{"id":26843,"date":"2025-01-01T06:42:34","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T06:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dci.org\/?post_type=hall-of-fame&p=26843"},"modified":"2025-04-01T09:54:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T09:54:10","slug":"michael-boo-dci-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"hall-of-fame","link":"https:\/\/www.dci.org\/hall-of-fame\/michael-boo-dci-hall-of-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Boo"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Affectionately dubbed by many as the \u201cPen of Pageantry\u201d after working on projects for Drum Corps International, Winter Guard International and Bands of America for decades, there is perhaps no one who has amassed a bigger portfolio of writings about the breadth of the modern-day competitive marching arts than the late Michael Boo.<\/p>

Originally hired in 1989 as a Drum Corps International staff writer to put together the corps program synopses for the organization\u2019s annual souvenir yearbooks, Boo\u2019s byline has been a fixture across DCI\u2019s print publications and website ever since, credited to a diverse array of media including feature articles, CD and DVD liner notes, live play-by-play event blogs, podcast and video commentary, and more.<\/p>

Growing up in the Cavaliers organization as a French horn player and mallet percussionist from 1975-1977 and \u201cbleeding green\u201d in all that he did, Boo was a super fan of all drum corps, from the smallest Open Class groups all the way up through the World Class ranks.<\/p>

\u201cMichael worked tirelessly to ensure that every corps\u2019 story was told, down to the smallest detail,\u201d said DCI Hall of Fame member Tom Blair (\u201815). \u201cAnd he did so always with the intent of supporting those corps and DCI. His self-appointed mission was to shine a bright light on an activity he dearly loved.\u201d<\/p>

When it came to writing about and reporting on DCI corps and events, Boo helped usher in a digital age of marching music content creation. He pioneered and perfected the \u201clive blog,\u201d utilizing his rare talent to write as fast as his brain could think, effortlessly describing performances as they happened at a time before webcasting the biggest shows of the DCI Tour became commonplace. In doing so he exponentially increased the audience size of DCI events by bringing those who might not have had the opportunity to be sitting in the stands right into the middle of the action.<\/p>

\u201cMichael recorded, marketed and preserved the history of our amazing activity with an eloquence, vocabulary and passion that gave a voice to what drum corps has meant to so many of us,\u201d DCI Hall of Fame member Dennis DeLucia (\u201991) said.<\/p>

Prior to devoting the majority of his time to Drum Corps International, Boo served as a writer for the magazine \u201cAmerican Skating World\u201d and in 1998 published an honors-winning book on the history of figure skating. Boo also had an affinity for writing music. His compositions have been part of the catalogs of Carl Fischer Music, Ludwig Music Publishing, Alfred Music, TRN Music Publisher and Grand Mesa Music.<\/p>

Boo passed away<\/a> November 18, 2020 in his hometown of Chesterton, Indiana at the age of 65.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"DCI<\/a>
Michael Boo works from the press box at the 2003 DCI World Championships in Orlando.<\/strong><\/div><\/div>
\"DCI<\/a>
Boo on the sideline of J. Birney Crum Stadium during the 2010 DCI Eastern Classic in Allentown, Pennsylvania.<\/strong><\/div><\/div>
\"DCI<\/a>
Boo at the 1984 DCI World Championships in Atlanta.<\/strong><\/div><\/div>
\"DCI<\/a>
Boo works from an impromptu desk writing outside a stadium in 2005.<\/strong><\/div><\/div>
\"DCI<\/a>
Boo (front right) performs with The Cavaliers in 1976.<\/strong><\/div><\/div>
\"DCI<\/a>
Boo with longtime friend, Star of Indiana founder Bill Cook.<\/strong><\/div><\/div>
\"DCI<\/a>
Boo with longtime friend, Star of Indiana founder Bill Cook.<\/strong><\/div><\/div>
\"DCI<\/a>
Boo interviews a member of the Kiwanis Kavaliers in Missouri during the 2005 DCI Tour.<\/strong><\/div><\/div>
\"DCI<\/a>
A page from the 1976 Drum Corps International souvenir yearbook that featured Boo.<\/strong><\/div><\/div>
\"DCI<\/a>
Boo performs with the Cavaliers Anniversary Corps during the 2008 DCI World Championships in Bloomington, Indiana.<\/strong><\/div><\/div>
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