By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The sound of drums and horns reverberates through neighborhoods surrounding Boylan Catholic High School on Saturday as a familiar signal that Phantom Regiment has arrived for its biggest annual hometown show.
Preparations begin early for the 163-person drum and bugle corps as it readies for tonight’s Show of Shows. (Update: Phantom Regiment scored 83.25 to win this year’s Show of Shows.)
It can be a grueling process for corps members, who sweat through the heat and humidity for long stretches of time in preparation for tonight’s performance.
“When you rehearse for four hours at a time in the middle of the day and it’s 100 degrees, it can be a very long, stressful process,” said Keri McCourt, this year’s head conductor. “This show has actually made rehearsing more fun.”
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Tonight Phantom Regiment will perform “Exogenesis,” a science-fiction inspired routine that draws inspiration from nature and the interplay between organisms. Todd Snead, the director of programs for Phantom Regiment, describes it as “Interstellar,” the 2014 sci-fi movie, but for drum corps.
McCourt said the show breaks from what the corps has done in past years, which makes time pass more quickly during those long, hot rehearsals.
“It’s so different from what the traditional Phantom Regiment is,” she said. “We’re playing songs that the Phantom Regiment has never played before.”
There are diverse sources for the music including Oliver Waespi, Andy Akiho, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Stephen Melillo and the British rock band Muse.
“No one would ever expect us to play anything like that,” McCourt said. “It makes rehearsing a lot more fun, too.”
McCourt, a 20-year-old music education major from Williamsburg, Virginia, has the role of keeping the corps on time both in the preparation and performance. But the job is more than just keeping time across the ensemble on the football field. She also has balance multiple moving parts and learn to balance between keeping people focused, firing them up and knowing when to back off.
“She has that great sense of presence and leadership,” Snead sad. “The other members respect her so when she opens her mouth, they listen.”
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McCourt, a senior at University of South Carolina, is in her fourth year with Phantom Regiment. She initially marched melaphone and was the assistant conductor to Geneva Le last year.
“To be able to represent it and to know that the people in the organization trust me enough to represent it, it means so much to me, I can’t really put it in words,” McCourt said. “Being a woman of color, being able to represent that community as well. Women of color in higher positions and activities, I didn’t see that a lot growing up, so it means a lot to me.”
McCourt, who is Chinese-American, is among several women of color who have now led the Phantom Regiment, including last year’s head conductor. But she does highlight shifting demographics in the corps, Snead said.
“It’s kind of a male-dominated program, but we’re really grateful to highlight Keri and her skills here,” Snead said.
Phantom Regiment has performers from 35 states and four countries this year, including Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom.
“These members that we have are elite performers,” Snead said. “They are the best in the country and the best in the world.”
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Tonight’s show is their last stop in the region before heading south to Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas before continuing to other parts of the country and wrapping up the season in mid-August in Indianapolis.
“We’re really proud to be Rockford’s cultural ambassadors for the city and community,” Snead said. “Every time we come home — this is technically our home show — we have a lot of alumni who show up.”
McCourt said the difficult aspects of the role are alleviated by the 163-corps members there to support her.
“The three things that have gotten me through life and drum corps are empathy, gratitude and resilience, ” McCourt said. “I like to remind myself of those things every day to help me get through the season with a positive mindset.”
Tonight, they put that work on display for the city of Rockford, where Phantom Regiment was founded in 1956.
“The shows have become very elaborate — they’re almost like Cirque du Soleil — they’re marching but they’re also doing a lot of choreography with their bodies and also playing at the same time or spinning flags,” Snead said.
“If you come out and see the show you’ll be blown away by what these kids can do.”
Know before you go | Show of Shows
Where: Boylan Catholic High School, 4000 St. Francis Drive, Rockford
When: 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, July 15 (Phantom Regiment is scheduled to perform at 10:01 p.m.)
Cost: $25-80
Info/buy tickets: regiment.org/events/show-of-shows
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas