LEETONIA- A drum and bugle corps from Illinois took over the Leetonia K-12 campus Friday in preparation for a national competition tonight in Akron.
The school hosted the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps of Rosemont, Illinois, whose original rehearsal facility in Orrville fell through. The group arrived at approximately 6 a.m. Friday morning and spent the day rehearsing for the Innovations in Brass show at 7:30 p.m. tonight at InfoCision Stadium in Akron.
After performing a final full production run through open to the public Friday night, the group slept on campus before a scheduled rehearsal this morning.
"We're very lucky and fortunate to have the opportunity to host the drum corps," said Leetonia High School Band Director Randy Rodik. "It's a great opportunity for the kids, the school, the community and surrounding schools to get a chance to see a different style of marching than some of them are accustomed to."
According to Chris Lugo, a member of the corps' board of directors, the group was made aware of the school's facilities by one of its program coordinators who is friends with Rodik.
"It worked out great for us," he said. "The school has great facilities and has been very accommodating."
Established in 1948, the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps is comprised of 150 members aged 16 to 22 from three countries (United States, Canada and Japan) and 33 states. The group will travel over 11,000 this summer in a nationwide tour. The corps includes a percussion section with a drum line; a brass section with trumpets, baritones, tubas and mellophones; and a color guard with flag, rifle, sabre and dance lines. For information about the group visit www.cavaliers.org.
The Cavaliers are not the first drum corps that the school has hosted, nor even the only one this summer, according to Rodik. He said the school is scheduled to host the Pacific Crest Drum Corps from San Diego in August and last year hosted The Troopers from Wyoming.
