The incredible story of how a Ligeti etude made its way onto a football field

In 2006, I uploaded a video of “The Devil’s Staircase” (Ligeti's Etude No. 13) to YouTube. It’s a difficult, avant-garde work for solo piano... and something I never dreamt would be performed by an ensemble of brass and percussion instruments, let alone 150 young musicians performing by memory while running around a football field.

Yet a few years later, the Santa Clara Vanguard did just that. In 2011, they devoted their season to a routine inspired by the etude and video, culminating with a performance at the Drum Corps International World Championships.

In 2024, I finally watched their performance for the first time after someone posted it to YouTube. It absolutely blows my mind. This video explains how it all came to be and highlights some of the most astounding aspects of their performance.

The Santa Clara Vanguard just began their 2025 touring season with a program appropriately titled “The aVANt-GUARD” — head to their page to find a performance near you!