Cincinnati Tradition Drum and Bugle Corps
| Location | Cincinnati, OH |
|---|---|
| Division | DCA Class A DCI All Age |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Director | Tom Slade |
| Championship titles | 2016, 2017 (A class) |
| Uniform | aqua/navy blue vest, black undershirt, black pants with blue stripe down the left leg, black shoes,with black and blue shako with white plume. |
The Cincinnati Tradition Drum and Bugle Corps is an all-age drum and bugle corps based in Cincinnati, Ohio that competes in the Drum Corps Associates circuit. The corps is a 501(3c) not-for-profit organization sponsored by The Pride of Cincinnati Winter Guard. Open to brass, percussion, and dance/guard ages 14 years and up.
The Cincinnati Tradition Drum & Bugle Corps was formed in 1984. The founders, Tom Slade and Dan Hartwig decided to add to the championship drum line of the Silver Spectrum. With adding brass and color guard to the drum line, it was decided they needed a new name, thus the Cincinnati Tradition. With the help of the Pride of Cincinnati Drum & Bugle Corps which folded at the end of the 1984 season, they were able to acquire the much needed brass instruments. Tradition was also the Ohio VFW Parade Champions in 1984, 1985 and 1986. The Tradition took 1st Place at the 1988 Norwood Centennial Parade in Norwood, OH. They were also selected in 1988 to perform in the City of Cincinnati Bicentennial Parade. The Tradition took 2 years off in 1995 and 1996 to help Mike "Cozy" Baker form the Mirage Sr. Drum & Bugle Corps in Miamisburg, Ohio. In 1997 and 1998 some members went to march with the Bombardiers in Columbus, Ohio. In 1998 Tradition came back to Cincinnati and has been active in the Metropolitan Cincinnati area ever since.
Recently, the corps became a competitive all-age drum & bugle corps in 2010 within the Drum Corps Associates (DCA) circuit, and placed 10th at DCA Preliminaries in Rochester, NY. Cincinnati Tradition is an active member of DCA and travels to DCA shows in Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, and will compete in the 2012 DCA Championships in Annapolis, Maryland. Tradition also competes as an all-age corps in regional Drum Corps International (DCI) shows in Ohio.
For most of its existence, Tradition was considered a "senior" drum and bugle corps, performing limited field shows, parades, and standstill exhibitions in malls, parks, and festivals. Recent years have garnered interest in Tradition by high school and college aged students, looking for a drum corps experience without the commitment required by a full summer touring World Class DCI drum corps. This interest by younger performers has allowed Tradition to shed the "senior" style of drum corps and truly become an "all age" experience. Members as young as 14 march alongside members in their 60s.
Tradition was one of the few remaining competitive drum corps to utilize the G bugle. From their start in the 1980s until the late 2000s, Tradition largely employed the use of two piston and piston/rotor bugles from the 1970s and 1980s. Several three piston bugles were purchased over the years, with the corps' hornline fully chromatic by 2012. Members of Tradition frequently sourced their own bugles to play in the corps, taking them with them when they no longer wished to march. Tradition also set a landmark as being the last competitive drum corps to utilize a piston/rotor G baritone bugle in the entirety of its field show in 2010. Other DCA corps have had "throwback" features, with a sideline performance of piston/rotor brass, and many Alumni corps still regularly feature piston/rotor bugles. The 2016 season marked Traditions' last year on G bugles. After their strong showing in Class A finals, winning the Championship title as well as High Brass Award, it was decided that switching to Bb/F brass would help recruit and retain more talented musicians. Tradition sourced a complete line of Bb/F King brand marching brass from the Oregon Crusaders, and sold off their inventory of G bugles to private collectors and alumni drum corps.
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