Sky Ryders Drum Corps are back in Hutchinson
Most people know what a half-time show at a high school football game is like. The student band does an incredible job performing, entertaining, and energizing the crowd.
Take that experience and amp it up to a Super Bowl level of six half-time show performances, and you’ve got a Drum Corps International (DCI) exhibition in mind.
On July 16, almost 1,200 people purchased tickets to the first DCI Hutchinson Drum & Bugle Corps Exhibition at Gowans Stadium. Attendees were treated to a spectacle of color, creativity, precision performances and heart-pounding, inspiring music, all performed by people 20 years old and younger.
This exhibition was a non-judged show and supported bringing the Sky Ryders back to Hutchinson.
What are Sky Ryders, DCI, SRPAF, and SoundSport?
Sky Ryders
According to the Sky Ryder website, the Sky Ryders were a competitive junior drum and bugle corps based in Hutchinson, Kansas. The Sky Ryders were a member of Drum Corps International and a six time DCI World Championship Finalist with a highest finish of 9th place in 1986.
The group started in 1955 and had to disband in 1994 for financial reasons.
According to the show program, this summer marks the start of the inaugural rehearsals for the Sky Ryders SoundSport® Ensemble, the first step in returning to the DCI competitive circuit
DCI
According to the Drum Corp International website, “For nearly a half century, Drum Corps International, Marching Music’s Major League™, has been the leader in producing events for the world’s most elite and exclusive marching ensembles for student musicians and performers.”
SRPAF
The Sky Ryders Performing Arts Foundation (SRPAF) was started last year to help raise money, pay for clinics and bring the Sky Ryders back to Hutchinson. According to a press release from DCI, “Sky Ryder alumni, led by Dr. Jay Smith have founded the Sky Ryders Performing Arts Foundation (SRPAF) in Hutchinson, with the intention of bringing the Sky Ryders back to the community where it began over seventy years ago. Men and women from California, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Wisconsin, and of course, Kansas, have come together in order to enable young adults to have the same sort of positive, character and skill building, and artistic experience that they had as young adults.”
SoundSport
SoundSport® is a program of the DCI. According to soundsport.com, “SoundSport® events showcase performance ensembles of any instrumentation, any skill level, and any age, with emphasis on entertainment, education, and creativity.”
Why bring the Sky Ryders back?
Jay Smith is the President of Sky Ryders Performing Arts Foundation. He is a Sky Ryder alumni from 1981 - 1983. He says those years as a Sky Ryder were the best years of his life. He is trying to give students the incredible achievement and excellence they desire. He said, “Talk to anyone, it’s like a family.”
For so many people it’s a reunion and when they get together, it’s like the’ve never been apart.
“It’s a joy to arrive to tonight. This is the kick-off to the future that we’d hoped for. A lot of students will come back next year. We want to send kids to programs. We thought it would take years, but it happened much faster,” Smith said.
Mark Crim, Winds Coordinator and tonight’s conductor for the Sky Ryder’s Ensemble said that the Sky Ryders won 9th in the national finals with their “Wizard of Oz” show. Since being in Sky Ryders, Crim went on to become a music educator, inspired by his experiences. “The lessons I learned in drum corp, I use every day,” said Crim.
Smith said the Hutchinson Community Foundation (HCF) has been helpful and for a foundation, that’s very unusual, as he’s worked with lots of foundations.
“They (HCF) are the most wonderful people,” Smith said.
Crim said the Sky Ryders are such a wonderful family. During the pandemic, alumni stayed together via video conference meetings and conversations were just like when he was in the drum corps 35 years ago.
At the alumni mixer at Salt City Brewery before the show, he met alumni from as far back as the early 1960s, one of whom started marching in 1961.
Young person’s perspective
Jenna and Macie Proffitt, Buhler High School students and sisters who are also attending band camp were in the audience. As part of the camp, they saw the Madison Scouts perform because the Scouts used the Buhler High School football field to practice. The Proffitts said that watching the practice was “intense and great. The directors had great tips, like how to stay in time and keep footing I didn’t see any mistakes. And the horns were boom! Right there.”
It takes money and time to get a drum corps started
Jay Smith led the show with a statement about the faith of people and organizations. He honored Mary Ann Wright as being a part of Sky Riders since 1972 with all four of her children being a part of the program. She gave seed money to the SRPAF to get the program off the ground.
Alumni and the Hutchinson Community Foundation also gave money to help pay for multiple clinics and to perform.
Aubrey Patterson and Sara Blake of the Hutchinson Community Foundation said, “The Sky Ryders are a part of Hutchinson history that people are proud of, and have support from around the country. They are also the future. It is worth it to help and see if they could get it going. We believed they would get it to this point, starting from zero. If you haven’t heard from them before, just you wait. You’ll be amazed.”
Smith said that youth spend hundreds of hours training.
The first show
Jay Smith conducted his first performance, with the Sky Ryders Performing Arts ensemble. They performed “Coming Home”, a repertoire including adaptations from “Home on the Range,” “Boom Boom,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Next to perform were the Colt Cadets from Dubuque, Iowa, performing a repertoire “The Woods” including adaptations from “Peter and the Wolf, “ “No One is Alone,” “What Big Teeth You Have,” and “The Path Between the Mountains.”
The Battalion from Salt Lake City, Utah, performed “Dead Reckoning: The Folly of the Spanish Armada.”
The Madison Scouts from Madison, Wisconsin, performed adaptations of “White Rabbit,” “Momento Magico,” “Egyptian Danza,” “Man on Fire” and “Unholy.”
The Troopers from Casper, Wyoming, performed their repertoire, “Dance with the Devil” including adaptations from “The Other Side,” “House of the Rising Sun,” “Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood” and more.
To conclude, The Blue Stars from La Crosse, Wisconsin, performed “Universal,” a repertoire including “The Harmony Codex,” “Inner Universe” and “Stardust.”
Memorabilia
Much like other national sporting events, each DCI performing team had a booth selling shirts, mugs, stickers, posters, pennants, and more.
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