For Cincinnati Tradition, 2024 was all about celebration.
The All-Class corps’ production followed that celebratory theme, symbolically representing the history of Cincinnati Tradition in honor of the organization’s 40th anniversary season.
2025, however, isn’t a round-numbered anniversary for the corps. But, according to program coordinator Kendra Wendeln, show designers still wanted to recognize its longevity, and were drawn to the four decades the corps has called the Queen City home.
As such, Cincinnati Tradition’s production for 2025 is titled, “CincinnatUS,” a reference to the corps’ longtime southwestern Ohio home, as well as the story of the Roman figure whose statue resides within the city on the banks of the Ohio river.
“The ‘US’ in the show title is capitalized, so there's a little bit of an emphasis on a collective rather than just a singular character,” Wendeln said. “We've been in Cincinnati now for 40 years. We wanted to do something that would anchor us to our home — something that would throw a nod to it.”
The tale of Cincinnatus, circa 450 B.C., tells the story of a common farmer who was called upon to assume the role of Roman dictator during a period of conflict. Cincinnatus led the Roman armies to a swift victory against their opponents, but after just 15 days in his role, willingly relinquished his unlimited power as dictator and returned to his life as a farmer.
Ultimately, the story emphasizes selfless leadership and fervent commitment to a common good, and is etched in Cincinnati’s framework by way of the aforementioned statue.
“In this show, we reflect on the ascension from an everyday person to a hero or a larger-than-life existence to appease the masses,” Wendel said. “Then faced with the reality that this position and power brings about a more complicated and scrutinized life, the truth is that this position is unsustainable forever. Once the duty or purpose of the hero is fulfilled, we choose to return to everyday existence, which is where true internal peace lies.”
While “CincinnatUS” carries symbolism to the corps’ hometown roots, it also tells the story, in a way, of the drum corps experience.
As Wendeln described, each year, performers leave their lives behind, embark on a journey, and in a short period of time, commit to and accomplish something larger than themselves. And when it’s all said and done, they return to their everyday lives.
“As we look at this journey of Cincinnati Tradition, we all put in the hard work, we’re fulfilled at the end,” she said. “We do our best, and we give it our all, and then at the end of the day, we go back to doing what we're doing.”
“You get to live your glory, but then you’ve still got to go back to regular life over here,” she added. “It doesn't last forever.”
In order to capture the image of Cincinnatus, Cincinnati Tradition plans to utilize a regal color palette, featuring shades of purple, blue, and gold.
At various parts of the production, different sections of the corps will be called upon to portray the Cincinnatus character.
“We're trying to have a modern take on the Romanesque feel,” Wendeln said.
According to Wendeln, the corps’ musical repertoire isn’t yet finalized. However, musically-speaking, designers shared plenty of information regarding the corps’ plans to perform an engaging and recognizable set of selections, building off of a similar approach in 2024.
“The designers gave us accessibility to the audience through how they designed the show,” assistant director Dan Middlesworth said. “And I suspect that this show will be in that same vein.”
For one, Cincinnati Tradition will open 2025’s show with Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” before moving into Muse’s “Knights of Cydonia.” The music of Muse, a popular English rock band, has appeared on Cincinnati Tradition’s setlists before. The corps performed “Resistance” in 2013.
The corps also has plans to utilize the music of Queen, performing “Who Wants to Live Forever.”
“It's fun to march a fun show,” Wendeln said. “The music has to be fun, and it has to be really impactful. I don't mean in a cheery way, like everything always has to be happy, but if it's going to be angry, we're going to have fun making it angry. And if it's going to be comedic, we're going to dig into that as well. Bringing familiarity to the audience helps with that.”
Cincinnati Tradition will debut “CincinnatUS” on the DCI Tour July 22 in Bellbrook, Ohio.