Mount Pleasant High School senior, Joseph Tolentino, signed a letter of intent to perform as a member of the Cavaliers, a marching band that travels the country performing and competing in the summer. Tolentino auditioned for the group via a video submission and was selected to perform as a member of the Cavalier Color Guard. The group will perform 21 shows this summer, including four in Texas, and will end their season at the DCI World Championships in Indianapolis in August. Tolentino graduates on Friday, May 17, then leaves the next day for St. Louis where he will begin rehearsals.

From their website, the Cavaliers were founded in 1948 as the drum and bugle corps for Boy Scout Troop 111 in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood by the troop’s leader, Donald W. Warren. Today, they are a world-class competitive performance ensemble attracting hundreds of auditionees every year. Each summer, their 165-member ensemble along with 50+ instructional staff embark on a competitive tour, attending roughly 25 competitions across the US and culminating at Drum Corps International World Championships in Indianapolis in August.

Tolentino is a seven-year member of the MPISD Band program, spending the last two as a member of the MPHS Colorguard. He is the son of Deana Tolentino.

Photo: Joseph Tolentino (seated, center) and (L to R) sister, Abigail, mother, Deana, MPISD Director of Fine Arts and Head Band Director, Theodus Luckett III, and MPHS Colorguard Director, Marty Newman