The Next Fifty Years

Dec 1

Over the last several years, we’ve spent a lot of time at Bluecoats reflecting on the kind of organization we’d like to be. We’ve examined our roots, celebrated our achievements, and worked hard on the things we can do better. So, as we enter the second 50-year chapter of the Bluecoats organization, it’s time to set our vision for the future and work to create a Bluecoats that celebrates the value of performing arts education for everyone.

Some of the first students of the drum corps in 1972

It is the dream of many fledgling drum corps to one day become the Champion. Back in 1972, as the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps was being formed, another organization had just been founded: Drum Corps International. Little did anyone in Canton, Ohio know that, less than fifty years later, this small community-run drum corps would be its World Champion.

The journey of the Bluecoats from the Canton Police Boys Club to the 2016 DCI World Champions was filled with many amazing achievements, and brought the Bluecoats Experience to thousands of alumni and thousands more fans who fell in love with drum corps watching Homefront: 1945 (‘95), Connexus (‘06), The Knockout (‘08), TILT (‘14), and so many more.

But that journey to World Champion also meant that the drum corps itself enrolled students from all over North America and even Europe and Asia. This meant that the local drum corps that once served the young people of Canton had now grown to something much bigger.

And so, over the years we’ve built new programming to reach back into our local community. We have operated dozens of THE BLUE WAY Summer Experience camps for young high school students. We established a partnership with En-Rich-Ment, bringing drumline education programs to local under-resourced youth. We have brought hundreds of bus loads of students to drum corps shows in NE Ohio through our student group ticketing programs. We have built new ways to learn like Bluecoats School of the Arts, and made them available for free to the young people of Canton through Learning Access.

We have also examined how to ensure that both the drum corps and our learning programs are inclusive, accessible, and inviting to everyone. We started our Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council (DIAC), and established our Three Action Steps toward a better Bluecoats. We also raised nearly $30,000 toward a new endowed scholarship fund in honor of Bluecoats alumnus Frank Pasquerella. These endowed funds exclusively support scholarships for students participating in Bluecoats educational programs other than the drum corps.

But what’s next?

A group shot of the very beginnings of the drum corps

The drum majors and color guard captains celebrate our first DCI World Championship

FOUR PILLARS OF OUR 50th ANNIVERSARY

As we have reflected on our vision for the future of Bluecoats, we have defined four pillars that will guide the implementation of our vision.

INVESTING IN THE BLUECOATS EXPERIENCE

For fifty years we have worked to grow an organization that provides a life-changing experience during a summer of drum corps. And for fifty years, what defines a summer of drum corps is has rapidly evolved. In our next chapter, we will continue to invest in the infrastructure that makes the Bluecoats Experience safe, fun, and life changing.

This means upgrading our fleet, investing in athletic medicine infrastructure and people, exploring solutions that support performer mental health, improving our program operations, and exploring ways to continue to invest in our students’ experience. At the top of our to-do list is building a new commercial kitchen trailer and equipment trailer to replace our aging infrastructure and promote a safe environment while traveling.

This also means continuing to promote a culture of artistic innovation that values the free expression of the individual. We want Bluecoats performances to continue to light up the crowd, push the envelope, and redefine what a drum corps performance can be, and how a drum corps performer can express themselves.

INVESTING IN MUSIC EDUCATION

At it’s core, Bluecoats was founded to be a music education organization. In that spirit, we will invest in our current Learning Programs like School of the Arts, Learning Access, and THE BLUE WAY Summer Educational Experience; and we will build new programs dedicated to performing arts education that reach new students in our communities. These include programs that work directly with curricular music programs and existing agencies, and those that use the internet to directly reach students who may not normally have access to music education.

We will strengthen our partnership with En-Rich-Ment, including an increase the frequency of visits that Bluecoats instructors make to their after school and weekend programs. We see in En-Rich-Ment what the Canton community saw in our fledgling drum corps fifty years ago and we’re excited to continue our partnership.

INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITY

We will expand our annual Community Events, including a multi-year investment in Bluecoats Party in the Plaza and continued investment in our drum corps shows in Akron and Canton. Furthermore, we will celebrate with our Canton family during a multi-day Canton Residency in 2022 that includes a 600-performer Fourth of July Extravaganza at the McKinley Presidential Monument.

We will re-imagine our free and reduced cost student ticketing program to usher thousands more students into our summer performance events, ensuring a new generation of young people enjoy the wonders of drum corps! This investment will extend also to the local students who benefit from Learning Access, including the students of En-Rich-Ment.

INVESTING IN ACCESSIBILITY & EQUITY

We will establish the Bluecoats Fellowship to find and support the next generation of marching arts designers and leaders. We will re-imagine our scholarship program to break down barriers to entry in the world class drum corps activity. We will explore new pathways with agencies like En-Rich-Ment to cultivate quality music education experiences for under-represented youth in our community. We will continue to invest in endowed scholarship options like the Frank Pasquerella Memorial Scholarship Fund to ensure that our commitment to promoting scholarship lasts for generations.

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Together, the entire Bluecoats Community will come together over the next several years to celebrate where we’ve come from, and to work together toward a future for Bluecoats that meets our vision.

We are so excited to get started.

Mike Scott

Mike Scott is a clinician, consultant, and the CEO of Rhythm X, Inc., a non-profit music education company in Dayton, Ohio. Mike earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 2012. There he studied percussion and conducting and completed the Farmer School of Business Summer Institute. Before beginning his career as an administrator and teacher, Mike was an active performer in the marching arts. In 2011 Mike was the conductor of the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps of Canton, Ohio and was a performer in Rhythm X’s percussion ensemble from 2011-2012. Mike was also a member of the Miami University Marching Band for four years, serving as the drum major during the 2011 and 2012 seasons. In 2013 Mike began work at Rhythm X, Inc. as the Operations Director, managing the business development and logistics of the organization. He was also the Director of Instrumental Music at St. Ursula Academy in Toledo, Ohio. There he taught band, orchestra, and general music in grades 6-12. Prior to the 2015 competitive season, Mike became the first full-time employee at Rhythm X, Inc. as the company’s CEO. There he works with the organization’s President Tim Fairbanks to develop the future strategy of the company. During the summer months, Mike travels the country with the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps as the group’s Tour Administrator. He has also served as the tour manager of The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Mike proudly endorses Innovative Percussion, Etymotic Research, and Fred J. Miller Inc.

http://mikewscott.com