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The Cavaliers Color Guard Welcomes Three Dynamic Staff Additions


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>>The colorguard doesn't have sheet music. They don't all come in having done a similar "slur" exercise.<<

there's a lot of work that goes into getting different players to approach slurs with uniformity throughout a section.  it's great to hear about the intricacies of guard work but no reason to do it by reducing what musicians do to simply reading sheet music lol.

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I just want what's best for the Cavies.  I loved where they were going musically the past several years and I was a little disappointed about the huge changes there for the upcoming season, but it was clear to me that the visual and music weren't going together all that well from a programming or execution standpoint.  Hoping to love what they put out this year with all these changes and hope the guard is safe with a new assistant caption head who defended deadnaming as punishment in her previous corps.

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3 hours ago, Lance said:

I just want what's best for the Cavies.  I loved where they were going musically the past several years and I was a little disappointed about the huge changes there for the upcoming season, but it was clear to me that the visual and music weren't going together all that well from a programming or execution standpoint.  Hoping to love what they put out this year with all these changes and hope the guard is safe with a new assistant caption head who defended deadnaming as punishment in her previous corps.

 

Edited by denverjohn
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14 hours ago, jjeffeory said:

Worst-case Fallacy aside, I'm not sure they leave the activity entirely if their expectations aren't being met. ...and if they DO leave the activity then they'd possibly just go to another activity that is doing the same thing, apparently ( from what another poster said).

When I marched, I was completely aware that this was an amateur activity that operated at a high level and was different from high school and college, sorta like a dance troupe. I didn't expect a university experience, I expect a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants lesson in awesome brass playing and movement beyond the traditional academic setting.

 The marketing of the activity since my time performing in it has been top-notch, but the "marketing of the experience of the activity" is different than the actual capability of these groups to deliver at the same level. This is how we get SCV's situation, or the Cadets' situation, or even Boston's situation (on the positive side of things)

well...theres only so many corps. and i do know several people that one bad season was enough to chase them away forever. granted, in the 80's and 90's things weren't as they are today for the kids, but the old school macho BS we see on here and elsewhere from older alumni did turn away several kids forever after one year. and many others had enough that when they were done, they didn't come back as active spectators.

 

and if Bostons board weren't so #### good, would they have the experience excellence they now rave about? 

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13 hours ago, Sutasaurus said:

Not true… we all had our shots.😁

obviously we know different contra players LOL

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9 hours ago, BlooooContra said:

2021 Blue Stars contra tech here. Loved working with those cats. 😂

i know a contra you marched with now teaching where you taught. Pretty sure he didn't have his shots LOL

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On 3/21/2023 at 8:37 PM, rjohn76 said:

While the advice of an accountant is important, it's also important to recognize that the marching members expect a much higher level of instruction now days compared to 20 years ago.  That's the reason why the bulk of the staff on tour are professional educators, professional musicians or in some cases aspiring educators/musicians.  Acquiring & retaining the services of those folks cost money, and drum corps honestly is paying out on the cheap to get them.  There's actually been a push on multiple fronts for staff members to be paid MORE... not less. 

The marching members "expect" a much higher level of instruction now days (& more of them), or could it be its foisted upon them....?  I happen to believe it's more of the latter.  It's like an arms race where more bells, whistles, and instructors are added and added and added.  You believe that's been driven by the marching members?  I don't.  And it has driven up the cost for lower income and middle class kids and made it virtually impossible for a start-up corps to grow and compete in the upper echelon and meanwhile upper echelon corps are disappearing before our eyes. 

Drum Corp was intended to be for any kid off the street to be able to learn a musical instrument, enjoy camaraderie and learn life-long skills, not a Masters program with tenured professors.  But that's what Drum Corps wants and it's helping speed its own demise because of it.  

You get what you pay for - until you can no longer afford it.  

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2 hours ago, greg_orangecounty said:

The marching members "expect" a much higher level of instruction now days (& more of them), or could it be its foisted upon them....?  I happen to believe it's more of the latter.  It's like an arms race where more bells, whistles, and instructors are added and added and added.  You believe that's been driven by the marching members?  I don't.  And it has driven up the cost for lower income and middle class kids and made it virtually impossible for a start-up corps to grow and compete in the upper echelon and meanwhile upper echelon corps are disappearing before our eyes. 

Drum Corp was intended to be for any kid off the street to be able to learn a musical instrument, enjoy camaraderie and learn life-long skills, not a Masters program with tenured professors.  But that's what Drum Corps wants and it's helping speed its own demise because of it.  

You get what you pay for - until you can no longer afford it.  

it was intended to give veterans groups bragging rights. It started with seniors first

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4 hours ago, greg_orangecounty said:

The marching members "expect" a much higher level of instruction now days (& more of them), or could it be its foisted upon them....?  I happen to believe it's more of the latter.  It's like an arms race where more bells, whistles, and instructors are added and added and added.  You believe that's been driven by the marching members?  I don't.  And it has driven up the cost for lower income and middle class kids and made it virtually impossible for a start-up corps to grow and compete in the upper echelon and meanwhile upper echelon corps are disappearing before our eyes. 

I marched back in the 90's and the staffing levels on tour then weren't much different than they are today.  There was almost always a tech for each section, and it was frustrating on the rare occasion when there wasn't because it left a void in instruction when it came time for sectionals.  So yes, the members do expect there to be adequate staff present, especially if it has the potential to impact their overall performance and placement. 

And yes, the members do prefer that the instructors have some practical skills vs. being some random person who maybe marched a couple years and likes to relive their youth by yelling at kids and gawking at half dressed members all summer long.

Jeff's already said, but I will reiterate that staff members aren't collecting pay while sitting at home.  Some of those staff members you see listed may only be present for a short period of time while the primary instructor jets off to conduct their school's band camp.  Other instructors may only be present during winter camps to help with individual assessments or fill in when the primary instructor is tied up with their WGI program.  Virtually nobody that is qualified to be an instructor, or trustworthy enough, will be able to commit to the entire winter season, spring training and summer tour.  That's why the depth in staff is there.  It's not an arms race.  It's a necessity to meet the basic needs of the corps experience.  If you want to reduce the number of staff, you need to start looking at modifying other elements of the corps experience (ex. number of camps, length of spring training, length of tour, etc...).

It's also important to note that a sizable chunk of the staff/administrative payroll is going to be attributed to the CEO and any other full time positions that exist (ex. corps director, office manager, etc...).  You can argue whether those full-time paid positions should exist, or if they should go back to being part-time or volunteer roles like they were in the past.  At the end of the day, best practices for non-profit orgs would tend to suggest that those paid positions are a necessity in order to facilitate proper management & development of an organization.

I also have to add that modern technology has made the operations of corps much more transparent.  Back in the day, unless there was something about a corps in Drum Corps World, the only time you really heard/saw anything about staff was in the program books at a show.  Even then, only the primary staff were listed in many cases... not the random guy who came in to help tech visual at a camp or two.  Social media and more sophisticated websites have changed all of that.  From a credibility & reference standpoint, that random guy that worked two camps wants his work acknowledged, especially for reference purposes if they're looking to gain more work with other bands/corps in the future.

 

 

Edited by rjohn76
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