Each spring, Liberty band director Jared Tanner selects a new drum major for the upcoming school year. Junior Isabelle Chau was selected this year, and senior Ash Schneider was promoted to the senior drum major position. Together, they take on performances at Liberty’s football and basketball games, as well as volleyball and soccer games.
To fully understand the drum major role, it’s important to understand the key responsibilities behind the position.
“As drum major, my role is to mainly keep time,” Chau said. “At the same time, we call out which songs we play and decide when to play them during games since there’s not really a set schedule of what songs and when to play them.”
Although a simple looking task to a bystander, the role requires unique attributes and skills to lead the band through their repertoire successfully.
“Being drum major requires you to be patient and be able to work well with everyone in the band,” Schneider said. “It’s important to understand what the band needs from me, while also giving them the level of encouragement they need at games.”
The path to becoming an drum major comes with a lengthy process through the director the year before.
“In the spring of sophomore year, Tanner asks the band if any sophomore is interested in being a junior drum major,” Chau said. “From there, you fill out an application, attend an interview with Tanner and the drum majors from that year, and then you conduct a pep band song of your choice in front of the class.”
Chau and Schneider’s motivation to take on a crucial role in the Liberty band program stems from their passion for music and leadership.
“I wanted to become a drum major because I wanted to pursue a leadership position that was more involved with music,” Chau said. “I also thought it looked really interesting and fun. It was something that was a little out of my comfort zone since I was scared of being in front of so many people.”
“I knew from the start I wanted to be in a leadership position, especially when I couldn’t think of anyone in my grade who was interested,” Schneider said. “The drum majors before me always had a blast doing it and they led us so well that I naturally drifted towards wanting to be in that position.”
Although Chau and Schneider enjoy their leadership roles, they both have their challenges.
“I dislike how band is a loud environment and it’s hard to hear others,” Chau said. “It’s also difficult to get a big group of people to do one thing all at once because there’s so many people, and that’s frustrating sometimes.”
“The biggest downside is just feeling like I’m not with the rest of the band,” Schneider said. “I miss playing in the stands a lot and there’s a lot of distance between me and the rest of the band now, which I don’t love.”
Both Chau and Schneider hope to accomplish greater goals as they continue their leadership throughout this school year.
“I like how I am able to bring improvement to the band and I hope to make the band feel confident in what they’re playing while also having fun,” Chau said. “I think it’ll help us perform better as a whole.”
“I’m hoping that I can teach the newer generations what it is that drum majors do,” Schneider said. “There’s also a lot of things that the younger people haven’t really experienced yet and I want to show them the traditions and stuff we have within the band.”
The role of drum major provides not only leadership skills but also benefits that extend beyond music.
“I would highly encourage any underclassmen to try out for drum major because it has a lot of benefits that go beyond music performance,” Chau said. “You’re able to create a more dynamic and engaging music community which can feel rewarding for both you and the band. I encourage everyone to give it a shot.”
