The summer season of music in motion wrapped up on August 12 in Madison, Wisconsin, in front of 26,000 fans, with the undefeated Cavaliers from Rosemont, Illinois, taking home the Division I trophy for their third consecutive year. Their score of 99.15 marked a record for drum corps. "The Green Machine," as the Cavaliers are known, also won the High Brass Award for the first time in their 30 years as part of Drum Corps International.

"From the first notes performed on our Yamaha Bb brass equipment in 2001 to our DCI championship performance in Madison, the Cavaliers added yet another dimension to outdoor brass performance," said Jeff Fiedler, corps director. "We're overwhelmingly pleased with the instruments and the sound we continue to produce and refine, and know that there is more to discover as we develop our outdoor brass sound."

Bret Kuhn, Cavaliers captain head, adds, "We have played on all-Yamaha marching percussion since 1986. We stay with Yamaha simply because the equipment produces exactly the type of sound we want to hear." The corps also bagged perfect scores in General Effect Visual and Music Ensemble, as well as receiving the Jim Ott Best Brass and Best Visual Performance awards.

The third place Cadets from Bergenfield, New Jersey, placed second in Visual Performance with their tribute to New York City's firefighters. The corps also won High Percussion for the second year in a row. Captain Head Tom Aungst says the fact that the corps switched over to Yamaha percussion two years ago is no coincidence. "The tuning is so much easier than what we had been using, and the sound is clearer across the group," he says. "When you have 19 kids trying to play the same thing, it's important to have uniformity of sound."

George Hopkins, Cadets executive director, has similar feelings on Yamaha brass. "This was our third year with the instruments," he says. "Our first two years were fabulous, and we're improving with the horns all the time. We get a terrific quality and uniformity of sound, and great balance throughout the ensemble."

Aungst adds that the Cadets used to have to change drums every year. "The old equipment could not take the strain of constant use. With the Yamaha percussion, we used the same equipment as last season, and it's holding up extremely well."

Dean Musson, director of the ninth place Crossmen from Newark, Delaware, also had high praise for Yamaha's brass, which the corps introduced at the beginning of this past season. "We have been able to achieve excellent balance and great projection," said Musson. "The arrival of these instruments was a dream come true for the Crossmen, and we look forward to a partnership with Yamaha for many years."