Hello York friends!

The following is a summary of a four-part article series published in the

monthly American magazine Drum Corps World from April to July 2007. The articles have been
condensed for your convenience, with any insight I’ve gained through my research added in.

What Happened To The Drum Corps Activity In Québec?1

Original Author: Daniel Buteau
Edited by: Quinn Fleming

PART ONE
Drum & Bugle Corps emerged in Québec in 1958 when Ontario’s Preston Scout House
performed at a local festival, showcasing a new and exciting style of marching - field shows. These
performances, lasting at least 10 minutes, featured various musical numbers with continuously
moving formations, competing directly against other groups. Québec already had a community of
marching ensembles, primarily “Gardes paroissiales” - youth marching units sponsored by Roman
Catholic parishes, which tried to emulate the style of the Vatican’s Swiss Guards. The new drum &
bugle corps activity spread across North America in the 1960s and 70s, gaining particular momentum
in Québec. In 1972, the emergence of FAMQ (Fédération des associations musicales du
Québec/Federation of Musical Associations of Quebec) marked the successful merging of three
former competitive marching organisations. In the same year, DCI (Drum Corps International) was
formed from the amalgamation of American drum corps circuits.
FAMQ received financial and material support from the Quebec provincial government, being
compensated for each member registered in its organisation. The first few years experienced
remarkable growth, including a provincial circuit with an annual championship that changed
locations each year. Drum corps saw significant growth in 1970’s Québec as it filled a vital gap in
youth music education.
The baby-boom generation, reaching the 16-21 age group, fueled membership and interest.
Most drum corps were local units managed by parents and supported by community organisations.

1
Buteau, Daniel. “What Happened to the Drum Corps Activity In Québec? Part 1”, Drum Corps World, Vol. 36 No. 1, , April 2007, pg5.
Buteau, Daniel. “What Happened to the Drum Corps Activity In Québec? Part 2”, Drum Corps World, Vol. 36 No. 2, , May 2007, pg3.
Buteau, Daniel. “What Happened to the Drum Corps Activity In Québec? Part 3”, Drum Corps World, Vol. 36 No. 3, , June 2007, pg3.
Buteau, Daniel. “What Happened to the Drum Corps Activity In Québec? Part 4”, Drum Corps World, Vol. 36 No. 4, , July 2007, pg4.
Drum corps was then a year-round activity with weekend rehearsals. Parades and festivals were seen
as equally important to competitive events, providing both funding and local visibility.
By 1977, the Quebec drum corps scene had become so independent that corps ceased
participating in the regular Canadian National Championships in Toronto. By 1979, the Canadian
“National” Championships only featured corps from Ontario. Barely a decade into its full
development, Canadian drum corps began feeling the impact of their American governing body. In
1976, DCI introduced new rules allowing two-valved bugles in competitions, essentially necessitating
a new and complete set of instruments to remain competitive. Unable to raise funds for this updated
equipment on short notice, several groups disbanded. Moreover, many members of this first
generation of Canadian drum corps had “aged-out” (surpassed the age limit of 21), taking crucial
parent volunteers with them.
The decline was brief; by 1981, there were 27 corps competing in Quebec. FAMQ's leadership
sustained the activity's growth by organising annual director meetings to address current issues,
sponsoring regional events to plan the competitive season in each region, and even reviving a
previously defunct magazine.
The DCI World Championships were hosted in Canada for the first and only time in 1981 and
1982 at the Olympic Stadium in Montréal. Featuring the world's best drum corps, these events
generated immense excitement in the Québec and Ontario communities. This led to the highest ever
recorded attendance at a DCI Championship, with the 1980 attendance recorded at 36,000, although
it was speculated to be closer to 40,000. In comparison, no other DCI championship event in the
United States has reached 30,000 attendees. Despite no Canadian corps competing in the Finals,
these events attracted nearly every drum corps fan and member in Québec, sparking the idea that
provincial championships weren’t sufficient for kids who had just witnessed these ‘world-class’
American corps.
Note from Quinn: I believe this event can act as the historical peak of the drum corps activity
in Canada. This is attributed to its landmark success, made possible by the strong foundation
the activity had built in Ontario and Québec since its inception in the 1950s through to 1980.
Additionally, it was the first exposure for most Canadian marchers to the top American corps,
which were rolling out their new “touring” competition model - travelling hundreds of miles
 exclusively across America. I believe this event can be identified as the seed for one of the
main reasons the activity declined in Québec and Ontario - a diminishing local presence.

In 1958, Drum & Bugle Corps debuted in Québec with Ontario’s Preston Scout House
performing at a local festival. This event introduced field shows, an innovative and competitive style
of marching involving at least 10-minute performances featuring various musical pieces and dynamic
formations. This new approach contrasted with the existing Québec marching ensembles,
predominantly composed of “Gardes paroissiales,” youth units sponsored by Roman Catholic
parishes, emulating the Vatican's Swiss Guards.
The 1960s and 70s saw the expansion of this drum & bugle corps style across North America,
particularly in Québec. This growth was marked in 1972 by the formation of FAMQ (Fédération des
associations musicales du Québec or Federation of Musical Associations of Quebec), which unified
three competitive marching organisations. Concurrently, DCI (Drum Corps International) emerged,
consolidating American drum corps circuits.
Financial and material backing from the Quebec government supported FAMQ, offering
compensation for each registered member. This support catalysed remarkable growth, including a
provincial circuit and an annual rotating championship. The drum corps' growth in 1970s Québec also
filled a significant gap in youth music education, propelled by the baby-boom generation reaching
16-21 years, boosting membership and interest. These corps, primarily managed by parents and
supported by local organisations, operated year-round with weekend rehearsals, valuing parades and
festivals equally with competitive events for their financial support and local visibility.
By 1977, Québec's drum corps scene had grown so independently that participation in the
Canadian National Championships in Toronto ceased, and by 1979, these championships featured
only Ontario corps. However, the influence of the American governing body began impacting
Canadian drum corps. In 1976, DCI's rule changes allowed two-valved bugles in competitions,
necessitating new instruments for competitive viability. This sudden need, coupled with financial
constraints, led to the disbandment of several corps. Additionally, the ageing out of first-generation
members, surpassing the age limit of 21, resulted in a loss of vital parental volunteers.
Despite this setback, by 1981, the scene rebounded with 27 competing corps in Québec,
thanks to FAMQ's proactive leadership. This resurgence involved annual director meetings to tackle
prevalent issues, sponsored regional events for competitive season planning, and the revival of a
previously discontinued magazine.
The highlight came in 1981 and 1982 when the DCI World Championships were held in
Canada, at Montréal's Olympic Stadium. This event, featuring the world's top drum corps, garnered
unprecedented excitement in Québec and Ontario, leading to record-breaking attendance. Despite no
Canadian corps reaching the Finals, nearly the entire Québec drum corps community attended, with
attendance speculated to be close to 40,000, surpassing any DCI championship attendance in the U.S.

Quinn's Note: This milestone event represents the zenith of drum corps activity in Canada, a
testament to the strong foundation built in Ontario and Québec since the 1950s. It was also
the first encounter for many Canadian marchers with top-tier American corps and their
emerging "touring" competition model. This event, in my view, planted the seeds for the
eventual decline of drum corps in Québec and Ontario, marked by a diminishing local
presence.

PART TWO
During 1977 and 1978, two major corps, Offensive Lions and Les Chatelaines, were expelled
from the FAMQ for accepting members registered with other units past the association’s deadline.
These groups were seen as prioritising their DCI ambitions over contributing to the local scene. The
Montreal DCI championships reinforced this perception, as corps and players realised they could
compete at the level of their American counterparts. This sparked a recruiting race in the early 1980s,
with groups vying to become "the group" to break into the top ranks of the activity.
This trend towards high membership instability became a major issue for Canadian drum
corps, including some of the most competitive in the province. Non-profits run by local volunteers
struggled to find the necessary funds to sustain North American tours, aiming to retain members. This
situation turned into a competition to see which organisation could become either more prosperous
or more financially irresponsible.
Most management teams of the Quebec corps consisted of parents who were not fully aware
of the broader aspects of the activity and the administrative workload required for a national tour.
These teams were often joined by passionate, recently aged-out drum corps enthusiasts. The FAMQ
Director-General at the time commented that the management teams were “high on energy and
goodwill, low on raw financial and managerial acumen.” The corps of the 1970s were built on strong
local loyalty from members and parents. By the mid-1980s, parent volunteer groups were facing
challenges as their own members were willing to leave if a neighbouring rival offered better
competitive opportunities, resulting in fewer parents willing to devote the necessary time to such
organisations.
Member rosters and entire organisations became unstable, often built on grand promises and
unrealistic expectations. Long-term planning, crucial for non-profit organisations' health, became
nearly impossible. Corps that had previously received support from their municipal governments
began to have their grant proposals denied, particularly when requests were made by individuals
living outside of the town. A notable example occurred in the early 1980s when the Laval Optimist
Club withdrew its support from Les Chatelaines as the corps' roster expanded to include a significant
number of out-of-town members. This issue escalated as corps shut down operations, leaving up to a
hundred young people searching for new places to march. These experienced members would then
join other corps, filling spots that were typically reserved for younger, local members, often the
younger siblings of current members. Members abandoned sustainable local groups for larger,
touring models of ambitious corps, to the detriment of their local communities. This trend led to a
decline in younger generations being introduced to the activity, a problem that became fully apparent
in the 1990s.
As DCI solidified its dominance over the North American drum corps scene, independent
circuits and contests dwindled. In 1978, there were 28 regional circuits in North America; by 1987,
only eleven remained, and by 1997, DCI was the sole circuit. The ‘World Open’, a favourite circuit of
many travelling Québec corps, held its last event in 1984, having merged with DCI’s ‘Drum Corps East’
title events. The decline in the number of Northeastern corps, fueled by the onset of the rust belt and
economic migration in the 1980s, led ‘Drum Corps East’ to expand southward, increasing the travel
distance for Québec corps. Additionally, corps venturing into the US needed to perform well, or they
risked being scheduled to play early in the morning to small and unenthusiastic crowds. Even Québec
corps in lower competitive divisions had to rank in the top-25 to qualify for weekday contests.
The top Québec corps increasingly gave the impression that their local season was not a
priority, significantly impacting the activity's profile in the province. Many Canadian fans missed the
opportunity to see the best teams in their own province and consequently stopped attending local
contests and even provincial championships. A key pillar of the Québec drum corps activity, a vibrant
regional scene, became unstable. The decision in 1984 to indefinitely keep the provincial
championships in Montreal forced the drum corps activity to compete with the world-class
entertainment offered by a city like Montreal, further alienating the regional local shows that had
nurtured its growth.

PART THREE
A series of challenging competitive seasons began in 1987, with local support dwindling partly
due to the early 1980s' recruiting wars, resulting in local shows featuring only smaller, less polished
groups. From 1987 to 1994, Quebec experienced fewer contests early in the summer, with many
corps presenting incomplete shows until the provincial championships in late August. Unlike the
1970s, when it was common to cancel the first show if the production wasn't complete, by the late
1980s and early 1990s, it had become rare for a corps to have a completed show before early August.
The era when FAMQ could schedule an exciting contest every weekend of July and August,
coinciding with school vacations, had ended. Local shows suffered as elite units chose to participate
only in one significant local event, the ‘DCQ Challenge’ in early July, featuring corps from the northern
US and Ontario. The rest of Quebec's shows, including the prestigious provincial championships,
suffered from the absence of top corps.
From 1988 to 1994, two drum corps movements vied for dominance in the activity: the
prominent corps of the time, L’Insolite and Academie Musicale, who had been neglecting their
Québec circuit, and FAMQ, striving to rejuvenate the flagging local scene. FAMQ's initiatives included
modifying their judging sheets to incorporate the colour guard's score into the overall score of the
corps. This change fostered stronger ties between drum corps and the healthier Québec winter guard
scene. By 1994, these efforts had revitalised the local circuit, with new corps emerging in regions that
had not seen a corps in decades. Québec drum corps made a comeback, but it wasn't long before
elitist tendencies resurfaced.
Quebec redefined drum corps as an experience rather than a finished musical product, a shift
occurring at least ten years before DCI adopted a similar approach. A significant change was the
increased time commitment required of members. The Quebec drum corps scene transitioned from
year-round weekly rehearsals with a summer schedule focused on local contests, allowing part-time
employment, to a demanding three-month, daily, intensive schedule featuring extensive American
tours. This shift resulted in major upsets, with Québec corps often trailing Ontario corps in early July,
only to overtake them by the end of August.
The transformation's roots lay in Les Eclipses' efforts in 1985 and 1986. The corps began its
tour on June 8th with 33 horn players, 18 drummers, and 25 colour guard members, scoring 44.40 out
of 100.00 with an incomplete show. They reached their member limit just before the ‘Drum Corps
East’ Championships on July 27th, where they outperformed major American units and narrowly
missed the top-12 at the DCI Championships, finishing 14th. This upset reduced the perceived need
for year-round commitment. The view emerged that drum corps was a full-time summer activity,
not a local music ensemble. This approach, however, led to declining membership and unpredictable
quality in corps. Some corps, small in early August, hoped to rally and win later in the month, but
these hopes often went unfulfilled.
Horror stories emerged from small 'ma-and-pa' corps attempting extensive North American
tours, damaging the activity's reputation and recruitment in Québec. For instance, in 1988, Les
Ambassadeurs, facing housing issues, slept in a field on the eve of a preliminary American
competition. Another extreme case was the 1995 Multi-Visions from Trois-Rivières, who, despite not
competing outside Quebec, rehearsed intensively all summer.
In the mid-90s, Académie Musicale and Les Étoiles pushed their members to the brink.
Académie Musicale travelled 2600 km to Jackson, Mississippi, in school buses in 1993, and both corps
attended the Orlando, Florida DCI Championships from 1996 to 1998 under challenging conditions.
This level of commitment had limited appeal among youth. In the 90s, fielding 80 members was
considered a major success, but by the mid to late 90s, only Les Etoiles managed a group larger than
100, resulting from the merger of two struggling corps. Financial difficulties led to the folding of
established corps, with Academie Musicale ceasing operations in 1999 after a full DCI tour in 1997.
Such high-level dedication had a limited appeal among youth looking to start new activities.
Many Quebec corps in the 90’s believed they had achieved major recruiting success when they could
field 80 members. As the activity decayed throughout North America in the mid to late 90’s, only one
corps, Les Etoiles in 1995, fielded a corps larger than 100 - which was only a coincidental merger
between two erratically operating corps. Another established corps, 3rd Regiment, was forced to fold
from the debt incurred from their two seasons of touring and reaching DCI Finals in Orlando. The last
large Québec corps, Academie Musicale, folded in 1999 after incurring debt from a full DCI tour in
1997.
The entire North American drum corps activity faced challenges in this period. Québec, lacking
the large pool of musicians and financial resources available in the US, struggled to sustain even two
high-tier ensembles. The allure of the American touring model and the need to compete in US finals,
regardless of financial viability, compounded these challenges. The DCI Championships being hosted
far away in Orlando from 1996 to 1998 was particularly detrimental.
The elite units' detachment from their local circuit led to a shrinking pool of potential
members. Full-time summer rehearsals and North American touring rendered the activity almost
invisible to local fans and recruits. By the late 1990s, the number of youths willing to forego part-time
jobs for drum corps dwindled. Adding to the challenges, in 1999, the Syracuse Brigadiers from New
York began recruiting Montreal-area kids, further depleting the local talent pool.

PART FOUR
With the decline of regional circuits, the few Québec drum corps that remained lost their
essential purpose. From 2000 to 2002, only three groups existed in Quebec: Sénateurs de Joliette,
Sentinelles de Varennes, and Les Stentors, all competing in the lowest division. In 2003, following an
unsuccessful merger attempt with a local high school, Senateurs and Sentinnelles combined to form
Quebec Alliance. FAMQ's funding model, based on the number of participants in each corps,
paradoxically contributed to the association’s downfall as it had previously fueled rapid growth.
When DCI began dominating the regional circuits at the turn of the century, smaller
Northeastern corps were unable to participate in quick tours like ‘Drum Corps East’ or other nearby
regional events. Their only option was a brief season of less than three weeks, primarily on weekdays,
in cities en route to the American Championships. This limited format was unattractive to many
potential members. FAMQ struggled to host events that could generate interest, having only two
small corps with fewer than 20 members each. The increased border security following 9/11 further
compounded logistical challenges, diminishing the appeal of performing for an audience that had
dwindled in interest. As a result, the American corps ceased crossing into Canada.
 The Québec drum corps community's faith in an elitist, American-centric vision for drum corps
was misguided. This belief alienated the communities that had nurtured and supported the activity,
which once boasted the highest attendance at a drum corps championship ever recorded.
In 2003, FAMQ organised the final provincial championship in Quebec. By 2006, Les Stentors,
the last active drum and bugle corps in Quebec, ceased operations, marking the end of an era in the
province's drum corps history.

Originally Authored by Daniel Buteau in 2007 for Drum Corps World Magazine.
Edited by Quinn Fleming.