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Pete Emmons is a graduate of The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater in New York City, where he studied with Sanford Meisner, a founder of The Group Theater. As an actor, Pete has appeared in many Off-Broadway and San Francisco Bay Area theatrical productions. Pete was a member of the Troopers for 9 years, five as Drum Major, before joining the Anaheim Kingsmen as a marching instructor in 1967. In 1968 Pete and fellow Trooper, Fred Sanford, joined Gail Royer to begin a collaboration that established the Santa Clara Vanguard as a drum corps powerhouse. He spent the next 13 years with the Santa Clara Vanguard as visual designer and marching instructor. His involvement with the Vanguard set the stage for a new generation of movement on the field.
As a drill writer, Pete changed the look of drum corps forever, creating drill technique that evolved into a new world of creative shapes and movement. As a renowned drill designer of the 60s and 70s, he broke with tradition to introduce the asymmetrical drill. Pete Emmons broadened the scope of the drum corps
drills and changed them to more of a choreographed style that made the group known as the Santa Clara Vanguard synonymous with the meaning of the word –
Vanguard. From 1981 to 1985, Pete was Assistant Director and visual consultant for the Sacramento Freelancers. 1986 & 87 were spent on the island of St
Croix in the US Virgin Islands as well as Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Pete joined The Concord Blue Devils organization in 1988, serving in several capacities including: Manager, Tour Director, Special Events Coordinator and Assistant to the Director as well as drill designer and marching instructor. Pete’s experience has afforded him the opportunity to consult, judge and teach across North America as well as in Canada, England, Holland, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Brazil, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and Japan. In 1989, Pete was inducted into the prestigious Drum Corps International Hall of Fame, in 2013 into the Santa Clara Vanguard Hall of Fame, in 2014 into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame and in 2016 into the Troopers Hall of Fame. In 2016 Pete celebrated his 55th and last year of involvement in the drum and bugle corps activity. Pete is currently an interpretive guide in Yellowstone National Park, and lives in Cody, Wyoming.
