The Vigilantes are very excited to annouce their staff for the upcoming 2010 season.  Leading the brass as caption head is Terry Pritchard.  New to the Vigilantes this year is the Color Guard caption head and designer, Antares Alleman and the visual caption head and drill writer, Justin Morris.  Continuing in 2010 as the Percussion caption head will be Paul Rennick.

Terry Pritchard began his performing career aging out with the Drum Corps International World Champion Star of Indiana.  During his time at Star he studied brass under Donnie Van Doren and design under the late George Zingali and technique from Dr Len Kruzecki and Todd Ryan.  Following in the footsteps of these great instructors, Terry developed a style that is innovative, creative and unmistakable.

Terry Pritchard’s style has led to several world championships beginning in 1994 with the Chimeras Winterguard, WGI Open Class Champions.  Terry began teaching indoor drum lines with Music City Mystique.  This led to successful early years and multiple World Championships for Mystique while developing a young WGI indoor marching percussion activity.  During this time he developed a movement technique that allowed for greater clarity visually.  His technique has since been used by many groups across the country.

Pritchard continued his performing career with the Tony and Emmy Award-winning show, Blast!  As a cast member in the Broadway Cast he played Tuba, percussion and voice.  Terry was also the visual instructor for both the North American touring cast and the Broadway Cast.

Terry has been an instructor or designer for some of the best ensembles in the country.  The list includes Star of Indiana drum and bugle corps, Carolina Crown drum and bugle corps, Spirit of Atlanta drum and bugle corps, Dutch Boy drum and bugle corps, Music City Mystique, Avon High School, Mission Viejo High School, Diamonds Indoor Percussion, Chimeras Winter Guard, Brentwood High School, Middle Tennessee State University, University of New Mexico, Dobyns-Bennett High School, and Science Hill High School.

New to the Vigilantes this year is the Color Guard caption head and designer.  The corps is pleased to introduce Antares to the corps.

Antares Alleman is a performance veteran of the Sky Ryders Drum and Bugle Corps and Cadets of Bergen County (winning a DCI title in 1993 and high auxiliary in 1993, 1994, and 1996).  She has also served on administrative staff with the Cadets of Bergen County in 1997 and the Santa Clara Vanguard in 1998.

She also has winterguard performance experience with Contempo Winterguard of Dallas, Allure Winterguard of Dallas, Escapade Winterguard of Dayton, OH (a WGI World Class Bronze Medalist in 1994, Silver medal in 1995 and voted WGI Fan Favorite for 1993-1995), and Ascension Winterguard of Houston, TX (WGI World Class Finalist in 1996).

Antares’ instruction resume includes colorguard and winterguard units at multiple Dallas, TX area high schools, Insignia Senior Winterguard of Dallas, High Schools in Georgia, Georgia Tech University, and Westfield High School in the Houston, TX area.

Currently she is working on her dissertation while she teaches English at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX.

RICHARDSON, TEXAS (September 10, 2009):  Richardson’s own drum and bugle corps, the Vigilantes, made history on Labor Day weekend while competing at the Drum Corps Association (DCA) Championship in Rochester, New York.  For three days of music and entertainment, more than 50 organizations showed off their musical prowess by competing in individual, percussion, mini corps, and drum corps events at this year’s championship.  The Vigilantes made their inaugural debut competing against 11 drum corps.

Richardson’s Vigilantes began the weekend in fifth place, were in fourth place after the preliminaries, and moved to third place after the finals.  The corps capped its season with a score of 76.338 which included a first place finish in the percussion caption.  It is unique for a drum and bugle corps to make finals and place in its inaugural season.  “The weekend in Rochester was all about the Vigilantes from Richardson, Texas.  In our inaugural year, we rocked the drum corps world with a 3rd place finish in Class A.  We were the talk of the town!” said Ted Danhauser, who is on the Vigilantes management team and plays the soprano bugle.

The 47-member corps brought the audience to its feet with its baseball-themed show called “Pastime.”  Showcasing a medley of favorites, the corps opened its performance with a toe tapping rendition of Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t got that Swing,” then progressed through the history of baseball with “Prologue 1915-1923” and “Knock the Cover Off the Ball” by Randy Newman from the movie score “The Natural.”  The corps finished its performance with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and “Sing Sang Sung” by Gordon Goodwin, arranged by the Vigilantes’ own brass caption Mike Rossi.

RICHARDSON, TEXAS (September 10, 2009):  The Vigilantes' had 17 entries at the Drum Corps Association (DCA) Championship I&E competition in Rochester, New York.  Out of those entries, 2 individuals came home with 1^st place medals and 12 of the entries finished in the top five of their respective categories.  The Vigilantes' also debuted in the mini-corps competition and finished in 7^th place.

RICHARDSON, TEXAS (May 12, 2009):  The Vigilantes Drum and Bugle Corps, a Richardson-based competitive, all-age performance group, is pleased to announce Paul Rennick has joined the organization's staff as percussion caption head.

Paul Rennick has served on the faculty of the University of North Texas since 1991 and is also Adjunct Faculty at Texas Christian University.   Paul is a leading figure in the world of marching percussion and education, with a long history of successful students and performing ensembles.  He has been a featured clinician at many Percussive Arts Society International Conventions, Music Educators Association Conventions, and many Percussive Arts Society State Conventions.  Since 1989 he has also written and designed the shows for the 14-time Percussive Arts Society National Champion University of North Texas Indoor Drumline.  He is currently the director of percussion for the Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps, recently named winner of the 2006 and 2008 Drum Corps International Fred Sanford award for percussion performance.  Paul was a design team member, music composer/arranger, instructor, and percussion manager for the Tony & Emmy Award-winning Broadway production “Blast!”  Paul is currently on staff as an artist/clinician with Dynasty USA, Remo Inc., the Avedis Zildjian Co., and a Signature Artist with Innovative Percussion, Inc.

"We are extremely excited to have Paul join the Vigilantes," said Ted Danhauser, Logistics Coordinator for the corps.  "Our volunteers' passion is to compete on the national stage.  Having someone of Paul's caliber on our staff, along with a new name suited to our goal, will take our performance to the next level and help attract top talent to our organization."

Vigilantes Drum and Bugle Corps is pleased to announce the 2009 field show entitled Pastime.  The show involves the audience in childhood memories of America’s pastime and its love affair with the game as individuals grow up personally and through time.

The show is an audience pleaser and designed in three distinct movements.

The opening movement is based upon the Duke Ellington jazz standard “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing).”  This section will have the audience tapping toes and relive the game of their youth through musical and visual cues.

The middle movement is based upon “Prologue 1915-1923” and “Knock The Cover Off the Ball” by Randy Newman from the movie score “The Natural.”  This portion of the show will have varied moods in portraying the growth of the game from the Golden Age of Baseball and transitioning to its mature state.  The soaring theme from “The Natural” will play prominently in this movement.

The final movement is a medley based upon the venerable ballad Take Me Out the Ballgame and Sing Sang Sung by Gordon Goodwin arranged by our brass caption head Mike Rossi.  The movement will portray the moods and sounds of the “big game.”  Pay special attention for audio cues that remind all of us of our experiences with the much beloved game of baseball and the major leagues.  The rush of the game and crowds will culminate in a triumphant conclusion that you won’t want to miss.

This summer it is drum corps and America's Pastime:
Play Hard, Play Loud, Play Ball!

A new drum corps is born in Richardson, Texas!

The name is a reflection upon the heritage of Texas justice in the old west.  In rural and undeveloped areas military had no jurisdiction over civilians and there was simply no law available because the town was not organized enough to collect taxes for salaries for lawmen.  rime ran rampant, and citizens finally saw something had to be done.

As happened in so many lawless boom towns of the West, the only answer seemed to be a citizen's committee to take control.   No matter the title, all were eventually called vigilantes.  In Fort Griffin, the violence grew to the extent a vigilante group called the OLM, or Old Law Mob, was formed.  The group's members met, made up a list of the undesirables, posted it in saloons, told those on the list to leave town or suffer the consequences.  After a short waiting period those listed and still in town were simply captured, shot to death or hung from the nearest tree with the letters "OLM" printed on the bodies for all to see.  As expected, crime rates dropped drastically and calm reigned.

Today, only foundations and ruins remain of once-rowdy metropolises, home to the unlawful elements of the Texas frontier.

The corps will unveil a new logo shortly, but has selected corps colors of Black, Red, and White.  The corps will appear this summer in brand new uniforms from Stanbury.

The Vigilantes Drum and Bugle Corps will perform at the Wildflower! Festival at the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in Richardson on Saturday, May 16.  The group will perform in the Countrywide Hall as well as in the outdoor pavilion.  In addition, the Vigilantes will host a "petting zoo" where kids of all ages will be allowed to see and touch the instruments.

The corps is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization doing business in the state of Texas.  The corps has developed a partnership with Centerplate concessions to work events at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, TX.  This arrangement allows the corps to man concession booths at local MSL soccer games and headliner concert events.  The corps recently handled a successful alternative rock festival that netted the corps thousands of dollars in needed funds.  With this resource for fundraising, the organization is looking to grow and succeed in the north Texas area.