Kiwanis Kavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps
Encyclopedia
The Kiwanis Kavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps was a Division 1 (now World Class) drum and bugle corps
now based in Miami, Florida
(Previously twin cities of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario (about 1 hour drive from Toronto airport)). Formerly headed by Doug Darwin, Russ McKechnie and John Cameron, the corps was founded in the fall of 1971 by Jack Turner (who, at one point, considered calling it "The Apple Corps" but didn't due to sponsorship by the local Kiwanis Club and better judgment on his part), and is a member of Drum Corps International
. This corps was Canada
's only Division I drum corps until it moved its headquarters to Miami after the 2006 season. The Kiwanis Kavaliers have appeared in both Division I and Division II (now Open Class) competition throughout its history but have been Division 1/World Class since 1996. The corps merged with the Tampa Bay
Thunder Drum and Bugle Corps in 2002 acquiring a full member corps for the first time in two decades while it had previously held lower membership numbers than other corps, mostly from Florida. The corps also toured Europe
in 2001, representing Drum Corps International in Germany
, Belgium
, and the Netherlands
.
The highest championship finish by the corps has been fourteenth place in 1996 and 1997. In 2006, the corps announced that it would not tour during the summer 2006 season due to a sudden change in administration and staffing. In late 2006, the new corps administration announced their petition to return to a full Drum Corps International Tour. However, on January 25, 2007, the administration announced that they would remain inactive in 2007. The corps is inactive for the 2008 season. The corps has been disbanded. However, an alumni corps has been formed.
On February 17, 2007, the organization announced that a large amount of equipment was stolen from their equipment truck located in Miami, Florida
. According to a reward poster on the corps's main page, twenty trumpets, seven mellophones, fourteen baritones, ten tubas, seven snares, five tenor drums and three bass drums were stolen.
For the first 30 years of their existence, the Kiwanis Kavaliers enjoyed many years as a Canadian-based drum and bugle corps, achieving various levels of success. The first 10 years were mostly spent doing the parade and local competition circuit in Southern Ontario under the Ontario Drum Corps Association (ODCA) along with about 30 other local drum corps. They were generally considered a "Cadet" or "C" class corps at this time. There were occasional trips to the U.S. during this time. One memorable HUGE trip was when the corps went down to Disney World for the American Bicentennial in 1976, and the irony is that eventually Florida became the corps' home. To many, this was the most fun period to be a member of the Kavaliers. But fun times would always surround the corps for years to come. The years between 1982 through 1986 were mostly about trying to leave the "C" class roots and become a slightly more competitive unit.
The winter of 1987 is arguably where the corps had its most dramatic change: Another neighbour corps, St. Andrews Drum and Bugle Corps of Cambridge, ON, merged with us. Personnel-wise, obviously, the corps got bigger by enhancing every section of the corps. But, primarily, it was the drumline, and its "new blood" that really pushed the engine behind the corps' success. As a result, 1987 was the first year the corps made DCI A Class finals and was now a corps to be considered. 1987 through 1991 was spent getting established as an A class perennial contender. In 1992 the corps got another influx of talent from a small town in Eastern Ontario and really seemed to have a corps that enjoyed performing their "Danny Elfman" show for the audience. In 1993 the corps got smaller as some people left but that also caused some of the younger ones who stayed to have to "grow up" and assume responsibility and that helped in the coming years. In 1994 and 1995 the corps played music by Pat Methany which required everyone to get more sophisticated in how they approached the drum corps "game". Another huge merger happened in 1995 which really helped push the corps further: The Ventures Drum and Bugle Corps from our same hometown of Kitchener-Waterloo, ON had succumbed and needed a place to send their girls (they were a VERY successful All-Girl corps). With their help, in 1995 the corps finished 2nd in Div II with a score of 95.6, just 0.8 behind first place. And, the corps also won top brass and top percussion caption awards. Of course, success breeds success, so these caption wins attracted a lot of other people to the corps for the 1996 season, including many from Quebec, as well as many Americans, all of a certain talent level. It was at this time that the director, Doug Darwin, decided that the corps should go to Division I rather than rest on its laurels in Div II. In 1996 the corps performed "West Side Story" and finished in 14th place with a score of 79.2 and in 1997, playing an "Evita" theme the corps again finished 14th but with a score of 82.7, our highest ever. 1998 and 1999 were also fairly good years ("An American In Paris" 16th; "Music of the New York Voices" 19th) but by 2000 and 2001 membership was starting to diminish.
The trip to Europe in 2001 was a definite hilite, enjoyed by all. But, there was still a concern for the next year over numbers. Sometime, early in the winter of 2002, Doug Darwin and Tampa Bay Thunder director Jim Newman met and discussed a "collaboration" (read "merger"). During the first 2 years of this merger, there were staggered camps held both in Florida and Waterloo. The last two years (2004/2005), although the corps remained "headquartered" in Kitchener-Waterloo, most camps were held in Florida and it was becoming a de facto Florida organization.
The corps lives on in memories and via annual(?) get-togethers and reunions.
Drum and bugle corps (modern)
A drum and bugle corps, also known as a drum corps, is a musical marching unit consisting of brass instruments, percussion instruments, and color guard. Typically operating as independent non-profit organizations, drum corps perform in competitions, parades, festivals, and other civic functions...
now based in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
(Previously twin cities of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario (about 1 hour drive from Toronto airport)). Formerly headed by Doug Darwin, Russ McKechnie and John Cameron, the corps was founded in the fall of 1971 by Jack Turner (who, at one point, considered calling it "The Apple Corps" but didn't due to sponsorship by the local Kiwanis Club and better judgment on his part), and is a member of Drum Corps International
Drum Corps International
Drum Corps International , formed in 1972, is the non-profit governing body operating the North American drum and bugle corps circuit for junior corps, whose members are between the ages of 14 and 21. It is the counterpart of Drum Corps Associates which governs senior or all-age drum corps...
. This corps was Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's only Division I drum corps until it moved its headquarters to Miami after the 2006 season. The Kiwanis Kavaliers have appeared in both Division I and Division II (now Open Class) competition throughout its history but have been Division 1/World Class since 1996. The corps merged with the Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...
Thunder Drum and Bugle Corps in 2002 acquiring a full member corps for the first time in two decades while it had previously held lower membership numbers than other corps, mostly from Florida. The corps also toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 2001, representing Drum Corps International in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
The highest championship finish by the corps has been fourteenth place in 1996 and 1997. In 2006, the corps announced that it would not tour during the summer 2006 season due to a sudden change in administration and staffing. In late 2006, the new corps administration announced their petition to return to a full Drum Corps International Tour. However, on January 25, 2007, the administration announced that they would remain inactive in 2007. The corps is inactive for the 2008 season. The corps has been disbanded. However, an alumni corps has been formed.
On February 17, 2007, the organization announced that a large amount of equipment was stolen from their equipment truck located in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. According to a reward poster on the corps's main page, twenty trumpets, seven mellophones, fourteen baritones, ten tubas, seven snares, five tenor drums and three bass drums were stolen.
For the first 30 years of their existence, the Kiwanis Kavaliers enjoyed many years as a Canadian-based drum and bugle corps, achieving various levels of success. The first 10 years were mostly spent doing the parade and local competition circuit in Southern Ontario under the Ontario Drum Corps Association (ODCA) along with about 30 other local drum corps. They were generally considered a "Cadet" or "C" class corps at this time. There were occasional trips to the U.S. during this time. One memorable HUGE trip was when the corps went down to Disney World for the American Bicentennial in 1976, and the irony is that eventually Florida became the corps' home. To many, this was the most fun period to be a member of the Kavaliers. But fun times would always surround the corps for years to come. The years between 1982 through 1986 were mostly about trying to leave the "C" class roots and become a slightly more competitive unit.
The winter of 1987 is arguably where the corps had its most dramatic change: Another neighbour corps, St. Andrews Drum and Bugle Corps of Cambridge, ON, merged with us. Personnel-wise, obviously, the corps got bigger by enhancing every section of the corps. But, primarily, it was the drumline, and its "new blood" that really pushed the engine behind the corps' success. As a result, 1987 was the first year the corps made DCI A Class finals and was now a corps to be considered. 1987 through 1991 was spent getting established as an A class perennial contender. In 1992 the corps got another influx of talent from a small town in Eastern Ontario and really seemed to have a corps that enjoyed performing their "Danny Elfman" show for the audience. In 1993 the corps got smaller as some people left but that also caused some of the younger ones who stayed to have to "grow up" and assume responsibility and that helped in the coming years. In 1994 and 1995 the corps played music by Pat Methany which required everyone to get more sophisticated in how they approached the drum corps "game". Another huge merger happened in 1995 which really helped push the corps further: The Ventures Drum and Bugle Corps from our same hometown of Kitchener-Waterloo, ON had succumbed and needed a place to send their girls (they were a VERY successful All-Girl corps). With their help, in 1995 the corps finished 2nd in Div II with a score of 95.6, just 0.8 behind first place. And, the corps also won top brass and top percussion caption awards. Of course, success breeds success, so these caption wins attracted a lot of other people to the corps for the 1996 season, including many from Quebec, as well as many Americans, all of a certain talent level. It was at this time that the director, Doug Darwin, decided that the corps should go to Division I rather than rest on its laurels in Div II. In 1996 the corps performed "West Side Story" and finished in 14th place with a score of 79.2 and in 1997, playing an "Evita" theme the corps again finished 14th but with a score of 82.7, our highest ever. 1998 and 1999 were also fairly good years ("An American In Paris" 16th; "Music of the New York Voices" 19th) but by 2000 and 2001 membership was starting to diminish.
The trip to Europe in 2001 was a definite hilite, enjoyed by all. But, there was still a concern for the next year over numbers. Sometime, early in the winter of 2002, Doug Darwin and Tampa Bay Thunder director Jim Newman met and discussed a "collaboration" (read "merger"). During the first 2 years of this merger, there were staggered camps held both in Florida and Waterloo. The last two years (2004/2005), although the corps remained "headquartered" in Kitchener-Waterloo, most camps were held in Florida and it was becoming a de facto Florida organization.
The corps lives on in memories and via annual(?) get-togethers and reunions.