Cavaliers officially announce European tour

After more than a decade of premiering their programs in the Midwest, The Cavaliers are planning something a little different for their early-season schedule in 2007, intending to debut their 2007 show on Saturday, June 16th as part of the European Drum Corps League - an international group of drum corps - on a perfomance/competition tour starting in Frankfurt - Germany.
 
The Cavaliers intend to join with the top corps from six European nations, performing in drum corps competitions planned for Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The corps' tour will begin with their arrival in Frankfurt on June 13th, where they will rehearse until their first performance three days later. The Cavaliers are scheduled to travel to five western European countries, perform seven times and participate in three clinics.
 
The tour will conclude with their return to the United States on July 2nd, following the European League championship on Saturday, June 30th in the Netherlands. Upon returning to the United States, The Cavaliers would join the Drum Corps International tour on July 6th, with their US debut scheduled for the Michigan City contest.
 
The European tour is being developed and sanctioned by Top Events Nederland foundation (TEN) which is laying the groundwork for the European Drum Corps League beginning with this inaugural tour in the summer of 2007. This will be the first time that European drum corps would actually conduct an approximate nine day tour through Europe, rather than only competing in weekend events in May, June and September.
 
"Opportunities to extend the positive impact of drum corps present themselves at many points. Though still in development, our board saw this as one of those opportunities, as well as an exciting and sure-to-be memorable experience for our membership. We're anxious to get started on 2007. Each summer has an exciting promise for our members and our organisation. A 2007 competitive tour that includes contests overseas presents new possibilities, challenges and expectations. It is certainly an exciting prospect to again contribute to the growth of the international aspect of our activity," said Jeff Fiedler, the Cavaliers' director.
 
The Cavaliers and the TEN foundation have been in discussion on the possibility of this tour since January, 2006. Some structural aspects of the trip are still in development, however, it is expected that the complete schedule will be presented by mid-January, 2007.
 
More information on the summer of 2007 will be released in the coming weeks. The Cavaliers are expecting to announce their 2007 musical program before the end of November.