Someone who grew up in Connecticut in the last 60 years might assume fife and drum corps are a type of marching band found at parades and civic celebrations throughout the U.S., but they would be mistaken. Although fife and drum corps are sprinkled across the nation, Connecticut remains the center of the “ancient” style of fifing and drumming with wooden fifes and rope-tension drums.
Connecticut is home to the Company of Fifers and Drummers organization and museum in Ivoryton, established in 1965. It hosts national and international drum corps for musters that include the Deep River Ancient Muster in Deep River, where last year only 40 drum corps participated—provoking sighs from older attendees who mourned the good old days when 80 to 100 corps would be on parade. Among them, the Marquis of Granby Junior Ancient Fyfe and Drum Corps, a youth drum corps known for its excellence in precision marching, pageantry and music performance.
After 56 years, the Marquis had its final rehearsal in fall 2025. It is unclear whether or how the Marquis can continue its long tradition, which began in 1969. Through the years, the corps offered generations of children an affordable, but high-caliber performance organization. Fundraisers largely covered the cost of instruments, uniforms, instruction, transportation and group travel for members.
For $36 in annual dues, I was provided with a fife and music lessons, taught to march, outfitted with a uniform and transported via the corps bus to dozens of performances and, in summer, up and down the eastern seaboard. I learned the discipline it takes to master an instrument and rehearse weekly; the satisfaction of being promoted for leadership qualities and musical excellence, reaching the rank of Sergeant Major and serving on the Junior Board, the joy of building friendships and mentoring younger members. It was a formative part of my childhood, and the reason I am a fifer who continues to perform in a drum corps as an adult.
It’s hard to pin down exactly what caused the Marquis to fade away in 2025. The group faced many recruitment challenges through the decades and rebounded. Like other corps, Marquis membership has waxed and waned over the decades. Constant turnover—unavoidable when members age out at 21—is a challenge for many organizations. The Marquis published recruitment ads in the 1980s, early 2000s, and 2010s, when membership dwindled uncomfortably. Then-Director Janet Ford wrote in February 1988, “The Marquis has meant so much to so many, wouldn’t it be a shame if it could not continue because too few cared too little, too late,” By 1990, the group boasted over 40 members, as it had during the nation’s Bicentennial in the mid-1970s—and several times since.
Ford was instrumental in bringing the corps back to life and setting a high bar for its look and style—incorporating many traditions, including the troop-step the Marquis is known for. At its 25th anniversary, membership was strong, but by 2003 many members had aged out or left for activities more attractive to high-schoolers.
In 2006, then-Director Terry Grayson asked Ford to assist with recruitment. Under Ford’s tutelage, incoming directors Lori Garcia and Audrey Lampert built a strong group. In 2019, the Marquis looked as good as ever as it celebrated and performed at its 50th Anniversary Muster.
As kids grow up and move on, so do their parents. Kim McCord, director from 2015–22 and who currently serves on the board, commented. “As kids age out, the adults who are running the organization, try to pass their knowledge on to the next generation of parents.” Running a drum corps requires committed and enthusiastic adults with significant time to dedicate to the logistics involved: event planning, chaperoning, maintaining equipment, fundraising, financials and serving on the board.
Wayne Seidel led the effort to revive the Marlborough Jr. Ancient Fife and Drum Corps in 2016, after it dwindled to a handful of members and died out. “Parental involvement can make or break a drum corps…” says Seidel. “When you get a few parents who go all out, recognize the importance, and are willing to do it, it makes all the difference.” Since 2016, the Marlborough Jrs. have been marching in parades and hosting an annual muster, thanks not only to its members’ efforts, but also the adults behind the scenes. Seidel, who stepped back from directing the corps in 2025 still serves as business manager, despite his son ageing out in 2018. This is a common experience for drum corps parents.
Many adult Marquis volunteers continue for years after their kids move on, while trying to find new parents to take over. Since 2022, the Marquis hasn’t had a director. It’s been run by the board of directors—unable to find a person willing to take on the demanding but rewarding role.
The change in the Marquis’ relationship with the Granby’s public school system has also been detrimental for Marquis recruitment. I joined the Marquis in 1995 after members gave a presentation at Kelly Lane Elementary School. The corps was permitted to recruit in the public schools and send flyers home with students, something, according to members, that has not been permitted for quite some time. Kids who went to Granby schools knew what the Marquis was. It performed at civic events and in early September, when The Big E opened, middle- and high-school students in the Marquis boarded the very recognizable Marquis bus that shuttled them to West Springfield for a Friday night parade.
The loss of the PTO’s “Bear Calls” directory also changed how the Marquis recruited. “Once it stopped doing Bear Calls, the Marquis lost access to the addresses of Granby students,” McCord said, explaining that personalized recruitment invitations were mailed to Granby students of appropriate age and interest. “That letter went out to the fourth-grade students in Granby public schools. We did another letter to all the band members … A lot of people came to open houses from those mailings.”
Shortly after its 50th anniversary, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. The group’s calendar was cleared and, like children across the nation, Marquis members stayed home. The Marquis couldn’t host in-person rehearsals, but instructors provided one-on-one music lessons through Zoom and, surprisingly, many kids already in the group stayed.
“We made it through Covid. We were creative in how we did Zoom lessons, and we got together outdoors, doing social-distancing practices,” remembers McCord. “Zoom was much more successful than I thought it would be … Most of the kids were very reliable and showed up,” recalled Jim Clark, drum instructor for the Marquis. “I was so pleased that we held together and the kids did so well during the pandemic. I thought: when we get back together again … we stand a chance.”
But the pandemic did impact the momentum from the 50th anniversary. Recruiting new members was difficult, and not all who stuck it out through the pandemic stayed when in-person rehearsals resumed. For youth organizations, friendship-building and socialization is an important part of the experience and the pandemic impacted this aspect of belonging to the Marquis.
The loss of the Marquis bus! For decades “the bus” in its various iterations and color schemes was part of the visual identity and logistical convenience of being in the corps. Parents only had to drive their child to and from the commuter lot on North Granby Road to drop them off for performances and to pick them up at the end of the day.
According to Marquis alum (1970–79) and fife instructor Jen Wick, the bus gave members a sense of group camaraderie. “The bicentennial was an amazing time to be in fife and drum. We had three to five parades every weekend. And in the Marquis, we had a bus. That was a huge part of the social activity … Friendships were developed there,” notes Wick, who remembers spending weekends traveling on the bus, learning tunes and getting to know other members. In the April 1996 issue of the Drummer, Marquis member Amber Leitao called the bus “our home away from home.”
Every bus the Marquis had was a challenge to keep. Every Marquis alum has memories of breaking down hours from home. Finding bus drivers willing and qualified to drive the bus was a constant challenge. Skyrocketing costs and a shift in Granby-centric membership finally necessitated abandoning that Marquis icon in 2022. According to McCord, insurance jumped from $1,500 to $11,000, bringing the minimum cost for paperwork, inspection and insurance to $15,000—not including the cost of a driver, fuel, unexpected repairs and registration.
A shift in membership for the reasons discussed here or other reasons, meant very few recent members lived in Granby. There was no longer a convenient drop-off location, so parents formed carpools. Shuttling kids and equipment to performances in personal vehicles became the new norm. With the bus retired, the convenience for Granby parents ended, as did the social opportunity for kids.
The Marquis of Granby should not go undocumented. Drummer archives carry five decades of history—recruitment announcements; tales of performances, trips, and awards; documentation of the musters and New-Gate Prison Halloween events the corps hosted; photos of performances up and down the eastern seaboard, and internationally; welcoming David Charles Robert Manners, the Marquis of Granby of England, visiting in Granby in 1983, and performing at Belvoir Castle in England in 1992. The Drummer is a fitting place to speak about the loss of this important town tradition.
It takes dedicated adults contributing time and effort to keep a youth drum corps like the Marquis functioning at a high level. One can only hope it can be revived in the future, as Wayne Seidel did with the Marlborough Jrs. This niche form of musical performance largely depends upon youth corps continuing to exist in Connecticut. Without youth corps, we don’t have adult corps and fife and drum corps in Connecticut will become a thing of the past.
So many people and local organizations have contributed to the success of the Marquis since its inception in 1969 and to each of them a heart-felt thank you for your dedication. It seems appropriate to recognize the directors who guided the Marquis and offer them a “Hip Hip, Huzzah!”, a traditional Marquis cheer to recognize a job well done. In chronological order: Sally Ann Dubay, Bill Olivia, Penny Miner, Bobbie Sullivan, Janet Ford, Fran Platner, Karen Forker, Terry Grayson, Lori Garcia, Audrey Lampert, Kim McCord, and the board of directors who oversaw the corps these last few years in the absence of a director.
I encourage anyone who participated in or cares about the Marquis submit a short commentary or letter to the Drummer editor as you see fit. If this is, indeed, the end of an excellent youth tradition in Granby, it deserves a proper send-off.
Editor’s Note: The Drummer will share submissions about the Marquis with the Granby community, either published in the paper or online.