April 22, 2020 at 4:42 p.m.
Dream delayed
JCHS freshman had planned on auditioning for The Cavaliers’ summer drum corps tour
Dream delayed
Isaiah Weekley has a dream.
Coronavirus has gotten in the way.
The Dunkirk 15-year-old was competing with other members of the Jay County High School winter guard team at Hamilton Southeastern High School when he was approached by the color guard coordinator for The Cavaliers, one of the elite groups of Drum Corps International.
The man from The Cavaliers wanted to know if Isaiah was interested in auditioning.
The answer couldn’t have been a more emphatic yes.
Though he’s only a freshman at JCHS, Isaiah has been working with the high school’s color guard since he was in fourth grade.
“If I march with Jay County this year, this will be my fourth summer,” he said last week.
“When I was very young, I went to State Fair Band Day,” he recalled. “I saw flags spinning and rifles spinning and thought, ‘What is that? And why am I not a part of that?’”
He’s been part of it pretty much ever since.
Last summer brought a star turn with the Marching Patriots when he and Dallas Negele performed a duet that climaxed with an Isaiah saber toss while Joey Littler played a trumpet solo.
“It was just us two performing, and it was amazing,” said Isaiah.
Auditions with The Cavaliers had been set for this weekend in Wisconsin, but the coronavirus wiped them, and the rest of the season, off the calendar. On March 26, Drum Corps International canceled its 2020 Summer Tour.
The Cavaliers would have played a full summer tour including performances at Ball State University and at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Aside from the audition and the virus, there was also the matter of money.
If Isaiah had been accepted into The Cavaliers, he would have had to come up with $4,000 to pay for his summer of competition.
“For my family to come up with that amount of money in such a short amount of time is nearly impossible,” he said.
Even if Isaiah didn’t succeed at the audition, he and his family still believe it would have been worth a shot.
Isaiah sees it as a recruiting tool. Of the nine members of the JCHS winter guard, seven are seniors. Getting a JCHS member on The Cavaliers would raise the profile and attract others.
“I like to think I’m more mature than most 15 year olds, and I’d say a lot of that came from guard,” Isaiah said.
As to taking a chance on the audition, his mother said, “Regardless, he’s going to learn something.”
Coronavirus has gotten in the way.
The Dunkirk 15-year-old was competing with other members of the Jay County High School winter guard team at Hamilton Southeastern High School when he was approached by the color guard coordinator for The Cavaliers, one of the elite groups of Drum Corps International.
The man from The Cavaliers wanted to know if Isaiah was interested in auditioning.
The answer couldn’t have been a more emphatic yes.
Though he’s only a freshman at JCHS, Isaiah has been working with the high school’s color guard since he was in fourth grade.
“If I march with Jay County this year, this will be my fourth summer,” he said last week.
“When I was very young, I went to State Fair Band Day,” he recalled. “I saw flags spinning and rifles spinning and thought, ‘What is that? And why am I not a part of that?’”
He’s been part of it pretty much ever since.
Last summer brought a star turn with the Marching Patriots when he and Dallas Negele performed a duet that climaxed with an Isaiah saber toss while Joey Littler played a trumpet solo.
“It was just us two performing, and it was amazing,” said Isaiah.
Auditions with The Cavaliers had been set for this weekend in Wisconsin, but the coronavirus wiped them, and the rest of the season, off the calendar. On March 26, Drum Corps International canceled its 2020 Summer Tour.
The Cavaliers would have played a full summer tour including performances at Ball State University and at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Aside from the audition and the virus, there was also the matter of money.
If Isaiah had been accepted into The Cavaliers, he would have had to come up with $4,000 to pay for his summer of competition.
“For my family to come up with that amount of money in such a short amount of time is nearly impossible,” he said.
Even if Isaiah didn’t succeed at the audition, he and his family still believe it would have been worth a shot.
Isaiah sees it as a recruiting tool. Of the nine members of the JCHS winter guard, seven are seniors. Getting a JCHS member on The Cavaliers would raise the profile and attract others.
“I like to think I’m more mature than most 15 year olds, and I’d say a lot of that came from guard,” Isaiah said.
As to taking a chance on the audition, his mother said, “Regardless, he’s going to learn something.”
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