Philosophies on arranging for marching percussion: Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, 1968 to 2023

This document is a resource for arrangers of marching percussion crafted through conversations on the philosophies and techniques of percussion arrangers from the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps (SCV) in Drum Corps International (DCI). DCI is a governing body of competitive drum corps. Since DCI’s formation in 1972, SCV has assembled one of the best percussion sections every season having won more best percussion awards than any other drum corps. The percussion section of a drum corps consists of the battery and front ensemble. The battery consists of snare drums, tenor drums, bass drums, and cymbals. The front ensemble consists of stationary acoustic percussion and electronic instruments.

Percussion arrangers from SCV, including Ralph Hardimon, Jim Casella, Murray Gusseck, Brian Mason, Mike Jackson, and Paul Rennick, were interviewed regarding their approach to arranging for SCV’s percussion section and other ensembles. Additional discussions include their overall experience, influential figures in their writing, their perception on the evolution of marching percussion arranging, and advice they would provide to aspiring percussion arrangers. The results of the study conclude that, although they employ different strategies, their common goal is to provide the performers with high quality arrangements that serve the overall production each season. Additional findings include a collective intent of drawing connections between the concert and marching areas of percussion, and the arrangers’ deeply-rooted connection to percussion pedagogues.