Troopers begin DCI quest Troopers enter DCI Championships Rosemont-based corps is 3rd going into DCI championships in Donaldson Company Announces

Troopers begin DCI quest

Wearing the uniform of the 11th Ohio Cavalry with a few 2011 modifications, the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps from Casper took the field at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Thursday evening with eyes set on the Finals of the Drum Corps International World Championships.

"When you have a drum corps that's ready to throw down, there's nothing like it," said drum major Josh Jensen minutes after the performance in preliminaries. "We'll get up tomorrow and go back at it. It's dedication right there; never giving up."

The Troopers entered the night in 13th place and scored 82.70, dropping to 14th. Places 13 through 15 -- the Glassmen of Toledo, Ohio (82.95), the Troopers, and the Academy of Tempe, Ariz., (82.1) -- were separated by a span of .85 points.

The Spirit of Atlanta entered the night in 14th place, just back of the Troopers, and vaulted to 12th place, scoring 85.5.

The top 12 corps after tonight's round of 25 in the semifinals move on to Saturday's Finals.

The Troopers last made the Finals in 2009, finishing 12th in what was then known as the quarterfinals, 12th in the semifinals and 12th in the Finals. Prior to 2009, it had been 23 years since the Troopers were in the Finals.

Last year, they finished 15th in the quarters and 15th in the semis.

During the performance, DCI blogger Michael Boo explained the Troopers show, "The Road Home," this way: "It's quite lovely and soul searching, tender and reminding us why we want to go home ... And a sunburst in the far right corner with the traditional yellow and white 11th Ohio Cavalry (flags) pouring out of the horns form in a sunburst."

The sunburst was added late in the season, a nod to the Troopers early years under founder Jim Jones.

As the Troopers concluded the performance, Boo wrote, "I don't think the audience would mind seeing them in Finals one bit."

"We had a great run!" said visual staffer Ila Gaponoff immediately after the performance. "The kids brought a lot of energy and emotion and put out a stellar performance."

Troopers executive director Mike Ottoes was hoarse from yelling during the preliminary performance.

"I'm very proud of them," he said. "They did a fantastic job. They did a great job. They had fantastic rehearsals Wednesday night and this morning and it certainly carried over today."

Troopers program staff coordinator William Chumley has described the show's concept as a journey of exploration, discovery, revelation, overcoming and returning.

"The music sounds like the wide-open American spaces and has an adventurous American spirit," he said earlier this season. "We want to push the future of the Troopers forward and also respect the past."

The musical thread for the show is "The Old Church," by Stephen Paulus, which corps director Fred Morris has described as conveying the feeling of sitting alone in the back row of a small country church.

Troopers enter DCI Championships

The Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps begins Drum Corps International World Championship competition at 5:14 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts.

The preliminary round has a new format and is now a daylong event, beginning at 7 a.m. and featuring all 23 World Class corps, as well as Open Class and International corps. From all corps competing today, the top 25 will advance to Friday’s semifinal round. The top 12 in the semifinal round move to Saturday’s Finals.

Achieving a spot in Saturday’s finals is a goal the Troopers have had for an entire year. The Troopers last made Finals in 2009 after a drought of 23 years.

While in Indianapolis, the Troopers are staying at the Boone County 4-H Fairgrounds in Lebanon, Ind., about 20 miles north of the city. They rehearse at Zionsville High School.

The Troopers show is “The Road Home,” and features music from American composer Aaron Copland, among others.

There are seven Troopers from Wyoming this season: Aidan Ritchie and John-Michael Villeneuve of Laramie, Shane Spencer of Casper and Vince Zakis, David Zamora, Michael Broyles and Alyson Downs of Cheyenne.

The Troopers season will officially conclude with a Sunday morning brunch at the Crowne Plaza in Indianapolis, where awards will be presented and the drum major’s sword will be passed from Josh Jensen, who ages out, to Kyle Whatley of Fruitland, Idaho, the 2012 drum major.

Rosemont-based corps is 3rd going into DCI championships in Indianapolis

It all comes down to this weekend for the Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps, sponsored by the village of Rosemont.

After a competition season that included 35 shows and an 11,000-mile summer tour, all roads now lead to the Drum Corps International Championships opening Thursday in Indianapolis.

The Cavaliers have won the world title seven times and placed second in 2010, with fewer than 10 points separating the top 10 finishers.

Going into the finals inside Lucas Oil Stadium, the Cavaliers are seeded third, behind The Cadets of Bergen County, N.J., and the 2010 champions, the Blue Devils of Concord, Calif.

“Our spirits are higher than ever,” said trumpeter Thomas Druebner of Mount Prospect, a 2011 Prospect High School graduate. “This is one of the hardest shows we’ve ever done, but what makes it easy is that it’s so much fun.”

They call their original program “XtraordinarY” for its intense musical movements, but especially for its Cirque-du-Soleil type choreography.

“This program has them doing things that have never been done before in the drum and bugle corps industry,” said Craig Rasin of Downers Grove, a Cavaliers board member.

He points to one sequence where the tenor drummers are suspended upside down — held up by the contrabass players — as they play, followed by the some of the trumpet players being suspended while playing their horns.

“Sadly, I’m not one of them,” Druebner said. “There was a height and weight requirement, and I was too tall.”

The entire program is culturally diverse, as if different languages are being spoken. In one part, the drill team performs on stilts.

Musically, there is “Footprints” by Wayne Shorter, “Jungle Tango” by Jazz Mandolin Project and “Nature Boy” by Eden Ahbez, which is an underlying current throughout the show.

The Cavaliers are in third place, but “a lot can happen when you have a competition three nights in a row at the same arena,” Rasin said. “We’ve been within a point of the top two teams for the last two weeks.”

The finals are Saturday night.

The Cavaliers are the only remaining all-male corps among the top 10 contenders. Its 150 members include 20 from Chicago’s suburbs and others from all over the world, including Ecuador, Belgium, Japan and Canada.

Donaldson Company Announces Fiscal 2011 Fourth Quarter Conference Call and Webcast

MINNEAPOLIS--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE: DCI), today announced it will host a live Webcast of its fiscal 2011 fourth quarter earnings conference call on Monday, August 29, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. CT (10:00 a.m. ET). The company will issue a pre-market earnings announcement on August 29.

Bill Cook, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Jim Shaw, Corporate Controller, will recap the fourth quarter and provide an initial outlook for fiscal 2012.

To listen to a live Webcast of the call, go to Donaldson’s Web site, www.donaldson.com, click on “Investors” and then the Webcast icon.

The Webcast replay will be available from 11:00 a.m. CT, Monday, August 29, until 6:00 p.m. CT, Monday, September 26. Listening to the Webcast requires speakers and Windows Media Player. If you do not have Media Player, download the free software at www.windowsmedia.com.

If you do not have Internet access and want to listen to an audio replay, call:

U.S.: 888-286-8010;
ACCESS CODE: 13646681

The audio replay will be available beginning at 11:00 a.m. CT on Monday, August 29, 2011, through 11:59 p.m. CT on Tuesday, September 6.

Contacts

Donaldson Company, Inc.
Rich Sheffer, 952-887-3753
or
The Carideo Group, Inc.
Jan W. Drymon, 612-317-2881