Audition: Phantom or Cavies

[Lincoln]

The thread itself IS someone looking for information on picking one over the other. So yes, it IS a contest of who is better. Especially in regards to which organization, specifically, to audition for.

This is not just some random thread, this conversation has context and relates DIRECTLY to the information the op requested.

According to you, one "destroyed" the other for the past 15 years. I guess they win. Yet somehow Phantom still manages to march 150 paying members every year.

Cavaliers are such a great corps and so is Phantom.

I had two friends march Phantom and they loved their experience. I think they were lying.

[chaos001]

Thankfulness is not an indicator of superior treatment in one organization or the other. It has been largely noted in this thread and others, the difference is easy to see in rehearsal.

If there was a contest with cereal as the reward, it wouldn't matter...The Cavaliers would probably win it, such is the trend.

At least they treat their members better than Crown does...you should've seen the posts on social media after this season. Talk about brutal.

[xandandl]

I thought that spurious speculation without citation and that hearsay defamation without concrete evidence was neither allowed in courts of justice and law nor worthy of true discussion on DCP, particularly in a thread whose OP is a drum corps rookie looking to choose wisely.

Come on Chaos and gang, we can do better than that! Are we lowering ourselves to the minimalisms of social media or staying true to the excellence that propels the activity of drum corps?

[1956OPR]

Best thing to do is to audition (if possible) for both and gauge the experience in a more true way.

frankv, this is the best advice you will receive. I would recommend doing so at each corps' home site. You should be able to get a strong sense of where you will best fit by doing so, particularly if you use the opportunity to talk to current MMs, many of whom were in your situation a year ago and through hard work produced an unexpected and rewarding field result. It appears as though these brass auditions are only a week apart in early December.

You've indicated an interest in auditioning on either baritone or euphonium. It might be interesting to know that after using 20 baritones and no euphoniums in 2003, for the past few years ((2004-2012) the Regiment has not utilized baritones in their brass lines. I do not know why but will defer to their musical judgements on this matter. I do not have the data necessary to tell you the comparisons for 2013-2014. And 2015 may prove to be another year in which baritones make sense for the Regiment's musical presentation.

On this and other auditioning matters, I would also encourage you to participate in the on-going dialogues scheduled on the Regiment's website ( regiment.org ) during which everyone is invited to ask any question they want and during which immediate responses are given. I think this exchange might be very useful.

A couple of pro-Cavalier posters have emphasized some purported domination of the Cavaliers over Phantom for the past 15 years ( really 2000-2014 ). Bless their hearts. They have finished higher than the Regiment in 12 of those years thanks to some wonderful programs and execution in the years from 2000-2006.

But for purposes of your question, so what? If that is the standard they wish to use, you should choose not to audition with the Cavaliers but with BD, the Cadets, Crown or SCV, all of whom have consistently scored higher than the Cavaliers in recent years.

Having said that, I think it is important for you to know that the Cavaliers and the Regiment have a long and deep relationship forged over the last 59 years and a mutual respect for each other's organization and members

I am a Regiment alumnus so I would encourage you to check us out. And then? Follow your heart. If it leads you to the Cavaliers have a blast! If it leads you to the PR. welcome to the phamily!

Edited November 5, 2014 by 1956OPR

[soccerguy315]

Showing your age there. Retreat has about as much relevance to current DCI members as G bugles do.

Like I said originally, The Cavaliers largely reject that nonsense. Funny, they were right, it is all but gone now.

well you can figure out my age from my signature block...

perhaps over the last 5 years the Cavaliers have done a better job of not making fools of themselves.

[PR ROCKS]

Well, I sat out to add up just how many points that the Cavaliers have outscored Phantom Regiment in contests since then, but the calculator doesn't have that many decimal places on my Windows 8 machine.

Yep, over the last 15 years Cavalier's average score is 96.20 and Phantom Regiment's is 93.95.....total annihilation by 2.25.

[Cappybara]

Yep, over the last 15 years Cavalier's average score is 96.20 and Phantom Regiment's is 93.95.....total annihilation by 2.25.

Cavies seemingly had their stuff together this year. Let's see if it's a trend or just an anomaly.

[actucker]

Yep, over the last 15 years Cavalier's average score is 96.20 and Phantom Regiment's is 93.95.....total annihilation by 2.25.

To be fair (and I'm in no way interested in debating one corps against the other) using "average score" as a comparison is not representative of pretty much anything since scores fluctuate from year to year. Its like saying that baseball team X scored 400 runs this season, and baseball team Y scored 390, so they're pretty comparable. In the mean time, team X beat team Y 12 out of 13 games played head to head that year.

[KVG_DC]

It's almost as absurd as using performance scores to evaluate the relative merits of gaining life lessons for an individual considering joining various corps.

Almost.

[general_tsos_chicken2]

Cavaliers if you want to play cool shows.

When was the last time they had one of those? 2008? LOL

... but then again, you can say the same for Phantom