Cavaliers going for another drum corps championship

For the last decade, the Cavaliers of Rosemont have virtually dominated the senior circuit, winning Drum Corps International's world championship four times, in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2006.

This is their 60th anniversary season, and the year their founder and only president, Don Warren of Wood Dale, has decided to retire.

Consequently, winning the world title at tonight's DCI championships in Bloomington, Ind., fans say, would make a fitting conclusion to this milestone year.

Standing in their way, however, is a familiar rival: the Blue Devils of Concord, Calif., last year's world champions who are very much in the thick of things again this year.

At Thursday's quarterfinals in Memorial Stadium at Indiana University, the Blue Devils edged the Cavaliers by less than .04. However each night is a separate competition, consequently their first place ranking did not carry over into Friday's semifinals, or today's championship finals.

Going into the championships, the 150-member Cavaliers found themselves in a neck-and-neck battle with the Blue Devils, after narrowly edging ahead of them in their last head-to-head battle on Aug. 1 in Allentown, Pa.

Their new director, Bruno Zuccala, says the Cavaliers' innovative show, "Samurai," has been well received by judges and audiences across the country.

In it, the brass, percussion and color guard characterize the life of a Samurai warrior, through original music and complex choreography.

The excitement builds throughout all four movements, but fans especially react to the third section, "The Art of the Sword," when the color guard uses authentic Samurai katana swords while the front pit section drives the action on taiko drums - all before the dramatic concluding fourth movement, "Death Before Dishonor."

"It's very engaging all the way through," Zuccala says, "but I think the audience really likes all the high energy in the third movement."

Unlike past years, there won't be TV coverage of tonight's championships. DVDs of the finals will be available on the DCI.org web site, and a DVD of the Cavaliers summer highlights and behind-the-scenes footage will be available at Cavaliers.org.