About

The New York Skyliners Drum & Bugle Corps is part of the New York Skyliners Drum & Bugle Corps, Inc. ®™, a 501c3 not-for-profit organization. The current President of the Board is Bob Neuhoff. Long time posthumous emeritus President of the Board was Bob Holton.

The New York Skyliners Drum & Bugle Corps has won every major title available to a Senior Drum & Bugle Corps. We are the 1949 and 1950 American Legion National Champions, 1963 World Open Champions, 1966, 1971 and 1975 DCA Champions, and the 1999 and 2002 Drum Corps Associates’ Class “A” World Champions. For 2000 and 2001, the New York Skyliners returned to an Open Class Finalist position. Currently, The New York Skyliners Field Corps Competes in DCA’s Class “A”. Plans are underway for the 2024 DCI All-Age inaugural season.

The New York Skyliners were formed in 1945 to create a corps for members of two New York City American Legion junior corps, The Phoebe Apperson Hearst Post #1197, and the Grand Street Boys from Post #1025, that were returning from service in World War II. Rehearsals were first held in 1945.

The membership was accepted into the American Legion. The new post was chartered in 1946, and was named after Raymond A. “Gabby” Garbarina, a young man who played with both the Grand Street Boys and the Hearst Post corps, who had lost his life in the war. The new post was known as the Raymond A. Garbarina Memorial Post #1523, New York City. The corps itself was also known as the Raymond A. Garbarina Memorial Corps. After the 1949 season, the corps became known as the Garbarina Skyliners, and later, the New York Skyliners.

In 1951, corps member John F. Mazarakos passed away as a result of a very long illness stemming from his service in the jungles of the South Pacific, and his name was added to the post charter, becoming the Garbarina-Mazarakos American Legion Post 1523, which survives to this day. The Current Post Commander is Joe Musich. Long time posthumous emeritus Post Commander was Ray Preister.

The Skyliners are Founding and Charter Members of Drum Corps Associates, who celebrated their 50th Anniversary in 2014.

In 2020, the Skyliners celebrated our 75th Anniversary.

The corps moved to New Jersey officially in the mid-1990’s, and called many posts home during that time. When the Skyliners Field Corps was relaunched for the 2014 season, they rehearsed in the Wilkes Barre/ Scranton, Pennsylvania area. They are sponsored by Garbarina-Mazarakos American Legion Post #1523 in New York, New York and were sponsored by the Michael Steiner American Legion Post #411 in Jessup, Pennsylvania. Currently, the Skyliners Field Corps practices in the Southern Tier of New York.

Our goal is for the Skyliners to have a positive impact on our members, staff, and community. We are dedicated to performance and excellence in the field of competitive drum and bugle corps.

Over the years, The New York Skyliners have produced staff, members and instructors who have become household words in the drum corps fraternity; some are downright legends. Many of these Skyliners have been inducted into the prestigious Drum Corps Hall of Fame, Buglers Hall of Fame, Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame, and various State Halls of Fame, such as the New Jersey Drum Corps Hall of Fame.

Visit our soon to be published Historical Documents section on the New York Skyliners Historian Website to learn more about the amazing history of the New York Skyliners Drum & Bugle corps.