Paula Hyman will be contributing columns to DCI.org each Wednesday. Here's her sixth installment. I'm always thinking about drum corps, but right now I'm in one of those giddy moods where I wish move-in was tomorrow. I just got off the phone with my friend Laura, who marches mello with me at the Cadets. We both started marching the same year when we were just 17-year-old youngins. We also will age out together in the class of 2006. It's pretty cool to be able to start and end your drum corps career with someone. We've grown up a lot since our rookie year and continue to do so.

Paula Hyman (center) with Dean Westman (right) and Jon Bilby, in Bristol, R.I., on Paula's birthday (also a Cadets' free day). Dean was the Cadets' brass caption head and Jon the visual caption head.
You really make some amazing friend from marching. These are people that you will know for the rest of your life. We did a lot of reminiscing of seasons past -- lots of great memories. Anyway, I cannot wait for the 2005 season to start up -- luckily it's just around the corner! Our first camp is from Nov. 19-21. That is the international audition where kids from all over come to try out. The vets are not playing during this camp, instead we have a separate leadership weekend to participate in. This will take place in the same school as the audition camp, but we will be in a classroom setting most of the time, speaking with George Hopkins and Mike Lorenzi about leadership and all kinds of things along those lines. It's going to be a great weekend. It's always awesome to see everyone again and just be in a drum corps atmosphere. I am excited to meet all of the new guys who will be auditioning. I've spoken to quite a few over the Internet these past few months so it will be cool to actually meet everyone. We'll actually get to check out a little bit of rehearsal. It's cool being on the other side. I hope to teach at the Cadets after I age out. This next month/month and a half is going to be filled with seeing Cadets. I am so excited! The weekend after the leadership camp is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I and a few others are volunteering to help out with that, so it's going to be another couple of days hanging out with Cadets. Hmm, then the weekend after that is our banquet camp. I am super pumped about that. This is the first "real" camp, where the vets will be playing with the rookies and we start getting into technique and music. Then that Sunday is our banquet for the 2004 season. It is going to be so awesome to see everyone and spend time with them --especially the age outs. It's been about three months since we've all seen each other and it's bad now, so by time December rolls around it's going to almost be unbearable to be away from everyone. Then we have another camp the weekend of Dec. 17-19. Following that I have a winter break and will hang out with some more Cadets for New Year's. This is going to be a very exciting two months and it actually starts with this-coming weekend, when six of us will be performing at the USSBA All-States championships at Giants Stadium. During the summer we had a small group of six people -- two trumpets, two mellos, a bari, and a tuba. We would play the "William Tell Overture" -- with a little twist. There were some Cadet quotes from past shows in there, and we had some little gimmicks to perform too. We performed this at encores and stage shows. It was so much fun. So some people are flying in this weekend, others will be driving, and we will perform this at championships. I'm pumped to see everyone and it's going to be incredible to put on the uniform and perform for a few thousand people. A lot of kids will be there obviously because it's a band show. They are the best audience out there in my opinion because they just go absolutely nuts when they think something is cool. Yes we are doing this to entertain everyone, but hopefully through this, many more people will become drum corps fanatics. Drum corps is the best-kept secret in the world, in my opinion. It's crazy to me how many people involved with marching band and music don't know what drum corps is. Slowly but surely, that is going to change, and I want to be a part of the reason that it does. It's going to be interesting performing in 40-degree weather, being a Floridian and all, but it's gonna be awesome. So yeah, if you live in the area, come see us play on Saturday. If you don't live in the area -- just hop on a plane or something. It's going to be awesome – I can't wait for it! Past columns by Paula Hyman: Trick-or-treating at a band show It's a show day! What's a free day? Rest stop or heaven? The Move to Allentown Welcome back to the real world
 
Paula Hyman is a fourth-year member of the Cadets where she is the mellophone section leader. She is 20 years old and currently single. Originally from South Florida, Paula recently made the move to Allentown, Pa., to work for YEA!, the umbrella organization of the Cadets, Crossmen and the U.S. Scholastic Band Association. She ages out in 2006.