Gold Drum and Bugle Corps from Oceanside, California, and the Missouri State University (MSU) Marching Band have been the recent subjects of two documentary films.
Entitled “East Meets West,” the documentary about Gold follows its 2013 season in which they hosted and performed with 12 students from the Laizhou Zhonghua Martial Arts School from Shandong Province, China. During the drum corps show of the same name, the Chinese students performed various acrobatic and martial arts maneuvers.
“Once they were here, their energy was infectious,” says Donald Flaherty, director of Gold Drum and Bugle Corps. “Getting to work with them was really special.”
Gold placed 6th in Open Class and 26th in World Class in the 2013 season. “Both my kids and the Chinese kids were all about building up the program and putting out the best show that they could,” Flaherty says. “I hope that the documentary we made will outlive all of us. The season was really special, and it was a good reminder of why we do this. It’s always been about the kids having life-changing experiences.”
The 47-minute documentary is available to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/5IJkLPmNhs0.
The Missouri State documentary, entitled “The Beat Goes On: MSU’s Pride Marching Band,” is part of a recent effort by Ozarks Public Television to offer a variety of historical accounts.
The documentary tells the band’s origin, then focuses on the past 30 years under the direction of Jerry Hoover. It includes footage from this past marching season and features interviews with students, staff, and past administrators.
