The 2000 DCI World Championships at the University of Maryland’s Byrd Stadium marked the end of the first year that a corps could march brass instruments pitched in any key. The Cadets and Blue Devils took the plunge to B-flat brass while everyone else stuck with traditional G-keyed bugles at least until the following year. It was also the first year that the color guard caption counted toward the point total in the final score and the first year that World Championship recordings were offered on DVDs. DCI saw its third tie in five seasons for the World Class title, with the Cavaliers sharing top honors with the Cadets. The top three corps entered the World Championships with averaged scores from previous contests that were practically identical. Eight of the 12 finalist placements were decided by margins of 0.35 or less. An upset for 12th place almost happened in the Semifinals, with Southwind scoring just 0.20 under the Bluecoats. The Cadets’ “We Are the Future – Music from the Walt Disney World Millennium Celebration,” was composed by Gavin Greenaway, an English composer and son of songwriter and singer Roger Greenaway. Gavin is particularly known as a conductor of movie scores, including many well-known scores by other composers. Disney commissioned him to compose the “Reflections of Earth” music for the Epcot IllumiNations fireworks show and “Tapestry of Dreams” for Epcot’s Tapestry of Nations parade. Works from those two productions, plus “Promise,” were included in the “Millennium Celebration” release from which the Cadets chose their music. This release also included a gospel tune by Ira Antelis that was credited by the Cadets as contributing to their show. The Cadets’ production was conceived as a celebration of the kids in drum corps, the adventure of being in a corps and the promise of an enjoyable time with the group. The show started with the ticking and moving hands of a clock during “Introduction,” the sound of the Big Ben chimes and the raising and lowering of flags representing the various hour marks on an old-fashioned analog clock. This represented the corps members reflecting on the first two decades of their lives, their accomplishments and their dreams for the future.
Michael Boo was a member of the Cavaliers from 1975-1977. He has written about the drum corps activity for more than a quarter century and serves as a staff writer for various Drum Corps International projects. Boo has written for numerous other publications and has published an honors-winning book on the history of figure skating. As an accomplished composer, Boo holds a bachelor's degree in music education and a master's degree in music theory and composition. He resides in Chesterton, Ind.
