GEORGE ZINGALI

Class of 2002

INSTRUCTOR / DRILL DESIGNER / MENTOR / VISIONARY

Cadet Years: Marching Instructor/Drill Designer (1982-1985)

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HIS CADET STORY:

George Zingali, a native of New York City, attended New York University and Boston College.  He won several awards for his work designing the routines of color guards and marching bands, among them the champion Quasar and Erte bands of Revere.  He choreographed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY.  Mr. Zingali attended the Actors and Directors Laboratory in New York from 1983 to 1986 and acted in several plays.  His last performance was in “The Shadow Box” in 1990.

 

George Zingali got his start marching and maneuvering start in the St. Anthony’s CYO Marching Band from Revere, MA playing clarinet in the early 60’s at the age of 10.  His early influence in the Marching Arts would be with his first drill instructor, Joe Walker.  Other influences would be Elaine Gambale – Quatrano and George’s mother Mae Zingali who helped with the youngster’s marching development as well.  Later George marched with the 27th Lancers as a 17-year-old and aged out with the Lancers in 1973 as a Drum Major.  He would later begin working with the Lancer color guard where he brought color guard work to new levels.  From rifle tosses while lying down to presentations on the 50-yard line, Zingali had the guard do it all.  But George had other aspirations.  He eventually tried his hand at drill design where he could incorporate all aspects of the marching art.  His early 27th Lancer’s influencers would be Ralph Pace, Ike Ianessa and Gil Norton on the Marching & Maneuvering side, Jim Wedge on the Music/Brass side, and Peggy Twiggs on the Color Guard side.

 

In 1982, George came to the Garfield Cadets.  He and colleague Marc Sylvester helped to introduce the “Dot System” – a unique way to learn a drill routine by assigning each member of the Corps a number, placing all numbers as “dots on a page” which created a drill pattern/shape with specific locations for every member of the Corps. This made it much easier to teach multiple drill patterns, transitioning from one pattern to the next by simply having each member follow their dot position on each page of drill.  As a result, by 1983, he stunned many with his development of the “flex-drill” for the Cadets, stating he received inspiration from studying water droplets and manipulating the type of small chains attached to pens at bank teller windows.  He helped the Cadets pull off a three-peat of World Championship titles between 1983 and 1985, introducing his famous “Z-pull” drill maneuver and stunning all with the come-from-nowhere company front at the end of Cadets’ 1984 “West Side Story” production.  He helped to add another championship in 1987 with their production of “Appalachian Spring”.

 

George was a visionary.  He envisioned the percussion section as an integral part of the marching picture and not just a section featured up and down the 50-yard line.  During the early 1980’s, the Cadets percussion section (now called the “battery” section) of the line began to move all over the field, bringing a new dimension of marching percussion to the drum corps scene.  Some of his drill designs had the audience in awe because pictures and feature segments would appear out of nowhere.  His transitions from set to set, with the help of long-time friend and colleague Marc Sylvester, were breathtaking.

 

Zingali created the marching arts - before his work, there was no art in marching.  Only craft.

Zingali was the first to realize drill as a medium of expressive movement (not design), and the

first to recognize a marching ensemble as a medium of collective expression.  As such, he

became the first choreographer of marching.  Zingali was the first to make a formation "dance."

 

In the words of Marc Whitlock (a Cadet alum) – George was, “a cartoon character come to life, a teacher, a comedian, spoiled brat, mature adult, frenzied lunatic, scholar, friend, and much more”.  He went on to instruct other corps including the Blue Knights and Star of Indiana as well as several marching bands and winter color guards.  When one thinks of the visual progress the drum corps activity has made in the 1970’s and 1980’s, one naturally thinks of George Zingali.  His name was synonymous with high-quality, innovative drill designs.

 

AWARDS

• DCI Hall of Fame Class of 1991

• Cadets Hall of Fame Class of 2002

• The DCI High Color Guard Award at Championships is named in his honor (“The George Zingali High Color Guard Award”)

• World Drum Corps Hall of Fame (2023)

 

Content above was taken from personal recollections, DCI Hall of Fame info, information from Michael Boo (a former writer for Drum Corps World), Eric T. Williamson. “Surviving Zingali” – Eric T. Williamson