Cavaliers Charge through July, Hit Final Stretch

Saturday, August 4th, 2012 - 12:21 PM
By Dan Minkel

The month of July has been action-packed, to say the least! Since the first major regional in Minneapolis, Minn., on July 14, The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps has tracked an impressive rate of progress. The 13 shows since DCI Minnesota have seen consistency in performance and the implementation of the full ending to 15 Minutes of Fame.

To date, The Cavaliers have posted a high score of 87.5 earned the final day of July in Salem, Virg., improving more than 20 points since the beginning of the season. During the previous month, the corps has traveled 6,000 miles through the Midwest, Texas, Tennessee and Georgia, bringing the tour close to 10,000 total miles!

Check out Tour photos on Facebook

After taking the field in DCI Minnesota, the corps traveled home to Rosemont, Ill. on July 15, to partake in the Rosemont Picnic - an annual celebration of the Village of Rosemont and highlight of the corps' 30-year relationship. The Cavaliers marched a parade and performed a standstill for the Rosemont community to express appreciation for unwavering support.

That evening, the corps took to its first Tour of Champions show in Rockford, Ill., with a strong performance. Fans got an opportunity to meet members and get their own '15 Minutes of Fame' through The Cavaliers Fan-Cam (located at the souvenir booth).

Check out Fan-Cam photos on Facebook

At the DCI Southwestern Championship, The Cavaliers put on an amazing performance that had audience members out of their seats. After an energetic showing in San Antonio, the corps took the night off to do laundry and prepare for the next day's Individual and Ensemble (I&E) competition and free day. At I&E, 14 members proudly represented The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps, with 7 taking home titles! The Cavalier Brass Ensemble - comprised of trumpeters Ian, David, Bennett, Robby, Simon, and Justin - took first in Brass Ensemble, and color guard member Manny Gandia took first in Dance.

The Cavaliers Individual & Ensemble - Full Results

Cavaliers Brass Ensemble - 91.50 (Champion)
Manny Gandia, Dance - 91.50 (Champion)
Cavaliers Percussion Ensemble - 95.00 (2nd)
Grant Furry, Tuba - 92.50 (3rd)
Justin Rowan, Trumpet - 91.70 (4th)
Jeremiah Jones, Multi-Tenor - 95.50 (5th)
Patrick Parker, French Horn - 74.70 (5th)

After a great day at I&E, and a relaxing free day in San Antonio, The Cavaliers traveled to Odessa, Texas for their first win of the season at Thunder in the Desert!

Check out Tour photos on Facebook

As The Cavaliers moved further south, the 2012 members continued to clean, execute and perform for energetic audiences. The closing production of the show has been revamped to an exciting feature including musical selections from earlier in the performance. The new full ending to the show was debuted in Murfreesboro, Tenn., wowing the audience and bringing them to their feet in a raucous manner. The tag addition has garnered some amazing crowd reactions, both live in the stands and online!

Twitter followers have raved about the show's finishing touch:

@Kylie_Rose4 - "One of the most amazing performances ever - They are awesome!!"

@WikeMeiss - "Saw @TheCavaliers tonight, they blew me away, I love their show so much."

@austinheadriick - "@TheCavaliers it was intense!"

At the DCI Southeastern Championship held in Atlanta, Ga. on July 28 at the Georgia Dome. The corps took eight place and continued its jockeying for position with Boston Crusaders and Madison Scouts.

The Backyard Brawl.

The Cavaliers and Phantom Regiment squared off for what became the ultimate fundraising battle of the 2012 season!

Once the dust had settled and the totals were confirmed, just $3,704.57 separated the two Illinois rivals at the final announcement during DCI's Southeastern Championship.

Phantom Regiment pulled out an impressive come-from-behind win with a total of $32,217 in donations, while The Cavaliers trailed closely behind with $28,512.43 raised during the 19-day effort.

The Final Stretch is Here.

The Cavaliers now enter the final week of the 2012 season, with seven days left to perfect '15 Minutes of Fame' and 5 performances remaining. After competing in Allentown, Penn., the corps will travel to East Rutherford, N.J., for the Tour of Champions Grand Finale. From there, the Green Machine will rehearse for two days in Belle Vernon, Penn., and then travel to Beech Grove High School in Beech Grove, Ind., to close out the 2012 season!

By Dan Minkel, Marketing Communications Intern

Founded in 1948, The Cavaliers are one of the most successful drum and bugle corps in history, winning 20 national championships, including seven Drum Corps International world championships since 1992. Each summer, 150 male brass, percussion and color guard performers aged 16-22 present a marching music show considered among the most challenging and original in the world.

The group performs at more than 30 competitions across the US and for more than 100,000 fans. Along the way, the young men not only learn about music and performing, but have a life-changing experience based on excellence, teamwork and camaraderie.

The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization sponsored by The Village of Rosemont, Illinois.