by Rachel Swartz and Sueji Han, staff reporters
The Roar interviewed seniors Emily Hay, Graham Waller, and Regan Kuttler. These three have taken the role of drum majors this year, and are sharing their new experience in leading the band.
What does it mean to you to be a drum major?
EH: It’s really an honor to be in this position to lead the band and to help them be the best in everything they do.
RK: It’s so much fun to be a drum major. I can be friends with everybody in the band and to try and help all of them improve.
GW: It’s honoring and humbling. I get to see the band make beautiful music and I’ve also grown as a person. I used to be very introverted as a regular band member but being a drum major made me become more outgoing towards other people. I’ve really just been able to develop my personality more.
What helped you to decide to become one?
RK: When I decided to be drum major, I’d served on the leadership team for 2 years and I really enjoyed working with my section. I wanted to be able to help the whole band and have a new perspective on how much they grow.
GW: I wanted to do more for the band. My personality really was a good fit for this position because I’m very disciplined and compassionate towards others. I really could be somebody to push the band to their greatest potential and at the same time making the band a fun activity that everyone can enjoy.
What do you think you can improve about band and why?
EH: You have to motivate them. It’s really, really difficult to have them up and be at school at 6:15 in the morning for four days a week; it’s one of the hardest things. If we can get pumped up and have them excited, then we can go really far.
RK: Not only just motivating (the band) for rehearsals, but just to have them motivated for everything. I have friends in different organizations, and when the band plays well, they tell me, “Yeah, we got so pumped up!”, and “This is fun!”. We need the band to be able to improve the school’s attitude for every event. The band has so much potential to help pump up the football team and have fans cheering. We need to be motivated all the time.
GW: Motivation is the main thing to get people inspired. I want band to be fun; that’s why I’m here. I’ve made a lot of friends and learned a lot of life skills along the way. Making band fun for the people who are here is really my goal so they can be able to make memories and friendships that’ll last well beyond high school and college.
If someone asked about becoming a drum major, what advice could you give them?
EH: You’ve got to be confident. You definitely gain a lot of confidence with this role. You start out not knowing anything about what you’re doing at all and you work really hard. Once you’ve reached that point, you can do it and it’s awesome.
RK: I’d say to practice. When we were sophomores, we all started with the audition process and I decided not to try out that year because I didn’t think I was very good. Last year, I did try out, and it took a lot of practice to get where I felt I needed to try out and possibly make drum major. It’s hard work, but it’s really worth it; it’s a lot of fun once you’ve practiced well enough. Practicing is actually kind of fun: you pick a song and go with the beat.
GW: Go for it. There are several times, especially in my audition process for my junior year, that I was thinking about dropping it and walking away. My advice would be to stick with it. Even if you’re selected (as a drum major), it’s really just learning by doing, and you really develop the skills of conducting, being a good leader, and teaching while growing into it and figuring out the best possible way to do things.
What are you looking forward to the most this year in band?
EH: I really like the atmosphere of Friday afternoons at the football games and the pep rallies. It’s so exciting and everybody is ready to go. It’s so much fun.
RK: I think most band kids would say the best part is the football games. All your hard work is coming together, you’ve been working hard for months and you finally get to perform. If it’s a home game, it’s 3 hours, but if it’s a late game it’s 6. You’re with your friends, you don’t have to worry about problems in school. You can just focus on having fun.
GW: I’m really looking forward to our show; it’s based off of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’. I just love the music and we’ve been working on it really hard for the past few months. It’s coming together nicely because it sounds amazing, and it’s definitely something everyone will recognize and enjoy.
Listen to the Band rehearse ‘America the Beautiful’, which was played on Friday, September 9th during halftime of the football game as a tribute to 9/11 first respondents:
