1999
Music
Awards & Recognitions
DCI Individual and Ensemble Contest:
Keyboard: Louise Rew - 86.30 - 12th
Brass Ensemble: Troopers #2 - 78.10 - 8th
Brass Ensemble: Troopers #1 - 72.80 - 13th
Corps Members
Drum Major: Adam Corson
Guard Captain: Amy Biggs
Amy Biggs, Jake Campbell, Renee Cascino, Michael DeLeon, John Holdaway, Jennifer Holt, Anne Hurley, Amber Louton, Cara Luft, Megan Maurer, Sarah McCormick, Kathryn McDonald, Stephanie Miller, Warren O’Dell, Angela Phelan, Sara Querhn, Tia Ridely, Amanda Stephenson, Cassandra Stroud, Brooke Swanson, Amanda Uhring, Joellen Whitehall, Teresa Yearian, Jack Beasley, Scott Bradford, Paul Freeland, Rodney Helsel, Corey Huddleston, Evan Jones, Travis Leibold, Billy Little, Niki McAvoy, Dave McCollum, Brandon McLean, Ben Nicholson, Bart Piper, Jason Ritch, Mike Rukstad, Shane Condie, Caleb Johnson, Jacob McIntosh, Matt Murphy, Adam Nichols, Avery Norman, Mark Quintero, Mike Rossolo, Caroline Burk, Julie Johnson, Micah Jones, Chelley Joslyn, Lean Weatherford, Teresa Weepie, Melanie Alfieri, TJ Alleman, Michaela Blomquist, Erin Butler, Kristin Campbell, Ladonna Carlson, Bernadette DeChelis, Greg Garrison, Thomas Gunter, Terra Hale, Dan Harkins, Nathan Jones, Linwood Mathill, Bart Plocher, Ruben Risi, Brian Collier, Josiah Halverson, Colby Jex, Juan Soria, Danny Vasquez, Dan Darrah, Casey Edmunds, Meiganne MacArthur, Louise Rew, David Rochau, Brandon Schumacher, Virginia Sheedy, Donnell Tate, Amelia Young, Tyler Bushman, Sam Campbell, Marc Cook, Greg Duchscher, Tanner Franks, Tyson Fuller, Matt Lippincott, Jonathan Brownley, Morgan Nowlen, Dan Perkins
From the 1999 DCI Championship Program:
The setting: the Open Prairie. The time frame: the great Western expansion. The people: the early pioneers bravely journeying into the untamed unknown. The music: Aaron Copland’s Billy the Kid. The corps name need not be mentioned, as one can only suspect the Troopers are about to appear as part of the 1999 SUMMER MUSIC GAMES.
The tradition that is the corps, and the majesty of Copland’s music is sure to be a match that audiences across the country will enjoy. Billy is 11 years old. The town is in celebration during a huge festival. The mariachi rhythms of the Mexican Dance propel the crowd into a frenzy. Some drunken desperadoes accidentally shoot Billy’s mother. Out of both shock and grief, Billy grabs a knife and avenges his mother’s slayers. Billy’s life has taken a sharp turn, and its one that he’s never able to reverse. We leap forward in time as Billy is pursued by Pat Garrett and his Posse during the Chase and Gun Battle. The subsequent Celebration is overshadowed by the irony of a corrupt trial, conviction, and ultimately, his escape. Through Copland’s musical imagery and a presentation that could only be the Troopers, Billy’s fate unfolds and the Western legend is born.
America’s Corps Back on Track
by Jeff Cates
A solo soprano wafts up from the performance field, sounding a lonely echo of happier times past on a vast, empty, wind-swept prairie. A lone dancer gracefully floats on the distant, haunting melody. Other voices softly add to the lamentation of the moment and the random stage begins to take form. A deliberate crescendo of large, open chords builds backfield as the motion continues to increase.
The anticipation swells; the energy is building. Finally, the horns turn smoothly to the audience, bells to the box and . . . Aaron Copland’s “Billy the Kid” lives again, and so do the 1999 Troopers of Casper, WY. “The Troopers are back!” a gleeful Mat Krum proudly states to everyone around him. “I am so excited for the drum and bugle corps community to see us this year. I know they are going to not only love our show, but are going to have a renewed love affair with the Troopers.” The corps is performing excerpts from Copland’s classic 1938 ballet for their 1999 production and the excitement among members and staff is nearly palpable. The entire corps seems to sense it has turned a major corner in its retooling and reemergence and the optimism of the organization quickly spreads to anyone who is spending time around the corps.
The members are quickly grasping the concept of the complex show, which focuses on some significant moments of one of the Wild West’s most notorious and mythical figures, Billy the Kid. Indeed, the Troopers are back at this point, at least as far as determination and espirit de corps is concerned.
Krum hasn’t always been this cheerful, however, and for good reason. The Troopers nearly folded several years ago as they experienced financial disasters through the mid-’90s, ones they are still painfully -- but methodically -- extracting themselves from. Krum, who has been the corps’ executive director since the fall of 1996, has established measured, long-term goals for not only the budget of the corps, but also for the overall health of the Troopers in Wyoming.
“What happened?” Krum reflects. “Simple. The corps forgot that, first and foremost, we have to operate as a business. Drum corps may exist due to a passion of the emotional heart, but it has to be run with an accountant’s mind and pencil.”
Going into 1995, the corps was carrying a debt of several hundred thousand dollars. But, Krum says, instead of paring back on the “non-essential items”, the corps spent over $23,000 on show design alone for the following season. “Not only were we spending money out of control, but our ties with the Wyoming community were becoming strained. We were asking for too much without paying out state and the city of Casper much tribute for our existence. Not only were we operating beyond out budget, but additionally, our core support was eroding beneath us. It was a classic death spiral and we nearly played it to the end.
By the end of the 1996 season, the corps’ debt had ballooned to nearly 50% higher than it was just two years prior. In a refocused effort to get costs under control, the corps’ board of directors promoted Krum to executive director, the fourth since the legendary Jim Jones retired in 1987. “We immediately took stock of our assets and our liabilities and formulated a monthly budget. We restructured our bingo revenues, worked out deals with our creditors, cut staffing and operated with a simple and strict rule -- if it’s not in that month’s budget, we can’t have it.
“We had to limit the corps to what it could afford financially, not what we wanted the corps to ideally look and sound like. We came close to closing the doors, but we hung on. In 1997, we took only two busses on tour with 69 members. It was a rough year, but we didn’t incur any new debt. We assumed full accountability for every penny we spent and soon proved we could operate self-sufficiently and within budget. That was a major proving point to may people, including ourselves.
Additionally, in 1997, the Troopers refocused on their Wyoming tour. Adds, Krum, “we really focused on getting back in touch with Wyoming, playing in the small towns around the state that are really the heart and soul of the corps. We may be known as the Casper Troopers, but we really belong to the entire state of Wyoming. And in refocusing on our local roots, we are beginning to win back some of our financial and emotional support from the area.”
Krum states the corps’ debt is down substantially over the past three years and says the goal of the Troopers being debt free by the end of 2000 is on track. The corps will perform in eight Wyoming cities before departing for the June 25, Wausau, WI, show and their national tour. This year the corps is marching 90 members (44B/25P/20CG/1DM) -- nearly 50% larger than in 1998!
And how will Krum measure the success of the ‘99 Troop? He ponders a moment. “well, I have no idea how we will place this year in Madison and that’s not our focus. Our show is strong, our staff is exceptionally cohesive and dedicated, the kids are stoked and we are going to make sure the fans have a great time this year. “The corps had it’s entire show on the field before June 1 -- a first in Trooper history -- so we are all pretty excited about the possibilities. But we’ll let our fans applause and comments tell us whether we were successful or not, especially the one’s here in Wyoming.”
Krum smiles again.
