Big news on the drum corps front! Several of the top drum and bugle corps in the country are marching into the 2001 season using all-Yamaha marching drums and brass instruments. The move was a natural one for the Cadets and the Cavaliers, who brought home a shared 2000 DCI World Championship title playing Yamaha instruments already. |
The Cavaliers,
who celebrate their 15-year relationship with Yamaha this year,
are well acquainted with the advantages of Yamaha marching and
concert percussion instruments. Now they add marching brass instruments-rounding
out a package that will be tough to beat in the 2001 season.
 Cavaliers
director Jeff Fiedler says the sound of the horns will make a
significant difference for the Cavies. "The first time we
played through some stuff-the impact they made-I just looked
at the rest of the brass staff like, 'Wow,'" he says. "The
intonation was head and tails above what we'd been able to achieve
before. We were just really, really excited."The Cadets made the move to Yamaha marching brass last year, and were the first group to use "concert pitch" marching instruments in competition. This year they will add Yamaha percussion instruments, and are preparing to vie for the championship title once again.  "The
quality and sound of the Yamaha equipment has always been at
a high level," says Tom Aungst, head of percussion for the
Cadets. "I think that the percussion program is going to
take on a different sound than it has in the past because of
it."But the Cadets and the Cavaliers had better watch out for the competition. The Crossmen, who ranked in the top 10 at the 2000 DCI World Championship finals, will also enter the 2001 season playing Yamaha percussion instruments. "They're sounding great," says Jeff Bridges, director of the Crossmen. "We can't wait to get them outside. The battery percussion as well as the ensemble percussion is exceptional. The kids are very pleased with the quality of the instruments they're playing on." |