3 1 r e t p a h C Drum and bugle corps in Quebec by Daniel Buteau The United States has always maintained a The shape the activity took in Quebec has health-care systems. It also sponsored forms of rather complete domination of all aspects of the been the result of church and community leisure groups deemed appropriate by its drum and bugle corps activity. Up to the late activism in the 1960s, state intervention in the leaders. 1990s, Canada retained its position as the 1970s and individual initiative from the Patro institutions, community centres activity's non-American leader by providing a mid-1980s. directly controlled by parishes, sponsored healthy drum corps scene and producing fierce What started out as a community youth marching music groups. Most famous among competitors at the DCA and DCI levels. activity had become obsessed with competitive these was La Clique Alouette, founded in the The dawn of the 21st Century has set the considerations by the late 1970s. A visible and 1950s by Patro Laval in Quebec City. Patro stage for a struggle that could potentially lead accessible drum and bugle corps community Laval still sponsored La Clique Alouette when to the disappearance of the activity north of the had been replaced by an elitist activity open the corps emerged as a DCA Finalist in 1979. border. only to those who could adapt to a nearly Other parishes sponsored marching music Canadian drum corps has been mostly full-time schedule by the mid-1990s. units with a religious orientation named Gardes prominent in two of the country's 10 provinces, Remarkable efforts by passionate individuals paroissiales. Such groups existed all the way to Quebec and Ontario. Quebec corps have always have not prevented the Quebec drum corps the late-1980s, when a group from Kenogami exhibited a distinct flair. American spectators movement to contemplate near extinction by appeared in exhibition at a few drum corps have been intrigued by their use of French field the early 2000s. contests. commands. PA announcers have struggled with The Province of Quebec, distinct from its This is more than a mere footnote, as names like Eclipses, Insolite, Étoiles or Clique Canadian counterparts in that an Kenogami is a suburb of Jonquiere, hometown Alouette. overwhelming majority of its population is to Offensive Lions, arguably the best corps ever The roots of the activity in Quebec also French-speaking, remained dominated by the to come out of Quebec. differ from those of its North American cultural influence of the Roman Catholic These groups compensated for the counterparts. Drum corps' military tradition is Church well into the 1960s. non-existence of U.S.-style marching bands in definitely thin in La Belle province. The church controlled the education and the schools and communities of the Province. 355 offensive lions, Jonquiere, QUE (1976). Chatelaine all-Girl, Laval, QUE (1972). dimension, Levis, QUE (1995). Photo by Moe Knox from the collection of Drum Corps World. Photo by Paul Stott from the collection of Drum Corps World. Photo by Ron Walloch from the collection of Drum Corps World. The church-run education system, which limited appearances in the United States. 1969. prevailed until 1962, offered no basis for music Les Diplomates remained prominent on the The first FAMQ Provincial Championships education. The next 10 to 15 years witnessed DCA scene, cracking DCA Finals yearly from led many groups to an awakening of the major Provincial government efforts at bringing 1970 to 1973, when they finished fourth before possibilities offered by active drum corps Quebec's public education system on par with folding. competition. Competitive ambitions led many North American standards, a process through Junior corps from Canada could not to restructure their activities around new which musical education played second fiddle compete in the main U.S. drum corps schedules. to core subjects. championship-title events as long as these The competitive drive would also lead The 1960s witnessed a timid emergence of remained controlled by the American Legion majorette and trumpet corps to gradually the drum corps activity in the Province. By the and VFW. transform themselves into drum and bugle early 1970s, it had turned into a fast-spreading The emergence of DCI as the elite drum corps. These community organizations firestorm. Drum corps came to be viewed as a corps association in 1972 would, of course, provided a year-round activity to their cultural youth leisure activity, a channel for the expand the competitive opportunities provided members. Teenagers would join them as an expression of the French-Canadian culture. to Canadian corps. alternative to sport activities. The first groups to switch to North It was also in 1972 that the CDA-Quebec These organizations would provide them American drum and bugle corps standards had Chapter merged with the AMQ and ACTQ to with a social life that would span the whole been first influenced by their Ontario form the FAMQ, Fédération des Associations year. It would have been unthinkable for counterparts. The famous Preston Scout House Musicales du Québec. members to switch to a neighbouring from Preston, ONT, appeared in Shawinigan, As the Church's influence vanished, the organization. Corps dissatisfied with their QUE, in 1959. They were such a sensation that Quebec Provincial government encouraged the competitive results would work harder to get a few marching music groups vowed they would formation of associations that would promote back at their rivals, often the corps next door, become drum and bugle corps. leisure activities for the youth of the Province. the following year. By 1962, a Quebec chapter of the Canadian The FAMQ, with a widespread mandate of The first Provincial Championships were Drum Corps Association had been established. providing services for all types of musical youth highly elaborate affairs. The activity was split By 1967, the senior Les Diplomates of Quebec groups, became one of such agencies. between bugles and trumpets corps. Both City had become Canada's National Champion. From then on, the Quebec drum corps categories were divided in A, B, C, all-girl and Les Diplomates shocked staid Ontario activity benefitted from the services of a eventually senior classes. Until 1977, the event audiences by featuring a merry-go-round in tax-funded agency. The FAMQ established featured not only field competition, but also a their drill, introducing the now well-established circuits of competition for both bugles and competitive parade and stand-still contest, reputation of Quebec drum corps as creative trumpets corps. reflecting the various activities corps used to innovators. The agency would advertise appearance maintain visibility in their home regions. The first CDA-Quebec Championships took opportunities for its member groups, as well as A new class of leaders had emerged by 1976, place in Lachine in 1963, adding a new yearly provide advice to volunteers intending to start a year when 33 corps appeared at Provincials, a event to a marching music calendar that also youth musical activity groups. rather spectacular growth from the 22 featured contests held by the Association des In the mid-1970s, the FAMQ published a contenders of 1973. The FAMQ provided a majorettes du Québec (AMQ) and the monthly drum corps publication called Marche well-organized and widely spread competitive Association des corps de trompettes du Québec et Manoeuvres, which created a sense of scene. Most July and August weekends featured (ACTQ). community among all drum corps participants contests held simultaneously in different These parrallel events were held until 1973, until its slow and gradual disappearance in the regions of the province. when the Fédération des Associations Musicales late 1980s. Most corps restricted their competitive du Québec (FAMQ) held a combined Provincial Positive demographic trends also appearances to Quebec, except for an Championships. contributed to the coming drum corps appearance by Les Chatelaines at DCI in 1974 1960's CDA-Quebec Chapter events would explosion. A baby boom that lasted from the and isolated ventures by a few corps, such as St. feature fierce competition among crowd- immediate post-World War II years to the early Jérome's La Quatriéme Brigade, at the World favorites such as the senior Quebec City 1960s resulted in positive demographics for the Open Championships. Diplomates, Verdun Métropolitains and Hull youth activities of the 1970s. Such functioning could partly be explained Troubadours, as well as the junior Shawinigan The size of the activity continued to grow. A by financial considerations. These community Grenadiers, Drummondville Cavaliers, Sphinx number of Quebec groups had become symbols groups could only afford local traveling. of Sainte-Thérèse, Mousquetaires of St-Jérôme, of what could be achieved in the drum corps Another factor was linguistic. Quebec corps first-generation Sénateurs of Joliette and milieu. Les Diplomates and Les Métropolitains were French-speaking, which added another Montreal Vicountes de la Palestre Nationale. had both been DCA Finalists. adventurous dimension to competing outside Some of these early competitors ventured Les Chatelaines de Laval competed at the the province. outside of Quebec for Canadian Drum Corps Canadian National level in the late-1960s, The location of Provincials moved every year Association contests in Ontario, as well as for becoming all-girl champions from 1967 to from 1976 to 1980. The 1976 event was in 356 multi-visions, Troice Rivieres, QUE (1996). preludes, Breakeyville, QUE (1996). eClipses all-Girl, Verdun, QUE (approx. 1972). Photo by Pat Chagnon from the collection of Drum Corps World. Photo by Roland Doré from the collection of Drum Corps World. Photo from the collection of Drum Corps World. Jonquiere, 1977 in Laval, 1978 in Rimouski, quality that none could have ever imagined. still were 13 drum and trumpet corps and 1979 was in Lachute.