Capital Sound

The Madison Junior Scouts drum & bugle corps and the CapitolAires “All Girl” drum & bugle corps, both of Madison, finished successful 1994 seasons. However, new recruiting for 1995 for the CapitolAires lagged, while the Junior Scouts were drawing well. On April 2nd, 1995, the corps held its annual Open House. The Junior Scouts performed first, followed by the Kilties and then the Madison Scouts. Immediately after the Scouts’ performance, Scott Stewart announced that the CapitolAires would go inactive for the 1995 season, and that the all-male Madison Junior Scouts would join with their membership to form a new corps.

This new co-ed group was under the direction of the Madison Drum & Bugle Corps Association, Inc., and Keith Gee, who had been the director of the Junior Scouts for several years, took the leadership of the new corps. Thus, was born Capital Sound drum and bugle corps or “Cap Sound” for short and became a perennial member of the Drum Corps Midwest (DCM) circuit.

In their inaugural season of competition, the corps finished in 8^th position at the 1995 DCM “Division III” championships, improving to a 4^th place finish the following season while participating at their first DCI “Division III” preliminary in 1996, placing 13^th. In 1997, the corps moved up to the “Division II” class, finishing 3^rd at the DCM prelims and 9^th at the DCI “Division II” championships. The following year, they captured the 1998 DCM “Division II” title and continued moving up in the rankings with a 7^th place finish at the DCI “II” prelims.

In 1999, the corps began expanding their competitive wings by participating in several “Division II” regionals that included stops at the US Coast Guard (5^th - finals), the North
American Open (NAO), placing 6th and the Canadian Open (6^th - prelims), finishing 7^th at the DCI contest. The ensuing season saw “Cap Sound” finish 3^rd at the 2000 Canadian Open finals, along with
an 8^th and 9^th place finish at the NAO and the DCI championships, respectively.

The next three years were amongst the best rankings the corps experienced in their history that included finalist positions in 2001 at the Canadian Open (3^rd) and the US Coast Guard
(5^th), the 2002 Canadian Open title and the 2003 NAO (4^th) and DCI Jacksonville (5^th). At the DCI championships, Capital Sound finished 7^th in the 2001 prelims, 10^th in the 2002 DCI semifinals and earned a finalist position in 2003, placing 7^th. From 1999 to 2003, they also finished as bridesmaids at the DCM circuit contests.

When in the fall of 2003, the Madison drum and bugle corps Association (MDBCA) decided to suspend the operations of Capital Sound, a group of parents organized Youth in Music, Inc. to purchase the assets of the corps, along with the corps' name, from the MDBCA organization. The Youth in Music, Inc. group was intended to serve until the new corps could establish their own non-profit group. Thus a new chapter in the history of Capital Sound began in 2004 in an entirely new organization. In 2004, the corps entered the “Division III’ class as they finished 11^th at the DCI prelims and was a “Division III” finalist in 2005, placing 5^th, adding the 2005 DCM title to their awards collection, returning to an 8^th place finish at the 2006 DCI semifinals. In 2007, the corps competed regionally, including the DCI Indianapolis, where they captured the “Division III” title.

In 2008, the Board of Directors collectively made the difficult decision to disband because several unfortunate situations all came together prior to the Memorial Day camp in 2008 to create a major problem. As a larger portion of the corps consisted of out-of-state members, the administration was unprepared and could not find the proper housing for the participants. This, among other concerns, could have seriously jeopardized the well-being of the membership and organization.

Paul Legault (DCX)

CORPS 4 items

Capital Sound

CapitalSound from the Bill Ives Collection

Capital Sound

CapitalSound,Madison,WI,BS1-White(BCA)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection

Capital Sound

CapitalSound,Madison,WI,LP1-RedRays(BIV-1.0x1.0)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by Bill Ives

Capital Sound

CapitalSound,Madison,WI,Patch1(Site)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by UNKNOWN

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