Welcome to “The Show”
Pacific Crest is a world-class drum and bugle corps from Southern California. Even if you’re not quite sure what a drum and bugle corps is off the top of your head, odds are you would recognize one. They’re musical marching ensembles made up of performers with brass and percussion instruments and color guards who synchronize their performance with choreographed movements.
Their bright uniforms, feathered helmets and waving flags make for an incredible spectacle, and the accompanying music is enough on its own to create an experience to remember. Some schools are well known for their drum and bugle corps, as is the military, but it’s the registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations like Pacific Crest that are unofficially regarded as the big leagues, or “the show,” of the ensemble world.
Performers between the ages of 16-21 who make the cut and travel with Pacific Crest for a season rehearse for six months before the tour even begins. Every June, the group embarks on a 12,000-mile journey across the U.S. where they’ll play in some of the country’s biggest venues in front of thousands of fans. It’s an unforgettable experience for members of the ensemble, and the custom coins we help design for the organization commemorate each tour, and help memories of the summer live on long after the final curtain.
Custom Coins Celebrating a Summer to Remember
Howard Hsu is our point of contact with Pacific Crest when it comes to designing each year’s coin. Hsu was a member of the bugle corps for the 1994 season as well as the 1996-1999 seasons. In late 2011, he served on the organization’s board of directors, and he was elected as the vice president in early 2012. Currently, he is a part of the organization’s advisory committee.
According to Hsu, Pacific Crest is, “a leadership program that happens to appear as a marching band.” This is because Pacific Crest is more than just music and choreography; it’s an educational and competitive performing arts program that’s focused on changing the lives of young performers and preparing them to be leaders in life.
When asked about the reason behind ordering challenge coins each year, Hsu said, “As an alumnus of Pacific Crest, there is a certain feeling you have, knowing that once your season is over, there is no going back, and that time you spent with that group can never be reproduced, only remembered.” The coins are a way of commemorating each summer tour, acting as tokens to remember the unique experiences and performances shared by every member of the bugle corps.
Not only do the coins celebrate each year’s tour, they also help raise funds for the organization. Hsu said that the idea to incorporate custom coins into their organization came from Alumni who pursued careers in law enforcement or military service. “We have found that the members, alumni, parents of members, staff and fans love the concept. The revenue generated from our coin sales returns to our Alumni Association, resulting in scholarships for members."
The Pacific Crest Youth Arts organization has been ordering custom coins with us for the last 10 years. The design each year is unique, just as the performance each year is unique. This year’s program, “Everglow,” serves as the basis for the artwork. The triangle design at the center, for example, is modeled after glowing props used in their performance, so it made perfect sense to include glow enamel to make the design just a little more unique. “I couldn’t resist, and the members loved it,” said Hsu.
Taking the Music Home
While parts of the design change each year, some things on the Pacific Crest coins always remain the same. The front of the coin, for instance, always features the Pacific Crest logo, and the back of the coin always incorporates a series of roman numerals. Hsu said, “These numbers represent the chord progression for our Corps Song, Ave Maria by Franz Biebl, which has been performed by our horn line since 1996, and it holds a special place in the hearts of all of our Pacific Crest Alumni."
Alumni from the bugle corps have moved on to pursue careers in the military, education, law enforcement, medical fields and all kinds of other service and volunteer industries across the country. Even though they all go their separate ways at the end of each season, in a way they’ll always be carrying the music with them as long as they have one of the custom coins.
