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The Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps is seeking help finding a practice site in the city.
“We want to come home,” Director Lou Tierno told city council on Sept. 22.
Tierno and business manager Matthew Elizardo shared the group’s mission, history and rehearsal needs.
The corps has carried the Reading name since its founding in 1957 on the steps of Reading High School, Tierno said, and its leaders want to strengthen that connection by securing a consistent rehearsal space in the city.
“We’re seeking a partnership with Reading and Berks County to secure facilities we need so we can re-solidify our identity as truly being from the Reading community,” he said.
A drum and bugle corps is a highly disciplined ensemble of brass, percussion and color guard, combining the athleticism of a sports team with the artistry of an orchestra, Tierno said.
The nonprofit music and performing arts organization has 131 performing members and more than 200 support people, including staff and volunteers.
“Members train and perform at an elite level,” he said, “and we carry the name Reading wherever we go very proudly.”
They come from diverse backgrounds and train year-round, building bonds and skills that Tierno described as lifelong. The group accepts people of all ages.
“Our average age last season was 21.7,” Tierno said. “Our youngest member last season was 15 years old. Our oldest member was 56 so we have quite a range.”
The corps helps members grow as musicians and performers, Tierno said, but that is not all.
“We also hope to grow them as people,” he said.
By practicing and performing with the group, members grow in confidence and learn life lessons such as teamwork, leadership, respect and responsibility, he said.
“So many of our alumni become educators, professionals, community leaders, much like yourselves,” Tierno told council. “So we are more than just about music. We’re about building good citizens.”
The Buccaneers have achieved national acclaim, winning 21 world championships. Most recently, the corps captured Drum Corps International’s all-age title in 2024 and 2025.
Despite those accomplishments, Tierno said, the Buccaneers have struggled to maintain a home base since losing their long-standing practice field, Buck Field, near the Reading Regional Airport in Bern Township in 2017.
The corps had been practicing there every weekend from March to November since the mid-1970s. The site is part of a larger parcel, known as Berks Park 183, sold to the Berks County Industrial Development Authority in the early 2000s. The authority allowed the corps to continue using the field until it was needed as a construction staging area.
“Since 2017, due to some unfortunate circumstances, we’ve been pretty nomadic,” Tierno said.
The group has been in discussions with the authority about reclaiming the field, he said, but that is not likely to happen soon, if at all.
In the meantime, the corps needs indoor and outdoor options.
Rehearsals run from December through August, with gymnasiums and auditoriums preferred in the winter, and fields or stadiums required in spring and summer as the group prepares drill formations. Safe and reliable access to parking, restrooms and water is essential, Tierno noted.
Because outdoor music and drill practices can stretch 12 hours a day, ideal sites would be away from residential areas, he said.
Council members and city officials voiced support for helping the corps find a home.
Jack Gombach, city managing director offered to work with the corps, school district, county and area institutions to identify potential sites.
“We’d love to have you back home,” Gombach said.
Council members suggested possible sites, including the Reading School District’s Hampden Field, which the corps used last season, and other school district- or city-owned facilities.
Councilman Jaime Baez Jr. noted the potential of partnering with the Reading Fightin Phils and using the city-owned FirstEnergy Stadium.
Council President Donna Reed praised the Buccaneers for bringing recognition to the city through decades of success.
“We certainly look forward to working with Jack and the school district and finding your home where you belong, right here in the city,” she said.
Originally Published: September 26, 2025 at 11:00 AM EDT