Colts Complete Magical Season In Indianapolis

The Colts Drum & Bugle Corps returned to Dubuque on Sunday, August 14, following a series of performances at the Drum Corps International World Championships in Indianapolis. The Colts and Colt Cadets competed along with 33 other groups from across the United States and Canada. The Colts went into the week in a very close race between the groups ranked 11 through 14. They ended at the top of that stack with the corps closing out the season in 11th place — finishing among the coveted Top 12 for the first time since 2007. Their score on Friday (87.450) was the highest in the history of the Colts!

The Colt Cadets competed in the DCI Open Class Championships earlier in the week at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. They finished off their season with a performance in Lucas Oil Stadium at the DCI World Championship Prelims. Coming off the abbreviated season in 2021, Colt Cadets created a solid foundation in 2022 on which they can build following the pandemic.

The 2022 Colts program was titled, The Silk Road, with music from Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Ravi Shankar and Phillip Glass, Joe Hisaishi (from The Dragon Boy), Aaron Zigman, Aurel Hollo, and Led Zeppelin. The show followed the evolution of silk from the silk moth to the formation of thread to fabric and ending with beautiful silk garments. The program was originally scheduled to debut in 2020 but the cancelled season forced the design team to put the production on the shelf for a later date. The show captured the attention of audiences early on, and the corps refined the production throughout the season.

TWO COLTS PERSONNEL HONORED WITH YEAR-END AWARDS

In addition to the success of the performers on the field, two other Colts personnel were honored with significant awards throughout the week. Colts Director Vicki MacFarlane received the Dr. Bernard Baggs Leadership Award which is presented to the DCI World Class Director of the Year as selected by her peers. Also recognized was Dr. Gail Hansen who was one of three to be named DCI Volunteer of the Year.

Vicki took over as director of the Colts Drum & Bugle Corps in August 2013 following more than a decade as director of Colt Cadets, and director of youth programs for the Colts Youth Organization. In 2018, she was honored with the George Bonfiglio Award which is given annually to "a person who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership, service, and effort on behalf of Drum Corps International." She currently serves on the Drum Corps International board of directors.

Gail Hansen, who has an esteemed background in public health and epidemiology, began serving on DCI’s Tour Restart Task Force (TRTF) in 2021. “For the duration of the pandemic, Dr. Hansen has provided live, data-driven information as an available resource, able to translate information to the drum corps activity,” Colts Director Vicki MacFarlane said. “Her calm, professional, fact-based interaction with the TRTF was invaluable to a plan that enabled participating organizations to deliver the drum corps experience (in 2021).” Gail was essential in answering the ever-critical question, "What would we need to do in order to tour in 2021?" Her response, “A lot,” was one she not only helped explain and contextualize, but she helped achieve it as well.

The Colts will celebrate their 60th anniversary season in 2023. To become a member of the Colts or Colt Cadets, submit an Information Request, and enroll in the Red Zone.

Thank you to all of our alumni, fans and supporters who shared the love during the final week of the season. It will definitely be a special one to remember!