Prolific marching arts author Michael Boo dies at 65

(dci.org)

Affectionately dubbed by many as the “Pen of Pageantry” 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 Michael Boo.

Originally hired in 1989 as a Drum Corps International staff writer to put together the corps program synopses for the organization’s annual souvenir yearbooks, Boo’s byline has been a fixture across DCI’s 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.

“I’ve always been in awe of the sheer amount of brain space Mike had for all things drum corps,” said DCI senior manager of communications Chris Weber who served as Boo’s editor on Drum Corps International projects for nearly 15 years. “He had such an ability to dance between the artistic side and the more sports-minded statistical side of the drum corps activity. He could compute the math on a judge’s scoresheet in his head while rattling off the liner notes for a Beethoven symphony, before telling you which corps performed it 25 years ago and then turning out 500 words on it a few minutes later.”

After a recent cancer diagnosis, Boo passed away November 18 in his hometown of Chesterton, Indiana. He was 65.