About the Colt Cadets

The Colt Cadets are an outstanding performing group made up of members in middle school and high school primarily from Dubuque and the tri-state area. Founded in 1967, the Colt Cadets are one of the few remaining cadet corps in the country!

Membership

The Cadets require and help develop dedication, discipline, and motivation. Members learn leadership skills and confidence as they achieve goals they once thought were unattainable! We help develop a strong work ethic and a dedication to excellence that will stay with members in school and other activities.

School band experience is not required, but a desire to learn is. We teach the rest! Many students learn to play instruments or learn color guard (flag) skills here for the first time! We provide all instruments and uniforms.

You don't need any experience to be
part of the Colt Cadets!

The Colt Cadets travel about 20 days during the summer to parades and competitions in the Midwest, performing for more than 75,000 people. We travel in late June through early August, with time off to allow for family and other activities. We'll cap our season at Lucas Oil Stadium (new home of the NFL Colts) in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Rehearsals during the school year are held two or three Sunday afternoons each month beginning in February. During the summer we generally rehearse three times a week -- typically Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. We can help busy parents find carpools!

Out of area students are not expected to attend every pre-season rehearsal. Please contact Vicki Schaffer at colts@colts.org to see if Colt Cadets is a possibility for you even if you live an hour or so from Dubuque, Iowa.

Experienced? We will challenge you, as well. We train advanced students to compete at a World Class level. Many members with advanced skills are featured in our summer show.

Goals of the Program

The Colt Cadets provide a positive, supportive, and educational environment that will:

• Foster character development by challenging and teaching in ways that build confidence, self-discipline, work ethic, and team work.
• Develop members' musical, performance, and physical skills to a level they did not know they could reach.
• Support music and performance education in Dubuque.
  

Member Attendance

Attendance is very important for success. Each member is an equal and integral part of the whole, and any member missing is a detriment to the group's success. You should plan activities around the Cadets schedule as much as possible, but if you need to miss once in a while, we will work with you. We are very good at coordinating schedules with the members. Please speak with us regarding any questions or concerns you might have.

Colt Cadets Family

We reach our goals through our unique instructional environment, rehearsal structure, performances, and travel opportunities. You'll meet many new friends from other schools and from other groups throughout the country. The bonds we develop as we work together are much like a family. Some of your best friends are here, you just haven't met them yet!

Teaching Staff

Our teaching staff comes from all over the U.S. and are exceptional in their area of expertise. Most work as professional educators during the school year. The staff is experienced in preparing students for many opportunities. We put student success first. Our goal is to maintain a positive learning environment that challenges individuals to try new things and reach their maximum potential.

Parents Make It Work!

We actively encourage family involvement, so everyone shares the rewards of the drum corps experience. Most parents volunteer in some way with bingo, travel, miscellaneous projects, sewing, cooking, or driving. Parents are encouraged to visit rehearsals and share in what is being learned in all aspects of our program.

Sections in the Colt Cadets

BRASS members include students who currently play brass, woodwind players who wish to learn a second instrument, and those who have never played an instrument before. We use a matched set of silver-plated instruments which we provide. Players who are band members use their own mouthpiece to compliment embouchure development. We use four brass instruments: Trumpet (also referred to as Soprano), Mellophone (same as trumpet in method, but sound is more like a french horn), Baritone (same sound and mouthpiece as baritone or trombone) and Contra (similar to tuba).

We play and teach all PERCUSSION instruments including snares, tenor drums, pitched bass drums, cymbals and mallet instruments such as xylophone, marimba and orchestra bells. Mallet instruments are much like a piano, except we hit the keys! Our percussionists develop advanced technique on several instruments through specialized instruction, training exercises and custom-written music. After becoming a well-rounded percussionist, students may specialize on a specific instrument.

We use flags, props and lots of dance in the COLOR GUARD. This section of the corps visually interprets and enhances the music. Many woodwind players join this section, but again, no previous experience is required.

Membership Fees

Membership costs $390 for tuition (with a $50 discount for each additional child in your family), plus a $100 annual equipment and uniform fee and a $100 Championships fee. Colt Cadet families are given credit for working at our bingo games and participating in our annual car wash. Members can earn most or all of their fees in this way. The Colts value, encourage and reward volunteerism and full family involvement. Therefore, with a reasonable and suggested volunteer commitment and effort, there is little or no cost of membership.

Members receive:

• Instruments, equipment, t-shirt, and uniform
• 300+ hours of professional instruction
• 45-60 well balanced meals, prepared "on the road"
• 3500+ miles of travel in Colts-owned charter buses to nine states
• Housing while on the road
• Trips to nine states throughout the Central U.S.
• Admission to DCI Championship events in Indianapolis, IN

Instruments, equipment and uniform that we provide cost us over $950 per member! Call at any time with questions about any aspect of the Cadets, including financial and fundraising programs. We work hard to make membership available to everyone.

We will work with you to make membership a reality! No one who wishes to perform with the Colt Cadets is denied membership for financial reasons.

Colts Youth Organization

The Colts Youth Organization was founded in 1963 and offers the Colts and Colt Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps, Vocal Fusion choral program, and the Colts Summer Band. Over 350 members from 3rd grade through age 21 are members of a Colts program.

The Colts Drum & Bugle Corps is the flagship program and has grown to 150 members, ages 16-21. The Colts travel, rehearse and perform full-time all summer, performing 40+ times for over 250,000 people in 20 or more states, covering 14,000 miles. Colts members are from Dubuque and the tri-state area, more than 20 other states, and even overseas.

Financial Picture

A prominent and successful collaboration of organizations, such as the Colts, is expensive to operate. All of our funds are self-generated. We receive little in the way of federal, state or local funds, and we do not receive United Way funding.

Funding for the Organization

6% Bingo and other fundraising projects by the Colts Booster Club
42% Membership fees from the Colts and Colt Cadets
19% Performance fees earned by the Colts and Colt Cadets in the summer
9% Profits from our annual Music On The March shows and souvenir sales
24% Direct donations and support from businesses and individuals

Administration

Our non-profit organization is run by the Corporation Board and supported by the Colts Booster Board. The Corporation Board is responsible for policy and planning, while the Boosters manage local fundraising activities including bingo and our annual car wash. A full-time Executive Director handles the business operations and overall management of the organization. Donations to the Colts are tax-deductible.

Are the Colt Cadets for You?

Try it! Your first few practices are a trial period for you. There is no obligation to join and no charge to attend. You'll be amazed at how much you learn in a short amount of time! Your first standing ovation is something you'll never forget, and what you learn in the process will stay with you for the rest of your life!