After a two-year pandemic absence, the sights, sounds and pageantry of world-class drum and bugle corps will return in grand fashion.
The Drum Corps International Pittsburgh event will be held 7:30 p.m. Aug. 7 at Baldwin High School Stadium. Five corps will be in competition, including the 10-time DCI World Champion Cadets of Allentown, Pa. There also will be performances by the Mandarins of Sacramento, Calif., the Blue Knights of Denver, the Troopers of Casper, Wyo. and Pacific Crest of Diamond Bar, Calif.
The event, which is sponsored by DCI and the Baldwin Highlander Music Patrons, comes in the final week of the DCI 50th Anniversary Tour, which culminates at the World Championships Aug. 11-13 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
It also is a homecoming for two recent Baldwin High School graduates who are members of the Cadets.
Sam Marsteller, a 2020 graduate, is a trumpet player in his second season with the Allentown group. Payton Fleszar, who graduated this year, is in her first season in the flag line of the Cadets’ color guard. Both performers are eager to perform at their former high school once again.
“It's really cool that we get to go to Baldwin,” Marsteller said. “The show there is what got me into drum corps because I used to go watch it every year I was in high school.
“I just remember feeling amazed at how good the groups sounded and went out and did a job at the highest level. It’s crazy now that I get to stand in those shoes. I'll be really happy if I can share that feeling with future performers and get them into the activity.”
Marsteller, 20, has finished his second year at Penn State Behrend in Erie, where he is majoring in mechanical engineering.
Fleszar is also ecstatic about coming home.
“I am super excited. I never thought I would be performing at Baldwin again but it will be really cool to perform there with all of my new friends,” she said. “However, I’m most excited to get to see all of my family, teachers and friends because they have been so supportive this entire time.”
Fleszar, 17, plans to attend the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science this fall and hopes to become a funeral director. She also enjoys fencing, but for now, her passion is drum corps.
“I initially tried out for the Cadets because the auditions were so accessible. I ended up choosing them because of how much the people made it feel like home. In just one weekend these people became family.”
Marsteller said being in a corps has its challenges.
“The hardest thing about drum corps is the mental game behind it. On tour you get to do shows, which are a blast, but spring training is just a grind for weeks. Anyone can do the physical requirements, but the mental toughness is what really defines the difficulty in this activity. The feeling of satisfaction and pride I get here is like nothing else.”
The Cadets’ production, “Rearview Mirror,” portrays Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel “On the Road,” which is based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across the United States. Musical selections include “Adrenaline City” by Adam Gorb, “Saint Louis Blues” by W.C. Handy, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Elmer Bernstein and “Pitchfork” from “American Gothic” by Michael Daugherty.
The Cadets, as well as other world-class corps, can have up to 165 members consisting of brass musicians, percussionists and color guard performers with a general age range of 16-21. As of July 24, the Cadets are ranked sixth by DCI.
Unlike the early days of military-style drum corps, today’s shows include massive props, recorded narrations, singers and dancers in theatrical performances.
Tickets are $35 in advance, not including a $5.95 processing fee, and $42 on the day of the event at www.dci.org. The box office will be cashless and non-contact. Tickets can be ordered with a smartphone via Mobile Ticket or Print@home ticket delivery. Information: www.DCI.org/events.
DCI in theaters
“Big, Loud & Live 17” will feature the top 15 corps in the DCI World Class Preliminaries at Indianapolis and will be shown live at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 11 at more than 700 movie theaters, including Cinemark Monroeville Mall, AMC Waterfront 22 in West Homestead, Cinemark North Hills, Phoenix Theatres Chartiers Valley Luxury 14, Cinemark Robinson Township and Cinemark Center Township Marketplace. For more information, visit www.FathomEvents.com.
First Published: July 29, 2022, 10:00 a.m.