"Niagara Falls" - The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps (2000), with Bret Kuhn & Erik Johnson (Percussion Composers & Arrangers)

Sketchbook with Daniel Montoya Jr.

After winning their 2nd DCI world championship in 1995 with their show ‘The Planets,’ The Cavaliers drum & bugle corps fell to 4th in 1996 and dropped to 7th place with their 1997 production, “The Firebird.” The lowest the corps had finished since finishing 8th in 1984. The Cavies then moved back up to 4th place in 1998 and then received the bronze medal in 1999 with their show, “Classical Innovations.” That 1999 show also saw The Chicago Cavaliers taking home their fourth High Percussion Award in the history of the corps, all in the 1990s. In the year 2000… a design team came together that would come to dominate DCI for the better part of the next decade. Led by program coordinator Scott Koter, Michael Gaines designed the drill, Richard Saucedo composed & arranged the brass book, and Bret Kuhn & Erik Johnson composed & arranged the battery & front-ensemble books. The 2000 production, “Niagara Falls,” featured music from and inspired by Niagara Falls by Michael Daugherty, and Waves, from Soundings by Cindy McTee as well as original music by Saucedo, Kuhn, & Johnson. The 2000 season ended with The Cavaliers of Rosemount, IL winning their 3rd DCI world championship, in a tie with The Cadets, as well as winning the John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award, the George Zingali Best Color Guard Performance Award, and the Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award. Joining me today are future DCI Hall of Famers Bret Kuhn and Erik Johnson. Bret served as Caption Head and Percussion Arranger for the Cavaliers who won 6 World Championships and 5 High Percussion Awards during his tenure. From 1995 to 2005 and 2008 to 2010, Erik Johnson was on the instructional staff serving on the design team as the front ensemble arranger and coordinator. On this episode of Musicbook, we discuss The Cavaliers’ 2000 production, “Niagara Falls.” --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sketchbookpodcast/support