As the audience watches the marching band at football games and competitions, their attention might be drawn to the waving flags of the colorguard, the shining instruments moving around the field or even the line of percussion. But for many, their eyes wander to the people on top of ladders conducting these instruments: the drum majors.
There are three drum majors in the marching band, two stand in the front and one in the back. Senior Erin Fennema, junior Kelly Hartman and junior Lilly Childers have been chosen to take on this responsibility this year.
Drum majors have two main roles. One of which is the obvious conducting of the band’s performances. However, the lesser-known responsibility is acting as a second level of staff to help assist students.
“[We’re] like a buffer for students and staff,” Fennema said. “We answer a lot of student questions, and then if we don’t know, we’ll ask staff and then get back to the students.”
Fennema has been in concert band for since fifth grade, eight years total, and marching band for all four of high school. This is her second season as a drum major, so the audition process came naturally.
“This year, I still had to audition, but I had a little bit more of an advantage per say, because I knew how to do our conducting from last year,” Fennema said. “[The directors are] just looking to see if it’ll be a good fit personality wise and if you’ll be a good leader and set a good example.”
For Fennema, the main difference between marching in the band and being a drum major for the band is the realm of difficulty.
“It’s just mental versus physical difficulty. [Being a drum major is] hard with the amount of responsibilities you have. You have to make sure that you’re on the same page as the other two drum majors,” Fennema said. “But marching is hard because you’re out on the field doing more physical work. You’re going from this spot on the field to that spot on the field whereas we’re on our podium kinda just waving our arms around.”
As the only senior drum major, Fennema is facing a bittersweet moment now that the marching band season has ended.
“It’s kind of sad to leave but knowing that I’ve left a legacy and the fact that there’s more to come after me is exciting, and I want to see how they go on in the future years,” Fennema said.
With the conclusion of this marching season, Childers has completed her first year as a drum major. She has been in concert band for seven years and marching band for three. She is a well-rounded musician as she plays the clarinet, tenor saxophone and bassoon for the high school and several other instruments just for fun.
“It’s so much more stressful [conducting] in my opinion, because everyone’s eyes are on you watching to make the right move,” Childers said.
Childers decided she wanted to become a drum major because she wanted to make a difference in the band community.
“I wanted to become a drum major, because I saw what previous drum majors were doing, and I wanted to do it and see if I could make a good impact,” Childers said. “Also, [I wanted] to improve my leadership and conducting skills along with my problem solving skills.”
Not only is it a great experience, but drum majors also get to enjoy the view from their podiums.
“My favorite part of being a drum major was seeing things from a different perspective,” Childers said. “As a marcher, you don’t really get to see the forms, and as a drum major, you can see the whole field.”
Hartman has also finished her first year as drum major. She, like Childers, has participated in concert band for seven years and marching band for three.
Even though Hartman is a skilled flute player, she decided to become a drum major to improve the band and herself.
“The band is important to me and I wanted to make a difference and I know that comes with a position of leadership,” Hartman said. “I definitely wanted to work on my social skills and leadership skills so becoming a drum major was a big help for that.”
Once she became a drum major, Hartman enjoyed making connections with her peers.
“[My favorite part was] definitely getting to know the other drum majors and developing a relationship with them that’s deeper than just being friends, because we work with each other every day,” Hartman said.
