Please welcome back Garrett Sullivan, 5th year Cavalier and Drum Major of the 2022 Green Machine!
Garrett came home the first week of 6th grade excited to join band. His parents were a little perplexed because he didn’t know how to play an instrument. A few weeks later, he announced that he had chosen the tuba.
Evidently, the family car at the time was a Mini Cooper, not the roomiest car in the world to transport around a tuba… And his great musical adventure was underway. At Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Florida, Garrett joined the marching band his Freshman Year. He also filled his schedule with all the other music courses offered on the curriculum: Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band and Advanced Placement Music Theory.
Garrett fell in love with DCI after seeing shows in Jupiter and Orlando. At first he thought he might audition with the Cadets but he fell in love with the Cavies.
In his Junior Year, Percussion Caption Head Alex Siegelman, a Cavalier Alumni, suggested to Garrett that he audition for The Cavaliers. He flew to Chicago and he was offered a contract that first year. He has been an active member of The Cavaliers for 5 years. In his years with the Cavaliers, he was named “Rookie of the Year, and then a Section leader. Gartrett credits the Cavalier organization with mentoring him to be a leader. He is currently beginning his Senior Year at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. Garrett’s major is Music Education. He is a member of the Marching Owl’s, the university’s marching band where he plays cymbals and bass drum.
He is also President of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a fraternity “who, through a love for music, can assist in the fulfillment of [its] Object and ideals either by adopting music as a profession, or by working to advance the cause of music in America.”
In addition to the tuba, Garrett enjoys playing Bass, Piano, Euphonium, Trombone and percussion. He enjoys all genres but counts Jazz legend Jaco Pastorius, Salsa’s Gran Combo and anything Motown as his favorites. In contemporary music his favorite group is Vulfpeck, a Funk band from Ann Arbor, Michigan. His 5 year tenure with The Cavaliers culminated with the prestigious Drum Major position. A fun Garrett fact is that he loves Hawaiian shirts!
A note from the Editor ( hey, that’s ME! ):
I haven’t had the honor to have more than a “hello” with Garrett. And even then, it was at the Indianapolis Airport last year after Finals. He and my son, Davis, were talking over a beer at the airport bar ( I still chuckle a bit at that because my son isn’t much of a beer drinker, but whatever… ). And the little bit I heard while getting my beverage, I could tell that after the ’21 season was in the books, Garrett was already talking to Davis about this 2022 season. I remember thinking “These guys JUST finished a Drum Corps Tour…I know they are physically and mentally exhausted…and yet, here they sit already talking about next year when this year’s final notes were still echoing out of Lucas Oil…”
And I knew right then the Corps was in GREAT HANDS ( pun INTENDED). And as life would have it, I STILL haven’t had the honor to share a word with Garrett. But I know that Davis and Garrett have been on calls, Zoom conferences, etc. from that day in Indianapolis, and that one of the things that people might not see is how the incoming leadership and the outgoing leadership work hand in glove to keep this GREEN MACHINE we all love moving down the tracks. ( Yes, there were two show references in that last sentence…2006 and 2019).
And to Rick and Daphne Sullivan…well…you guys did pretty good with this one. Congrats and enjoy this weekend, the ageout ceremony, and watching your son lead this corps to all it will be on Saturday night. When it’s all over, it won’t matter if its 92 or 93, or 6th place versus 10th place. What will matter was the brotherhood, the struggles, the victories, the music, and that Garrett sits down for that beer with the NEXT set of musical hands that will take us into the future.
And while I will rightfully never know what it means…SPLOOIE!
Rolling With the Cavaliers 