Behind (or should we say.. in front of) every great drum corps is a great drum major. Someone who can lead the membership not only on the field, but off the field as well. Someone who is willing to accept additional responsibility and take on new challenges. Someone that represents and embodies the values of the organization, serving as a role model for other members of the corps. Someone like Christopher Harper and Carl Huang!

“With a combined 8 years in the Vanguard Organization, we couldn’t ask for better people to uphold the tradition, values and vision of the Santa Clara Vanguard,” said Shaun Gallant, SCV Corps Director. “These two are the definition of professional, and they were the obvious choice when seeking leaders to take us into our 50th year!”

Christopher Harper, 2017 SCV Head Drum Major:

Chris was born and raised in Santa Clara, CA, and is currently attending Mission/West Valley College full time where he studies Music Education and Trumpet Performance. When Chris isn’t at school, you can often find him volunteering his time at the Vanguard Corps Hall, helping out wherever and whenever he can. This is Chris’s 5th year of drum corps with the Vanguard organization. After spending two years in the Vanguard Cadets (2013-2014), he played trumpet for the A Corps in 2015 and was offered an Assistant Drum Major position in 2016. This season, Chris has been promoted to the front podium and will serve as Head Drum Major of the 2017 Santa Clara Vanguard.

Carl Huang, 2017 SCV Assistant Drum Major:

Carl is a native Californian who grew up in the Bay Area and is currently pursuing his Bachelors of Science degree in Microbiology at UC Davis. Apart from his academic goals, Carl has accumulated six years of experience in the drum corps community between marching with the Vanguard Cadets (2011-2015) and conducting for the Phantom Regiment (2016). Carl is no stranger to the podium, having served as the head drum major for the Vanguard Cadets for 3 years and leading the corps to Open Class Championships in 2013 and 2015. He now looks forward to leading the Santa Clara Vanguard as Assistant Drum Major for the upcoming 2017 season.