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Massachusetts - Fife & Drum Corps

Fife & Drum Corps carry revolutionary sounds through all parts of Massachusetts

In Colonial America the armed forces consisted mainly of citizen soldiers. These men would gather -- or muster – periodically to practice their skills. Each community usually had a fifer and a drummer to provide marching music for the local militia. During battle, fifes and drums signaled troop movement. At camp, the music provided entertainment for the soldiers.

Today’s fife and drum corps are still comprised local citizens dedicated to preserving the ancient art and music of the fife and drums. Musical selections are drawn from many sources, some predating 1800, and include marches, dances, and cheerful tunes. Popular selections include “Yankee Doodle,” “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” and “The Road to Boston.”

Uniforms worn by the fife and drum corps are a source of pride and distinction. Drummers and fifers had special status in the militia signalers and non-combatants; their uniforms usually were the reverse of the regiments’ colors. Some of today’s fife and drum corps wear clothing of the 18th century and others wear dress common of the American Civil War period and later.

Fife and Drum Corps perform in parades, reenactments, musters, encampments, and even at half-time shows at Fenway Park and Foxborough Stadium. A muster is a gathering of several corps with a parade in the morning followed by individual performances by each participating corps. When all corps have performed, it is customary for some members of each corps to mass and play common fife and drum tunes.

Check the websites of the individual corps for information about their public appearances.


Colonial Navy of Massachusetts Fall River MAColonial Navy of Massachusetts
P.O. Box 1775
Fall River, MA

This group, honoring the Massachusetts Colonial Navy, the commonwealth’s naval militia of the American Revolution, performs extensively at parades and musters throughout New England.Appearances in 2009:
Independence Day, July 4, Martha’s Vineyard
Deep River Muster, July 18, Devitt Field, Deep River, Connecticut
Sudbury Muster, September 26, Sudbury



Middlesex County 4-H Fife & Drum Corps Concord and Eastern Massachusetts MAMiddlesex County 4-H Fife & Drum Corps
Concord and Eastern Massachusetts, MA

The Middlesex County 4-H Fife & Drum Corps was formed in 1972 in anticipation of that town’s celebration America's bicentennial. The corps primarily plays music of the 1700s. The style of the uniform --tri-corn hats, relatively short vented waistcoats, gathered shirtsleeves, fall-front breeches, buttoned haversacks, and leather garters-- is based on styles of the 1770s. The corps plays at musters, parades and civic ceremonies. E-mail Contact: mc4hfd@yahoo.com. Appearances in 2009:
USS Constitution Sunset Parade, July 5, Boston
Sudbury Muster, September 26, Sudbury
Woburn Halloween Parade, October 25, Woburn
Veteran’s Day, November 11, Concord
Merrimac Holiday Parade, December 6, Merrimack
First Night, December 31, Boston



Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes & Drums Medford MAMiddlesex County Volunteers Fifes & Drums
105 Boston Avenue
Medford, MA  02155
Phone: 781-488-3627

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The Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes & Drums (MCV) was established in 1982 toward the close of the U.S. Bicentennial by Boston-area musicians who wished to further explore the traditional repertoires of the regimental fife and drum corps associated with the European or American armies during the American War for Independence, 1775-1783. Today we have evolved into a repertory ensemble performing martial, dance, and folk music drawn from 17th, 18th, and early 19th century sources in America and Europe. Appearances on 2009:
Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, July 1, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Deep River Ancient Muster, July 17-18, Deep River, Connecticut
Concert at Minute Man National Historic Park, August 29, Lexington
Labor Day parade, September 7, Marlborough
Middlesex County Volunteers in Concert, September 20, Lexington
Sudbury Colonial Faire & Muster, September 26, Sudbury
Marquis of Granby 40th Anniversary Muster, October 3, Granby
Thanksgiving Parade, November 21, Plymouth
Santa Parade, November 22, Haverhill



Sudbury Ancient Fyfe & Drum Companie Sudbury MASudbury Ancient Fyfe & Drum Companie
Box 93
Sudbury, MA  01776
Phone: 603-585-6630

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The Sudbury Ancients play the Ancient style, and are dressed in the civilian attire of 1775 to emulate the Colonial Militia who marched to Concord on April 19th to meet the British Regulars. The Companie practices on almost every Wednesday throughout the year, in winter at Sudbury's Peter Noyes School and in summer at Longfellow's Wayside inn. Its Colonial faire and muster is held annually at the Inn on the last Saturday in September.



The Spirit of America Fife & Drum Corps
Orleans, MA
Phone: 508-255-3999

Spirit of America FDC is a 20-member Corps dedicated to portraying a historically accurate representation of the life and music of the U.S. Infantry during the War of 1812.



The Stow Minutemen Company Stow MAThe Stow Minutemen Company
P.O. Box 174
Stow, MA  01775

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The Stow Minuteman Company was reactivated in 1965 by order of the Stow Selectmen, to "preserve and perpetuate the memory and spirit of our forebears [and] promote an active interest in Revolutionary history." The membership portrays the colonial civilians of 1775, mainly farmers and their families, who were in opposition to the recent acts of Parliament. The Company attends a number of area parades, living history demonstrations, colonial fairs, and reenactments throughout the year. Locally, the group reenacts the trail march from Stow to the North Bridge in Concord along nearly the same route as the Stow Minutemen of 1775.



William Diamond Junior Fife and Drum Corps Lexington MAWilliam Diamond Junior Fife and Drum Corps
P.O. Box 162
Lexington, MA  02420
Phone: 508-278-2803

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The William Diamond Juniors consists of boys and girls ranging from ages ten to eighteen using six hole wooden fife and the rope tension drum. Clothing is of the style worn of yeoman status, living in Lexington in 1775.



Yankee Volunteers Fife & Drum Corps
P.O. Box 475
Seekonk, MA  02771
Phone: 508-336-9159

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Dressed in Colonial civilian clothing, this corps plays popula0r tunes from the colonial period through the Civil War. It combines fifing, drumming and musketry with traditional dance by younger girls. Information: 508-336-3055.



The Irish Experience -- Salem
March 12, 2010 to March 13, 2010
Open Hearth Cooking Class: Breads, Cakes and Biscuits -- Deerfield
March 13, 2010
Sisters in Soul – New Bedford
March 13, 2010
Winter Fiesta -- Winchester
March 13, 2010
St. Patrick's Day Celebration -- South Yarmouth
March 13, 2010
Roomful of Blues & Bellevue Cadillac-- Salisbury Beach
March 13, 2010
Jazz Vocalist Rachel Price -- Rockport
March 13, 2010
The Seventh – Boston
March 13, 2010 to March 14, 2010
Maple Sugar Days at Brookwood Farm -- Milton
March 13, 2010 to March 14, 2010
Gustafer Yellowgold's Show -- Northampton
March 14, 2010
Maple Festival -- Norwell
March 14, 2010
South Boston Saint Patrick's Day Parade
March 14, 2010
Worcester St. Patrick's Day Parade 2010
March 14, 2010
Scituate St. Patrick's Day Parade 2010
March 14, 2010
Three Choirs Festival Concert -- Worcester
March 14, 2010
Erin Go Bragh Whiskey Tasting -- Boston
March 17, 2010
Celtic Crossroads -- Worcester
March 17, 2010
St. Patrick's Day Activities at the Children’s Museum – Boston
March 17, 2010
The Glengarry Bhoys -- Salisbury
March 17, 2010
Richie Havens-- Salisbury Beach
March 19, 2010
Plymouth Rock Blues Festival -- Plymouth
March 20, 2010
Le Grand Cirque -- Springfield
March 20, 2010
Opening Day at Plimoth Plantation -- Plymouth
March 20, 2010
Robert Cray Band -- Salisbury Beach
March 21, 2010
Lawrence St. Patrick's Day Parade 2010
March 21, 2010
Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade 2010
March 21, 2010
Manchester St. Patrick's Day Parade 2010
March 21, 2010
Wine Dinner Series: Tempranillo -- Boston
March 22, 2010
Flavors of Neponset Valley – Foxboro
March 25, 2010
Lighten Up with Loretta LaRoche -- Worcester
March 26, 2010
Gershwin's “Porgy and Bess” -- Worcester
March 27, 2010 to March 28, 2010
Blackstone Valley Bluegrass Band -- Lancaster
March 27, 2010
Stuart Highland Pipe Band Concert -- North Chelmsford
March 27, 2010
Ray Charles Tribute with the Boston Pops -- Boston
March 29, 2010 to May 29, 2010
Harriet Tubman's Freedom Train - Foxboro
March 31, 2010
The Fabulous Thunderbirds -- Salisbury Beach
April 1, 2010
Jo Dee Messina -- Salisbury Beach
April 2, 2010
Judy Collins – New Bedford
April 2, 2010
Bunny Bonanzoo -- Stoneham
April 3, 2010
“Sleeping Beauty” Performed by Moscow Festival Ballet -- Worcester
April 6, 2010
The United States Air Force Band of Liberty -- Worcester
April 7, 2010
Riverdance Farewell Performances -- Worcester
April 9, 2010 to April 11, 2010
Richard Marx & Matt Scannell -- Salisbury Beach
April 10, 2010
Wine Dinner Series: Alsace – Maison Hugel -- Boston
April 12, 2010
In The Mood -- Worcester
April 12, 2010
Celebrate Seafood Dinner Series -- Boston
April 13, 2010
“Girls Night: The Musical” -- Worcester
April 15, 2010
Joan Osborne -- Salisbury Beach
April 17, 2010
Defending the Caveman -- Worcester
April 17, 2010
“Oliver” -- Worcester
April 23, 2010
Curtis Adams -- Springfield
April 24, 2010
Earth Day at Garden in the Woods -- Framingham
April 24, 2010
Beaucoup Blue -- Lancaster
April 24, 2010
Wine Dinner Series: Austria -- Boston
April 26, 2010
Wine Dinner Series: Austria -- Boston
April 26, 2010
Sampling of International Wine & Food -- Worcester
April 30, 2010
Donna Lee and Landslide: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac -- Chicopee
May 1, 2010
Boston Pops Season Opening Night -- Boston
May 4, 2010
Idina Menzel and the Boston Pops -- Boston
May 5, 2010 to May 6, 2010
Lord of the Dance -- Springfield
May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010
Wine Dinner Series: Blind Tasting -- Boston
May 10, 2010
The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers -- Boston
May 21, 2010 to May 22, 2010
Maureen Mcgovern and the Boston Pops -- Boston
May 25, 2010 to May 26, 2010
Ray Charles Tribute with the Boston Pops -- Boston
May 29, 2010
Dave Brubeck with the Boston Pops -- Boston
June 1, 2010 to June 2, 2010
A Tribute to Duke Ellington with the Boston Pops -- Boston
June 4, 2010 to June 5, 2010
From the Top with the Boston Pops -- Boston
June 8, 2010
An Evening with Cole Porter with the Boston Pops -- Boston
June 9, 2010 to June 11, 2010
Gospel Night with the Boston Pops -- Boston
June 12, 2010
The World of Arlo Guthrie with the Boston Pops -- Boston
June 17, 2010 to June 18, 2010
Father's Day Family Concert With Daniel Bernard Roumain and the Boston Pops -- Boston
June 20, 2010
Click here for a full list of events.

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