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The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps
Junior drum and bugle corps based in Rosemont, Illinois From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps (also known as "The Green Machine") is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps based in Rosemont, Illinois.[1] The Cavaliers were one of the thirteen founding member corps of Drum Corps International and is a seven-time DCI World Champion. The Cavaliers are the only active all-male corps in the activity.
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History
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 | This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may only interest a particular audience. (October 2016) |
The early days
The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps was started in 1948 by Don Warren, Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 111 in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood after being impressed by the Racine Scouts. In 1949, the corps found an additional sponsor in the American Legion Thaddeus Kosciuszko Post 712 of Chicago's Little Warsaw neighborhood. This sponsorship allowed the corps to purchase new uniforms.[2]
The corps entered the world of field competition for the first time in 1950, adopting the name of Chicago Cavaliers and green as their main color. Following a promotional campaign by Cavalier Cigarettes, the corps adopted the Cavalier name and the logo of the cigarette brand as the corps' logo (the "Standing Man").[3]
After being an also-ran for their first two seasons of field competition, the Cavaliers won their first contest in 1952 Class B competition at the Spectacle of Music in South Milwaukee. The same year, they competed in their first American Legion Junior National Championship in New York City, finishing in seventh place. In 1956, the Cavaliers had risen to the number one ranking in the Midwest, and in 1957, the Cavaliers won the VFW National title in Miami, as well as both the Illinois State American Legion and VFW titles. The Cavaliers won the VFW championship again in 1959.
1960s
By 1960, the financial needs of the corps was struggling to be supported by thethe American Legion Kosciusko Post and the Chicago's Own VFW Post, but the temporary banning of bingo and other similar fundraisers by the State of Illinois was an almost crippling blow. As part of the solution to the ongoing problems of money and recruiting, in 1961, the Chicago's Own VFW was replaced by the Park Ridge VFW Post 3579, marking the beginning of the Cavaliers' move from being a city corps to suburban. The Cavaliers won VFW national three years in a row, 1961–63. In 1963, the corps traveled to Canada for the Toronto Optimist's "International" competition.
In 1964, The Cavaliers added mellophones and contrabasses to their horn line. 1967 saw Cavalier Hall go up in flames, taking the corps' trophies with it. They won the VFW Nationals, then repeated as American Legion Champions. The corps rebounded in 1969, winning the American Legion title. The highlight of 1970 was the Cavaliers' rise from eleventh place at VFW National prelims to third place in finals.
The Combine
In 1971, at the urging of Don Warren and Troopers founder Jim Jones, the Blue Stars, Cavaliers, Madison Scouts, Santa Clara Vanguard, the Argonne Rebels and the Troopers formed the Combine. This action was taken in reaction to the rigid, inflexible rules of the American Legion and VFW (the primary rule makers and sponsors of both corps and shows) and the low or nonexistent performance fees paid for appearing in the various competitions. The Combine members stated that the corps should be making their own rules, operating their own competitions and championships, and keeping the bulk of the monies those shows earned. For the 1971 season, the corps stuck together, offering show promoters the five corps as a package. Despite pressure on show sponsors, judges, and other drum corps, the Combine corps were not only booked into a number of shows together, but they found a host for a show of their own, which was a spectacular success despite fears of failure.[4] But in 1971 was not as much of a success for the Cavaliers: the corps fell to eighth at CYO Nationals and, with most of the top corps opting for VFW Nationals, they finished in second, two points behind the Argonne Rebels at the Legion Nationals.
The beginning of DCI
In 1972, The Cavaliers, along with the nine other corps from the Combine and the Alliance, as well as the Anaheim Kingsmen, Argonne Rebels, and De La Salle Oaklands, were founding members of Drum Corps International, which remains as the sanctioning body for junior corps in North America. At the first DCI World Championships in Whitewater, Wisconsin, The Cavaliers finished in ninth place. The 1972 Cavaliers also won another VFW National Championship in Minneapolis, their seventh. In 1973, the Cavaliers finished in fifteenth place at DCI in Whitewater during a season of financial difficulties and struggles with recruitment.
Over the next four years, 1974–77, The Cavaliers seemed to have rebounded somewhat from the down year of '73. Two years in eighth place were followed by two years in seventh place at DCI. They also won two more VFW National Championships in 1974 and '76. There was an unacknowledged drug problem that came to a head in 1977 when several members almost died while returning from a show, and due to disagreement within the corps, it managed only a sixteenth place finish at DCI. Also in 1977, Adolph DeGrauwe was named as corps director.
1980-1992
The Cavaliers' winter guard, under the leadership of Steve Brubaker, won the Winter Guard International championship in 1981–83. In 1982, Brubaker, who had also been working with the Cavalier Cadets corps since '78, was named head drill designer for The Cavaliers. That change brought about a change in the corps' attitude and this, along with the music selections becoming more and more classically oriented, helped The Cavaliers rise to the top half of DCI Finalists. 1982 saw The Cavaliers forge a solid association with the Village of Rosemont and its mayor, Donald E. Stephens, a relationship that would relieve the corps of many financial worries. The corps improved for the next several years, finishing second place at DCI Finals in 1990 behind the Cadets of Bergen County.
1990 saw The Cavaliers start the transition to three valve horns, and it was the year of The Cavaliers' very first DCI Regional championship, when they upset the previously undefeated Blue Devils and Phantom Regiment to win DCI Midwest at Whitewater.
Before the start of the 1991 season, Adolph DeGrauwe stepped down as Corps director, and was replaced by Jeff Fiedler. In 1991, they won both DCI East and DCI South, again finishing second place. At Dallas, the percussion ensemble won the Individual and Ensemble contest with a perfect 100.00 score. In 1992, The Cavaliers won their first DCI championship with their show titled "Revolution and Triumph".
1993 - Present
The 1993 season was difficult before it ever began; drill designer Steve Brubaker died during the off-season. Once the season got underway, everything was overshadowed by the previous year's success. Star once more left The Cavaliers in second at DCM, they trailed both Star and the Cadets at DCI North and the Preview of Champions, but they won DCI East over the Blue Devils. The DCI World Championships were held in hot and humid Jackson, Mississippi. It got even more humid, when the rains came during Finals; several Cavaliers slipped and fell, and the corps fell to fifth place. In 1994, The Cavaliers' program showcased the corps' guard. It won the DCM crown, but it was only good enough for second-place finishes in Regionals and fourth at DCI Finals in Boston. Gustav Holst's "The Planets" had been a crowd-pleaser and had earned The Cavaliers their first finish in the upper half of DCI's Top Twelve as the largest part of the show in 1985. In 1995, The Cavaliers brought back "The Planets" as their entire show. The Cavaliers traded wins with the Madison Scouts through the DCM season, with the Scouts taking the DCM title. They continued to trail only Madison at DCI Southwest in Houston and until the Preview of Champions in Ypsilanti, when they found themselves ahead of Madison but behind BD and the Cadets. DCI Mid-America at Champaign, Illinois also went to the Blue Devils. At the DCI World Championships in Buffalo, The Cavaliers took command in Quarterfinals, expanded their lead in Semi-finals and Finals, and won their second DCI Championship in four years.[5][6][3]
Before the 1996 season, The Cavaliers traveled to Japan. The corps won DCM and both DCI Mid-America and DCI East, but dropped to fourth place at DCI in Orlando, Florida. The 1997 season saw wins in only three minor shows, and The Cavaliers' return of "The Firebird" slipped to seventh place at DCI Finals. In 1998, The Cavaliers reclaimed the DCM title, but they failed to win any of three DCI Regionals, and they finished in fourth place at the World Championships, held for the third consecutive year in Orlando. The 1999 season was much like the one before, except that the Green Machine moved up to third place at DCI Championships in Madison. As the Twentieth Century came to a close, The Cavaliers performed a show of Michael Daugherty's "Niagara Falls" and an original composition by Richard Saucedo. They lost an early show to The Cadets, lost their home show and DCI Midwestern in Indianapolis to the Blue Devils, but they won three other DCI Regionals: Drums Along the Rockies in Denver, DCI Mid-America in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and DCI East in Allentown. At the DCI Championships in College Park, Maryland, The Cavaliers were three-tenths of a point behind The Cadets in both Quarterfinals and Semi-finals, but added nearly a point to their Finals score and tied The Cadets for their third DCI World Championship of the decade.[5][6][3]
The Twenty-first Century opened for The Cavaliers much as the Twentieth had ended. The 2001 program of Saucedo's "Four Corners" won DCM, was second to Blue Devils at DCI Southwestern in San Antonio, then won DCI Mid-America in Murfreesboro, DCI Midwestern in Indianapolis, and DCI Eastern in Philadelphia. Although they lost several shows to both BD and The Cadets, The Cavaliers took command at the DCI championships in Buffalo, winning Quarterfinals, Semi-finals, and Finals for their first consecutive championships since winning the American Legion Nationals in 1966 and '67. 2002 was much like 1961 had been; with an original program of "Frameworks" by Richard Saucedo, Bret Kuhn, and Erik Johnson, The Cavaliers won, and they won again and again and again. They won DCM and then won three DCI Regionals, the Southwestern in San Antonio, the Midwestern in Indianapolis, and Drums Along the Rockies in Denver. When The Cavaliers swept through the three rounds at the DCI World Championships in Madison with unheard of score margins of 1.75 to 1.95 points, the corps had not only won a three-peat, but they had earned the second undefeated season in the corps' history. Additionally, The Cavaliers set a world record for highest ever score in DCI history twice: 99.05 in Semifinals and 99.15 in Finals. This latter score remained unbeaten for several years until tied by The Cadets in 2005 and then beaten by The Blue Devils in 2014.
From August 2, 2001, through July 25, 2003, The Cavaliers won a DCI record sixty-four (64) contests in a row. The 2003 show, "Spin Cycle" by Richard Saucedo won the last DCM Championship before the top corps abandoned the circuit, and the DCI Southwestern Regional before The Blue Devils caught up and won both the Midwestern Regional and DCI East. The two corps went into DCI Championships in Orlando seemingly neck-and-neck, but the Devils dominated the Championships, and rather than The Cavaliers getting their sixth crown, the Devils gained their eleventh. In 2004, the corps hosted a percussion reunion; Cavalier drummers from 1948 through 2004, including every snare drummer since 1961, gathered to play together. Then The Cavaliers' "007" show of tunes from James Bond movies powered through the season, losing once to the Devils and twice to The Cadets en route to the sixth DCI title that had eluded the corps the previous year. After the DCI Championships in Denver, The Cavaliers, The Cadets, Madison Scouts, Phantom Regiment, Blue Devils, and Santa Clara Vanguard, the winners of all but two DCI Championships made a four show tour through California. In early 2008, Jeff Fiedler stepped down after seventeen years as The Cavaliers' director. He was replaced by former director Adolph DeGrauwe. After their 2006 title, The Cavaliers remained in the top four at DCI Finals until finishing eighth in 2012, seventh in 2013, and sixth in 2014. They then returned to DCI's top four in 2017. [6][7]
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Sponsorship
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The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization sponsored by The Village of Rosemont, Illinois and has a board of directors. The chairman Emeritus is Don Warren, the Corps chairman is Adolph DeGrauwe, the Corps President is Dale Young, the Chief Executive Officer is Robert Baker-Hargrove, the Corps Director is Daniel Belcher.[8][9] In addition to The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps, the organization also sponsors Chromium Winds, a co-ed indoor marching wind ensemble that will compete in WGI Winds.[10] the Classic Cavaliers alumni; Midwest Connection, an all-age community-based drum and bugle corps that will compete in DCI's SoundSport; and GearWORKS which hosts "Chop Sessions"– intensive workshops geared towards students looking to develop their individual skills for drum corps, winter percussion, indoor winds, and other performing ensembles.
In conjunction with the all-male Cavaliers Indoor Percussion that performs in WGI Independent World class, the organization is also co-sponsoring, with the Crystal Lake Strikers performing arts organization, Crystal Lake Thunder, a new co-ed percussion ensemble that will compete in WGI's Independent A class.[11]
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Show summary (1972–2025)
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Source:[12]
| Pale blue background indicates DCI World Class Finalist[a] |
| Dark gold background indicates DCI World Class Champion[a] |
- Because of a tabulation error in the General Effect caption, the Cavaliers' score was listed as 74.650, putting the corps in 15th place. Their score should have been 76.300 and their placement 13th. The Cavaliers told DCI to leave the standings as is, because the corps would not have made Finals even with the change.
- In 2000, the Cavaliers and the Cadets tied for 1st place.
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Caption awards
At the annual World Championship Finals, Drum Corps International (DCI) presents awards to the corps with the high average scores from prelims, semi-finals, and finals in five captions. The Cavaliers have won these caption awards:[13]
Don Angelica Best General Effect Award/Formerly Known: High General Effect
- 1990 (tie), 1995, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006
John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award/Formerly Known: High Visual
- 1991, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006
George Zingali Best Color Guard Performance Award
- 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007
Jim Ott Best Brass Performance Award
- 2002, 2006
Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award/Formerly Known: High Percussion
- 1991 (tie), 1992, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2011, 2023
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