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The Cadets 2019


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34 minutes ago, Poppycock said:

Do you think they’re conveying that story without explanation? I don’t! 

I agree they aren't.  Also what is with the male/female symbols on the weapons and sets.  Are they trying to say men and women are against each other? Are they saying men and women need to work together?

I guess it is open to interpretation like many shows including BD always are.  It's just not done very well right now.

Edited by cadet93
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1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:

No offense, but everyones show reveals are the BIGGEST AND BESTEST!......and then usually aren't. Cadets just announced a lot later than usual.

Can you imagine a show announcement that is brutally honest... "Hope you enjoy our show this year. We're not sure it's not gonna suck."  :tongue:

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23 minutes ago, Jake W. said:

So my major issue with the show is actually structural, not thematic. <snip>

That all sounded quite harsh. I respect the hell out of this corps and I’m beyond thrilled they’re thriving and existing despite a massive sea change of leadership. They’re on the right path as an organization now and that’s whats important. I understand this is all a growing process. I’ll also note again that the corps this year is full of incredible performers. Tons of talent. I’m also fairly confident calling this design the flop of the year.

Thanks for your thoughts. Always good to read a voice of reason. Overall organizational "health" matters most. 

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48 minutes ago, Jake W. said:

So my major issue with the show is actually structural, not thematic. Don’t get me wrong, the whole theme was a poor choice (just a little TOO on the nose) and it’s not even being realized particularly clearly. But the poorly-constructed architecture of the show is what I believe to be unfixable at this point. The music book in particular reads far below the level of the corps’ performing abilities: six or seven unrelated, disparate pieces of music that don’t portray any of the ideas they’re intended to and frankly just don’t fit together well, and, in the case of the Maslanka, even go the opposite direction of clarity and inject confusion (more on that later). It’s Crown 2017’s problem —- terrific but unrelated pieces of music that the staff spends the whole summer trying to make fit together, ignoring the issue that the music secretions weren’t a cohesive choice to begin with. There’s nothing to tie it all together, either; no melodies return despite a plethora of them in the show, no melodies overlap, we just move quickly from piece to piece and the music book feels so segmented and choppy. Before anyone even tries to say it, no, that is absolutely not the style today.

I think my biggest grievance is Maslanka 4, in a) the way it’s used as a closer and b) the arranging of it. It’s one of my favorite concert band pieces, and should not be utilized lightly, which seems to be the case here: a heroic-sounding closet slapped on without much thought. But Maslanka built much of the piece off of the traditional Christian Doxology...so...do they all find Jesus at the end and we’re all good? Or...what? I mean, *I* know that Maslanka wasn’t invoking any specific religious idea with the symphony, and that the designers were probably just trying to use a cool piece of concert band music, but what is the average Joe Schmo’s reaction when their closer is a standard church song with very specific ties? It just seems poorly chosen in that the sudden use of the Doxology melody most likely injects further confusion as to the theme. Also, that piece is some of the best writing in the wind band canon, and whoever arranged it for The Cadets butchered it to hell. It’s a shadow of the original. I can understand why Maslanka was so hesitant to allow his works to be arranged while he was alive —- this is truly not a wonderful representation of what he wrote. At all.

That all sounded quite harsh. I respect the hell out of this corps and I’m beyond thrilled they’re thriving and existing despite a massive sea change of leadership. They’re on the right path as an organization now and that’s whats important. I understand this is all a growing process. I’ll also note again that the corps this year is full of incredible performers. Tons of talent. I’m also fairly confident calling this design the flop of the year.

In the last video I saw (Flo, so I guess that was a while ago), I thought the transitions clearly weren't there, so conspicuously that I assumed they'd be in there eventually (not sure if that's come true?). The clarity through achievement started coming through after the 2nd week, but the show was still not cohesive. But, I thought I heard strains of the "royal theme" from the start of the show, mixed into the beginning of Bridge. I thought I also heard strains of Bridge in the closer, or am I getting mixed up with The Academy? LOL Anyway, I thought I heard some tie-ins, but not like what we'd be used to from, say, Bocook, and not enough to tie the show together.

I tried to stop years ago comparing arrangements to the originals. But I get really liking an original piece and then being massively let down at how someone else used it. I agree that Doxology is too well known not to bring to mind religion. They should at least consider having strains of Doxology worked into the start of the show, so that maybe it more clearly gets associated with the Queen.

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1 hour ago, dans said:

I really don't know what you know about the Cadets, nor do I care. However, your statement about lawyers is totally insensitive and possibly damaging to the Cadets organization. If a parent of a member reads your statement there may be some serious concerns about what their child is involved with. You really need to think before you type!

Oh for the love of god

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50 minutes ago, Fran Haring said:

Can you imagine a show announcement that is brutally honest... "Hope you enjoy our show this year. We're not sure it's not gonna suck."  :tongue:

Or something like. 

We were going to give y'all an explanation about our show but who gives a Sh!t if you like it or not.  Suck it. :spitting:

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1 minute ago, George Dixon said:

Please leave Hopkins’ god complex out of this! Lol 😂 

Dang it even when I'm not trying, I end up invoking his name in vain

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