Summer 2017 Newsletter

The Company of Fifers & Drummers would like to introduce our new newsletter!

For our first publication, we are sending this to everyone who has been a member or has provided us their email in the past. If you do not wish to receive these emails there is an Unsubscribe link below. Please forward this to anyone who you feel would be interested in the content. We will also publish this to the Company of Fifers & Drummers website and Facebook page so that those whose emails we don’t have can also see the content and sign up for future newsletters.

This newsletter will cover events that have happened over the past few months, important updates, and upcoming events. You will notice lots of links throughout the newsletter that you can click on to see these specific topics in more detail. 

• Junior Fife and Drum Camp
  
• Summer Concerts
• Museum Update
• Website Updates
• Upcoming Events
• How to get Involved
• Message From the President

Junior Fife and Drum Camp

The Company of Fifers & Drummers Junior Fife and Drum Camp had a very successful session this year! Camp was held from July 11-14 at the Incarnation Center in Ivoryton, Connecticut. Cap Corduan, Director, and Jason Malli, Musical Director, led 96 young fifers and drummers as they learned the music of the Chas. T. Kirk Fife, Drum, and Bugle Corps.

Campers came from 14 states and 29 different corps. The Marquis of Granby and William Diamond Juniors both sent 12 campers, which tied them as the corps that sent the most number of members. The Milford Volunteers sent every eligible young member. Well done!  Most corps sent between 2-4 members and there were many that sent 1. Though they may have come alone, they left with many new friends!

These young fifers and drummers are very dedicated.  Seventeen campers drove for six hours or more to get to camp. Our two campers from the Lewis and Clark Fife and Drum Corps traveled from St. Louis, Missouri for camp. That’s over 1,000 miles!  

By section, there were:

• Majors - 2
• Fife - 50
• Snare - 23
• Bass - 21

Over 30 adults volunteered their time to work at camp as either instructors, chaperones, or administrators. If you see one of the camp staff, please thank him or her. These people not only pass along instruction, but they pass along their passion for our fife and drum tradition to the next generation so that we can all play together for years to come. 

Finally, if you or someone you know wants to go to the Junior Fife & Drum camp next year, put February 1, 2018 in your calendars! That is when Camp registration will open on the camp website. This year, camp filled in just 2 1/2 days, so please don’t wait to register or you will have a disappointed young major, fifer, or drummer (there was a very long waiting list!).

Summer Concerts

The Summer Concerts are part of The Company of Fifers & Drummer’s Concert Series. 

This years concerts were provided by the following corps:

• Tuesday, July 11 - CT Blues Fife and Drum Corps and Lancraft Fife and Drum Corps
• Sunday, July 16 - NY Ancients and Bethpage Fife and Drum Corps 
• Tuesday, July 18 - Connecticut Valley Field Music, West Virginia University, Argovia Rebels, Marquis of Granby
• Tuesday, August 15 - Deep River Junior Ancients Fife and Drum Corps
• Sunday, August 27 - The Grand Republic Fife and Drum Corps

If you missed the concerts this year, here is a YouTube Playlist that has most of the concerts.

If anyone has video from the NY Ancients and Bethpage concert, please let us know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Museum Update

Marty Sampson, Archivist, installed a number of new displays in the Museum hall. These displays highlight previously undisplayed items and update the Museum with current information. 

The renovation of the ground floor continues with the resurfacing the floor of the bar being completed shortly. This is the last major repair needed for the opening of the ground floor for Company and private events. To see the most recent progress you can take a look at the July 30 news article. 

The Grand Reopening of the ground floor will be at Jaybird Day this year!

Website Updates

Great progress has been made in building out the website, correcting technical issues, and making the site more friendly for mobile users. Here’s a quick rundown of the enhancements from this summer:

New Content

Members Area

In the members' section of the website, we have developed a Corps Resources area. In here, you will find content on Defining Your Corps, Marketing Your Corps, and Recruitment (including member retention).

• Defining Your Corps - Resources to assist Corps in defining their identity, identifying the right membership profile for the group, select music that fits the group identity, and identify instructional needs for the group.
• Marketing Your Corps - Resources to assist corps in improving the group visibility and public awareness, defining a digital strategy, and create traditional marketing campaigns.
• Recruiting - Resources to assist corps in attracting and retaining new members. 
  
  

Archives

A series of Sound Recordings unique to the Museum were archivally restored and published on the website

• The Frank Fancher Album (abt. 1960) - A rare recording of National Champion Frank Fancher 
  
  
  
  
• An Interview with Ed Olsen (1989) - A fascinating interview by Art Shrader of Ed Olsen, one of the founders of The Company of Fifers & Drummers and Curator for Life of the Museum of Fife and Drum. 
  
  

Site Enhancements

New Calendar

To better support member corps the Event Calendar was given a major upgrade. In addition to being easier to read the new calendar supports enhanced indexing by search engines (so that community events reach the widest possible audience) and allows the user to easily add the event to their personal calendar. This calendar will be extended to support events that require registration (e.g. a workshop, special event, etc.) in the very near future. 

If you have a community event (e.g. Muster, public jam session, etc.) Company Members can request its inclusion on the Company of Fifers & Drummers calendar using the Submit an Event page in the Members area.

Corps Memberships

Corps Memberships were moved online in 2017. Now Corps can securely maintain their profiles, define delegates, and pay their dues through the website. A listing of Member Corps has also been published (check out the interactive map of corps).

Performance

A number of performance enhancements were put into place to speed up the website. These enhancements will be most noticeable on slower connections. 

Upcoming Events

Now that summer is drawing to a close, you may be wondering what fife and drum events are left for the rest of the year. There are still quite a few events that are scheduled over the upcoming months! You can see details on the new event calendar on our website and on our facebook page. 

Musters

• Windsor Fife & Drum Corps Muster - September 9, Windsor, CT
• Sudbury Colonial Faire and Fife & Drum Muster - September 30, Sudbury, MA
• Moodus Drum & Fife Corps - Thunder In the Valley Muster - October 21, East Haddam, CT

Jaybird’s Day

Jaybird's Day is an annual event honoring our our Old Timers (60+ years of age). We play music, enjoy a meal together, honor our Jaybirds, and have a raffle. 

This event is free to all over 60; there is a suggested $10.00 fee for each non-Jaybird attending. In a break with tradition, we would like to encourage Juniors to attend by making admission free for Juniors as well!

Company Meetings

• Saturday, September 16
  • Executive Committee Meets at 11:00 AM
  • General Meeting (Corps & Individual Member) Meets at 1:30 PM
• Saturday, November 18
  • Executive Committee Meets at 11:00 AM
  • General Meeting (Corps & Individual Member) Meets at 1:30 PM

How to Get Involved

The Company of Fifers & Drummers is a volunteer run organization. We have many areas that we can use additional help, talent, and expertise to run. Whether you live down the street or across the oceans, there are many ways that you can get involved with The Company of Fifers & Drummers! 

Make sure that your Corps is a Member Corps

To ensure that your Corps has a say in the way that the Company of Fifers & Drummers is run, [make sure that your group is a Member Corps and that your delegate or alternate attends the quarterly meetings. If your Corps is not yet a member you can fill out an application that will be reviewed at the next meeting. 

Become an Individual Member of the Company of Fifers & Drummers

If you aren’t already an individual member, you can sign up to become a member on our website. Membership cost is very low and supports the Company of Fifers & Drummers Mission to perpetuate our Fife and Drum Tradition. 

Join a Committee

All committees are looking for members. Some of these committees require you to be local to the Company Headquarters and Fife & Drum Museum (Company Store, Docent), but some of these you can help with from anywhere in the world (Website, Membership, Communications). If any of the committees listed on the Committee page on the website are of interest to you, please reach out to them directly or by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Come to Events

Events are updated regularly on the events page our website and our facebook page. These include community events that you can enjoy and/or participate in, building maintenance/cleaning parties that you can help with, meetings where you can learn what is going on with the company, and many other types of events.