No DCI division I corps has ever had more than half of its corps members in another country during off-season rehearsals. But the Kiwanis Kavaliers of Kitchener, ONT are trying just that with former members of Tampa Bay Thunder, and their fearless leader said it's working.

"It's going great," said Doug Darwin, corps director. "The show is coming along. We're shooting for 60 brass, 32 in the guard, two drum majors and 41 percussionists."

That's 135 members for a division I corps that has struggled in recent seasons to field 100. "We don't have any holes, that's for sure," Darwin said.

The corps is running split rehearsals, with Kiwanis members rehearsing in Kitchener and ex-Tampa Bay Thunder members practicing in Florida. Other corps, like Bluecoats and Captial Regiment, run camps in two states during the winter. But the number of members coming from what used to be Tampa Bay Thunder is staggering. It's one thing to integrate a few brass players. But what about the drum line -- a section that lives or dies by listening to the most minute details of interpretation while they are rehearsing?

"The bass line is all in Florida," Darwin said. "That's one section I said had to be all in one spot. So is the cymbal line. It will be great to have a cymbal line out there!"