dureau
-
Posts
183 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by dureau
-
-
Cinema Paradiso - Cavaliers. Use as theme of show and use this beautiful piece as the ballad.
-
4
-
-
From DCI
Cavaliers percussion has a clear focus as 2023 hits final stretchby Ashlee Woods
The night of July 22 was a night that the 2023 membership of The Cavaliers will never forget. Amongst a lineup of 20 World Class corps, the Rosemont, Illinois corps came out on top in the percussion caption at the first “regional” event of the summer.
The result in San Antonio came as a surprise, as it’s not typical for a corps that finishes eighth overall at the event to win a caption. However, the first-place finish at the tail end of July was just the manifestation of what The Cavaliers’ percussion staff has been preaching to the members— continue to work hard and the work will be noticed.
“Every single day, we’ve preached working hard and the payoff will eventually be there,” Cavaliers percussion caption manager Josh Brickey said. “It showed up big time that day.”
Members of the percussion section were excited after hearing about the result in San Antonio. The bus ride back to the corps’ housing site was full of celebration.
The Cavaliers' snare drum line performs July 22 at the DCI Southwestern Championship in San Antonio.
Even with some well-earned time off to relax and unwind in the Alamo City the following day, corps members were counting down the time until they could get back to the practice field to continue fine-tuning their craft.
“The reaction from everybody was, ‘We want to get back to work,’” Cavaliers snare drum section leader Garrett Irwin said. “We had a free day the day after and everyone was just itching to get back onto the field and get back to doing it again.”
The Green Machine’s 2023 production, “Where You’ll Find Me,” is an homage to the corps’ 75 years of history. With that came the challenge of repurposing nearly eight decades of percussion writing for a modern-day show.
This year’s percussion composition incorporates new ways to perform music and sounds that drew many people to The Cavaliers in the first place.
“It was a real opportunity for us to create a book that was not just about the rudiments,” Cavaliers percussion arranger Michael McIntosh said. “I'm sure everybody could say that about their labor of love. But, it's a real special thing to touch on things that emotionally affected you and drove your artistic choices as a performer and as a designer.”
Cavaliers bass drummers on the field of Center Parc Credit Union Stadium in Atlanta.
There are several easter eggs that point to different moments of The Cavaliers’ history. Whether it’s the use of instruments like guiro sticks and splash cymbals or repurposing an iconic musical stanza, every note of the percussion book written follows the percussion staff’s recent trend of creating a new sound with each production.
“One of the things that our front ensemble arranger Clif Walker prides himself on is always creating and introducing a new sound into our show every year,” Cavaliers front ensemble instructor Ashley Summerlin said.
Building the group of performers for this season’s production was just as important as the music on the page. The percussion staff wasn’t purely focused on recruiting the best performers. In fact, the staff was also focused on finding the members that fit the culture and identity of the organization.
“Our big goal is to keep developing a good culture around toughness, working, having a blue collar mentality and [to] just be good people,” Brickey said. “A lot of those guys are best friends and they enjoy being around each other every day and that was a big goal of ours.”
McIntosh mentioned that the connection between The Cavaliers and Rhythm X — a highly-competitive indoor percussion ensemble — has been beneficial for the corps this year.
Many of the members in the section have received a year-long education, which has played a huge role in how everyone performs.
“It’s just [about] getting used to playing next to each other and how we operate as people,” Irwin said.
Months of meticulous planning has produced some strong results in the percussion scoring caption as the 2023 DCI Tour reaches its last few days. The Cavaliers have consistently placed at the top of the percussion caption since early July.
The Cavaliers took first place in the percussion caption during the DCI Southeastern Championship in Atlanta, July 29.
Everything kicked into high gear when the Green Machine made its trek through the Lone Star State, as the corps placed first in percussion at every Texas event it performed at including the highly-competitive DCI Southwestern Championship presented by Fred J. Miller, Inc. The stretch of first-place finishes continued into Atlanta, where The Cavaliers earned another first-place percussion finish at the DCI Southeastern Championship presented by Ultimate Drill Book.
The success the Cavaliers’ percussion section has experienced this season can likely be attributed to several factors. But, McIntosh believes that the members are being rewarded for simply showing up to rehearsal every day and having a “blue-collar mentality.”
“The journey and the day-to-day, blue-collar work ethic is what I think the judges have been reacting to because we've been very consistent,” McIntosh said. “The judges are picking up on the ability for us to touch on some historical aspects of the program and then repurpose them in a way that’s relevant to 2023.”
The Cavaliers last took home the Fred Sanford Award for Best Percussion Performance at the 2011 DCI World Championships.
It’s been 12 years since The Cavaliers last won the Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award. Earning the award for the first time since 2012 would be an incredible honor for the corps. The percussion section and staff is focusing on staying in the moment and keep building toward an on-field performance the corps can be proud of.
“They gel together really well,” Summerlin said. “They rehearse really well. We're just really proud of the progress that they've made so far this year and the potential of where they have to go the rest of this season.”
As much as the 2023 season has been about honoring the past, this season has also been about establishing a new identity. The Cavaliers’ staff hopes that “Where You’ll Find Me” is the foundation for the culture the corps strives to build for future performers.
“This is a real opportunity for us as a corps to define and redefine who we are for the next several years,” McIntosh said. “And that for me is a really exciting opportunity as an educator to help to make the corps better than when I found it.”
-
2
-
-
I’ve been wanting to volunteer also but my GI problems keep me from doing so at 81 now. Wish I had done it 10 years ago. I love the Cavies so much. I will be at Indianapolis all 3 performance days. And attending the pre finals Cavies party. My first. Travel back to finals since 2019 due to COVID. Can’t wait to see them in person again.
i still think they will take 6th place.
-
2
-
-
1 minute ago, ediblewaffles said:
As unbelievably good the percussion is for the cavaliers, the show still feels weird. It’s superimposed between modern DCI feels and classical Cavaliers
It’s a 75th anniversary show and very appropriate.
-
1
-
1
-
-
2 hours ago, larry333 said:
"BLUECOATS UPDATE: Tonight (7/28) the corps will perform a standstill concert of The Garden of Love. Several members of the corps are recovering from a 24-hour stomach virus and we are unable to perform the full program. "
Well, obviously, the Bluecoats don't practice proper hygiene either...and their leadership should resign. 😉
That’s is not something you could know. And probably wrong.
-
30 minutes ago, tommynev said:
They sounded great!
Yes they did.
-
4 hours ago, Cavidad said:
dureau
Members
175
Location:Jalisco/Emiliano Zapata Mexico
Posted 7 hours ago
Did they get to southern Mississippi today.
Thank you for that.
Yes, at about 6 AM this morning they arove in McComb.
-
Did they get to southern Mississippi today.
-
I was there. Only about 2/3rd of the corp at standstill.
-
1
-
-
Brass and guard holding cavies back. You
-
They toolk first in percussion again in San Antonio
-
1
-
1
-
-
12 minutes ago, lawdn said:
Definitely paying attention to percussion recap tonight!
They were first coming into tonight
-
Just now, GraysonHarris said:
Easily the worst iteration of Cavaliers I have seen in my life. And I’ve seen them live since the mid-80s.
Not really
-
1
-
-
13 hours ago, TheOneWhoKnows said:
It would be so awesome and they truly aren't that far back for it to happen. Let's bring back the days where a non top 6 corps can win a caption. These types of things make DCI exciting and draw crowds. Not to mention could be an amazing stepping stone for the future of the corps.
They just took 1st in Houston besting Blue Devils.
-
1
-
-
3 minutes ago, Sensioto said:
CAVIES BEAT BD IN PERCUSSION! Tonight in Houston. Woof!
Yes they did.
-
1
-
-
Cavies percussion got first place tonight.
-
8
-
-
1 hour ago, BlueStainGlass said:
Ironic 😅
If you followed the whole season and knew about what the cavies are doing with an all new staff you would not say anything.
-
1
-
-
3 minutes ago, KPinCAL said:
How big is the crowd? Hard to tell on Flo
Not too big. There were lots of empty seats
-
6 minutes ago, TheOneWhoKnows said:
Not so sure getting rid of the diamond cutter was a good idea....
I think it’s trmporary
-
1
-
-
3 minutes ago, TheOneWhoKnows said:
Well the crowd gave them nothing and the ending.... lacks energy
They dropped the ending. It’s being redone
-
1
-
-
8 hours ago, DCI Fan 9287928734 said:
Thanks for that! He told me that the staff is being very careful about the heat, and they are keeping them inside for most of the day. I have to say that the staff seems to have definitely put the boys' well-being over competition for sure. Sure, not having the opportunity to run the show outside often will slow things down, but what you said is so important. It's about the experience and 20 years from now.
Thank you for this. I think we all needed some calming words of experience.
-
Albeit very small lead they passed the blue stars and troopers tonight. And the percussion was second and very close to blue coats. They are in the top 4 on percussion.
-
Whenever the staff is this quiet my brain goes in 2 opposite directions. 1 something is terribly wrong with the show and they are desperately trying to correct it or 2 there is some sort of planned surprise getting ready to hit the field .
-
21 hours ago, GREENBLUE said:
Way more rehearsals add to the schedule this year.
Something else is they are not posting any brass pit and have stopped posting their fantastic percussion in the pit. In fact they have not posted much at all even on Facebook ever since Lisle. Hum!
are they still using Patreon? I tried go there and didn’t see them anymore.
The Cavaliers 2024
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
Unless. The bossed and leadership is doing what they have indicated. Testing new methods of sound production in brass using. Less amplification and experimenting with professional area methods used by top pop performers. Working toward the future which can cause some loss off progress until they hit the right methods. And this season was for the cavies the ending of an old guard of staffing and building anew. I noticed much improvement over last year in all areas. In addition, the 75 anniversary marks a new era for sll cavaliers including the fans.