates DCI World Class Semifinalist[a]

Pale blue background indicates DCI World Class Finalist[a]

1. ^ a b From 1983-1991, the Blue Knights competed in Open Class; from 1992-2007 in Division I, and since 2008 in World Class. These are the same tier, just renamed.

Year  | Repertoire  | World Championships

|
|

Score  | Placement
1975  | Repertoire unavailable | 48.150 | 21st Place
Class A
1976  | Battle of Britain by William Walton / Hill Where the Lord Hides by Chuck Mangione / Battle Hymn of the Republic by William Steffe & Julia Ward Howe / Feelings by Louis Gasté & Morris Albert | Did not attend
World Championships
1977  | Somewhere, When You're a Jet, Mambo & Tonight (all from West Side Story) by Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim / I Get Crazy & Hill Where the Lord Hides by Chuck Mangione / Evergreen (from A Star Is Born) by Barbra Streisand & Paul Williams / Maria (from West Side Story) by Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim | 57.900 | 41st Place
Open Class
1978–82  | Repertoires unavailable | Did not attend
World Championships
1983  | Magic Flea by Sammy Nestico / Tuxedo Junction by Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson, Julian Dash & Buddy Feyne / That's a Plenty by Lew Pollack / Dixie Land Jazz / For Your Eyes Only by Bill Conti & Mick Leeson | 51.700 | 31st Place
Open Class
1984  | If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot / Sweet Inspiration by John Cameron / Trilogy by Keith Emerson & Greg Lake / Magician by Andrew Leigh / Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Ashford & Simpson / I'm Gonna Make You Love Me by Gamble and Huff & Jerry Ross | 70.700 | 22nd Place
Open Class
1985  | A Pirates' Tale
Pirates by Keith Emerson, Greg Lake & Peter Sinfield | 68.200 | 31st Place
Open Class
1986  | Rockin' The Rockies
Rockin' The Paradise by Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw & James "J.Y." Young (Styx) / Too Much Time on my Hands by Tommy Shaw / Since You Asked by Judy Collins / Light Up by Dennis DeYoung / Thick as a Brick by Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) / Feels Like the First Time by Mick Jones (Foreigner) | 68.700 | 27th Place
Open Class
1987  | Savannah River Holiday by Ron Nelson / Ritual Fire Dance (from El amor brujo) by Manuel de Falla / Requiem by Andrew Lloyd Webber | 73.400  | 22nd Place
Open Class
Semifinalist
1988  | Moorside March by Gustav Holst / Divertimento for Band by Vincent Persichetti / Pie Jesu (from Requiem) by Andrew Lloyd Webber / March (from First Suite in E-Flat) by Gustav Holst | 78.600  | 17th Place
Open Class
Semifinalist
1989  | Moorside March by Gustav Holst / Punchinello by Alfred Reed | 81.200  | 16th Place
Open Class
Semifinalist
1990  | Chichester Psalms, Offertory, I Go On, Sanctus & Agnus Dei
All from Mass by Leonard Bernstein | 85.400  | 13th Place
Open Class
Semifinalist
1991  | Savannah River Holiday by Ron Nelson / Outdoor Overture by Aaron Copland / Aspen Jubilee by Ron Nelson | 87.700  | 9th Place
Open Class
Finalist
1992  | Portraits of Aaron Copland
Billy the Kid, Corral Nocturne (from Rodeo) & The Red Pony by Aaron Copland / Chorale & Shaker Dance by John Zdechlik | 90.000  | 9th Place
Division I
Finalist
1993  | The Next Generation
Battle in the Mutara Nebula (from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) by James Horner / Clear All Moorings & Star Trek VI Suite (from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) by Cliff Eidelman / Little Green Men by Steve Vai | 85.000  | 10th Place
Division I
Finalist
1994  | Trittico For Brass Band
Trittico For Brass Band by James Curnow | 88.400  | 7th Place
Division I
Finalist
1995  | Legacy
Introduction, Main Theme, Adagio, Fugue & Finale
All from Legacy by Ramsey Lewis | 81.300  | 13th Place
Division I
Semifinalist
1996  | Music of Ron Nelson
Rocky Point Holiday & Sonoran Desert Holiday by Ron Nelson | 80.700  | 12th Place
Division I
Finalist
1997  | Ben-Hur
Prelude, Overture & The Battle, Parts I and II (from Ben-Hur) by Miklós Rózsa / Lithe Girl, Brown Girl (from The Lovers) & Father In Heaven (from Prayers of Kierkegaard) by Samuel Barber | 88.200  | 9th Place
Division I
Finalist
1998  | Masters of the Symphony
Symphony No. 10, Mvts. 1 & 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich / Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique), Mvts. 1 & 3 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky / Largo (from Symphony No. 9) by Antonín Dvořák / Ode to Joy (from Symphony No. 9) by Ludwig van Beethoven | 89.500  | 9th Place
Division I
Finalist
1999  | Suite for Brass and Percussion
Trittico For Brass Band by James Curnow / Partita For Band by Edward Gregson | 92.500  | 7th Place
Division I
Finalist
2000  | Colors of Brass and Percussion
Movements 1 & 3 (from Montage) / A Time for Love, A Time for Hate & A Time for Peace (from The Essence of Time)
All by Peter Graham | 92.000  | 6th Place
Division I
Finalist
2001  | Blue Toons
Cartoon by Paul Hart / Black Market Juggler by Joe Zawinul / An American in Paris by George Gershwin | 83.900  | 14th Place
Division I
Semifinalist
2002  | Fear and Trembling
Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 35 by Dmitri Shostakovich / Piano Concerto Op. 38 by Samuel Barber | 85.500  | 13th Place
Division I
Semifinalist
2003  | Primary Colors
Kaval Sviri (Traditional), adapted by Peter Liomdev / Izpoved by Krassimir Kyurkchiysky / Prologue by Mike Nevin | 85.350  | 13th Place
Division I
Semifinalist
2004  | A Knight's Tale
A Knight's Tale by Mike Nevin / Trittico For Brass Band by James Curnow / I Go On (from Mass) by Leonard Bernstein | 87.600  | 10th Place
Division I
Finalist
2005  | A Midsummer Knight's Dream
Some Enchanted Evening (from South Pacific) by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II / A Midsummer Knight's Dream by Mike Nevin, Russ Newbury & Pat Amann | 88.225  | 10th Place
Division I
Finalist
2006  | Dark Knights
Piano Concerto by Samuel Barber | 90.125  | 7th Place
Division I
Finalist
2007  | Dark Dances
Piano Concerto No. 1 & Symphony No. 10 by Dmitri Shostakovich | 90.275  | 8th Place
Division I
Finalist
2008  | Knight Reign
Cloudburst by Eric Whitacre / Turbine by John Mackey / Jeux d’eau by Maurice Ravel / Amazing Grace by William Walker & John Newton | 88.250  | 9th Place
World Class
Finalist
2009  | Shiver: A Winter in Colorado
Winter (from The Four Seasons) by Antonio Vivaldi / Glide by Russ Newbury & Jeff Audesmore / Landslide by Stevie Nicks / Tarantella by Phil Kline / Coronation (from Stardust) by Ilan Eshkeri | 86.450  | 11th Place
World Class
Finalist
2010  | Europa!
L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2: Farandole by Georges Bizet / W.N. & Nimrod (from Enigma Variations) by Edward Elgar / Symphony No. 1, Mvt. 4 by Johannes Brahms | 87.100  | 11th Place
World Class
Finalist
2011  | An English Folk Song Suite
First Suite in E-Flat by Gustav Holst / English Folk Song Suite by Ralph Vaughan Williams / Shepherd's Hey & Molly on the Shore by Percy Grainger / Five Variants of Dives & Lazarus by Ralph Vaughan Williams | 89.200  | 9th Place
World Class
Finalist
2012  | Avian
Danse Infernal, Berceuse & Finale
All from The Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky | 86.700  | 10th Place
World Class
Finalist
2013  | NoBeginningNoEnd
This Bitter Earth by Clyde Otis / On the Nature of Daylight by Max Richter / Circle One by Jay Bocook / The First Circle by Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays | 87.750  | 10th Place
World Class
Finalist
2014  | That One Second
A Kaleidoscope of Mathematics (from A Beautiful Mind) by James Horner / Brief Eternity by Don Rosler & Roger Treece / Hand of Fate – Part 1 (from Signs) by James Newton Howard / To Build a Home by Patrick Watson, Phil France & Jason Swinscoe (The Cinematic Orchestra) | 91.150  | 8th Place
World Class
Finalist
2015  | Because...
Because by Lennon–McCartney / Head Rush by Jay Bocook, Kevin Shah & Mike Jackson / Après Moi by Regina Spektor / I’m Alive by Adam Watts / Heart of Courage by Two Steps From Hell / Fly to Paradise by Eric Whitacre | 91.850  | 6th Place
World Class
Finalist
2016  | The Great Event
Gorgon by Christopher Rouse / Flight to the Wasteland, Adagio and Transfiguration & Arrows of the Gods Medley by Elliot Goldenthal / Fratres by Arvo Part / The Great Event by Leonard Cohen / Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven / Air Waltz by Oliver Davis / Saturn by Ryan O'Neal (Sleeping at Last) | 90.738  | 7th Place
World Class
Finalist
2017  | i
Wave by Beck / Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra by Joseph Schwantner / 107 Steps by Björk / Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap | 90.400  | 8th Place
World Class
Finalist
2018  | The Fall and Rise
Sun King by Lennon–McCartney / The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky / Exit Music by Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Philip Selway, Ed O'Brien & Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) / Welcome to the Machine by Roger Waters / Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper & Rob Hyman | 88.925  | 9th Place
World Class
Finalist
2019  | ...I Remember Everything
Sudden Throw by Ólafur Arnalds / Liquid by Jay Bocook / Hurt by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) / Lonely World by Moses Sumney | 92.050  | 7th Place
World Class
Finalist
2020  | Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021  | Always
What a Wonderful World by Bob Thiele & George David Weiss / Rank and File by Moses Sumney / Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell / Lovely by Billie Eilish O'Connell, Finneas O'Connell & Khalid Donnel Robinson (Khalid) | No scored competitions
2022  | Vibe
Neglected Space by Imogen Heap / Wailers & Don’t Worry Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin / She by Laura Mvula / Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence & Ari Levine  | 85.787  | 14th Place
World Class
Semifinalist
2023  | Unharnessed
Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi / Released by Jeff Ausdemore & James Catherall / Break On Through (To the Other Side) by The Doors / Submission by Leslie Gilreath & Jeff Ausdemore / Absolution of Word by Jeff Ausdemore & James Catherall / Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz / Freedom by Pharrell Williams | 86.375  | 12th Place
World Class
Finalist
2024  | Busk
Signal to Noise by Peter Gabriel / Busk by James Catherall, Jeff Audesmore, and Leslie Gilreath / Pampeana #3 by Alberto Ginestera / Rings by James Catherall, Jeff Audesmore, and Leslie Gilreath / New Moon in the Old Moon's Arms by Michael Kamen / Orbital by John Psathas / Baba Yetu by Christopher Tin | 85.600  | 14th Place
World Class
Semifinalist

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Lipomi, Peter (August 1, 2016). "Teens dedicate summer to the Blue Knights". KMGH. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
2. ^ Martin, Dallas; Arnold, Mark (2003). "Blue Knights". In Vickers, Steve (ed.). A History of Drum & Bugle Corps. Vol. 2\. Drum Corps World. pp. 174–177\. OCLC 54892759.174-177&rft.pub=Drum+Corps+World&rft.date=2003&rft_id=info:oclcnum/54892759&rft.aulast=Martin&rft.aufirst=Dallas&rft.au=Arnold,+Mark&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Blue+Knights+Drum+and+Bugle+Corps" class="Z3988">
3. ^ Gonzalez, Erika (July 31, 2004). "Corps Strength: Blue Knights Know The Drill For Music 'Super Bowl': Practice, Compete, Win". Rocky Mountain News.
4. ^ Parker, Ryan (July 7, 2012). "Drum corps play, but rain keeps them from marching in Denver". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
5. ^ Ed, Will (July 13, 2005). "Drum and bugle corps gives perfection a twirl". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
6. ^ Neidich, Liz (December 11, 2015). "Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps". Halftime Magazine.
7. ^ Villalobos, Jack (October 17, 2021). "Blue Knights Announce Daniel Belcher as Executive Director". Ascend Performing Arts. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
8. ^ Oppegard, Jillian (October 25, 2023). "Executive Director of BKDBC Resigns". Ascend Performing Arts. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
9. ^ Oppegard, Jillian (September 6, 2023). "Blue Knights Open Class Percussion Ensemble Returns for 2024 Season". Ascend Performing Arts. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
10. ^ "Blue Knights: Repertoire". DCX: The Drum Corps Xperience. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

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