Seattle Cascades will field a dedicated 12-person trombone section in 2027, alongside the standard baritone section. The corps announced the plan through DCI on October 28 [1].

Off-season announcements tell you what a corps wants to be next summer, before there is a score to argue about. This one points at the caption where Seattle had the most room to climb.

What was announced

Todd Zimbelman is newly installed as program coordinator and brass arranger. He had the music draft, title and concept done by late August [1].

Brass members already have the first two movements. Audition camps run November 20 to 22 in the Portland area [1].

Where brass stood in 2026

Seattle finished 21st of 25 at Semifinals with a 78.563, the same place it held at Prelims [5].

Brass scored 15.5 that night and ranked 23rd, two places below the corps' finish. The next Brass score up was the Spartans' 15.6. The Battalion, the corps directly ahead in the standings, scored 16.6 in Brass, 1.1 higher [5].

The trend ran the wrong way too. Brass was 15.7 and 22nd at Prelims, then slipped a place by Semifinals [6].

Brass was not the only soft spot

Color Guard scored 15.5 at Semifinals and ranked 21st, right at the corps' finish. Percussion scored 15.1 [5].

Brass was the caption furthest below where Seattle finished. So the section being added is aimed at the biggest gap on the sheet, though not the only one.

The open question

A trombone line gives the hornline a different color and a clear identity. Whether it closes a gap of a full point to the corps just ahead is a separate matter.

The score will come from how cleanly 12 trombones play a new book, and from how the arranger uses them. Brass analysis and contrast are the places to look first.

What to watch

Watch the November camps, then the roster. Section size and the first full-corps look will show whether the plan is a design statement or a scoring strategy.

Seattle has not said anything further since the announcement that we have found. A single announcement is a plan. A sequence of them is a direction.

Sources

1. Why the Seattle Cascades are bringing a dedicated trombone line to the field in 2027 · 2026-10-28
2. Why the Seattle Cascades are bringing a dedicated trombone line to the field in 2027 · 2026-10-28
3. Seattle Cascades channel hometown grunge for 60th anniversary production · 2026-07-22
4. Corps news and announcements · 2026-06-26
5. 2026 DCI World Championship Semifinals, official recap · 2026-08-07
6. 2026 DCI World Championship Prelims, official recap · 2026-08-06