For the first time in 53 years, the marching band is being led by an all female team of drum majors.
Put simply, a drum major is a person who is in charge of the whole marching band but more specifically, keeping the band in beat. Overall, drum majors are the top leaders of the band.
Last year, out of the four total drum majors, only one was female: Zayna Corey.
“People are having a slightly hard time adjusting from last year and I don’t know if it’s because they were men or not,” Corey said. “That might be a small part of it. The transition from them to us women sort of seems to confuse everyone. But now they got to get used to it,” she explained.
This year Corey is joined by senior Shayleigh Leeper-Martinez, senior Taya Pitzer, and junior Addy Hansen.
The girls said they all agree that although there have been small alterations to how the band feels or acts, everything is mostly the same.
“It’s a bit of a change from last year with having four female drum majors. Not terribly different, but it’s a slight change,” Leeper-Martinez said.
The new drum major brought up how gender might not be the reason that things feel unalike from the 2022-2023 season.
“I think it’s different not because of gender but because of who was drum major during the past year. James Benson and Luke Meyers had a lot of influence on the band because they were popular. But then we came in August, and it’s a little different. We have to earn our respect a little more,” she said.
Mostly full of excitement, the girls each had some nervous worries this year.
Pitzer said she was mainly anxious about how she would be perceived as a leader.
“I applied to be a drum major for fun. I didn’t think I’d actually get it,” Pitzer said.
“I just thought I’d like the opportunity. And then I got it and I cried about it for like a week,” Pitzer said. “I was scared a little because I didn’t want to leave my section. I’m so used to being a clarinet for the past three years and leaving that made me worry that I would lose some of my friends in my section or even who I was as a person, but that hasn’t happened. I also thought that I would mess up exponentially and everybody would hate me for it. I have felt really supported so far, though” she said.
On the other hand, Hansen said she feared that the band wouldn’t feel that they could count on her.
“I applied to be a drum major because I wanted to connect the band a little more because sections are kind of dispersed right now,” Hansen said. “People tend to only sit within their section. I want to connect all sections together more. Since I was in pep band last year, I was concerned that people wouldn’t trust me to be drum major. I was scared that they wouldn’t believe that I could do what other drum majors do. I am relieved that this was not the case.”
Leeper-Martinez said she was mostly concerned with acquiring respect from the band members.
“I had a few fears going into this year because being drum major is a big role to fill. I was worried that it was going to be really hard to earn people’s respect and that I was going to fail them. However, it kind of turned out to be the opposite. I’m still learning how to be a drum major, but it’s been good so far.”
A unique situation, Corey said she was fretful at being a returning drum major.
“Going into this year as a second time drum major, I was worried about how I was the one returning member. I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to hold everything together and remember what to teach people and how to carry on this legacy. But these girls have been on it. I’ve been late to rehearsals, I’ve forgotten things. I’ve not learned things and they’ve always been on it. They’ve been getting things done that I haven’t and I’m so grateful for it.”
Although all girls were nervous for this season, the excitement outweighs the fears.
“I am most excited about the theme of our show this year. We got a cool show. And it’s a love story, which makes it so much better,” Pitzer said.
Leeper-Martinez anticipated something outside of rehearsals and competitions.
“This season, I am most excited about the bus rides. I love the bus rides to and from competitions.
“I’m mostly excited about the show and meeting new people that I haven’t met before this year,” said Hansen.
Despite finding competitions and rehearsals very amusing, Corey was awaiting feeling completely comfortable as a drum major during the 2023-2024 season.
“Last year, I was the only woman in a male only space. Even if they’re amazing people, it’s just very hard to just feel included and heard. I had a lot of talks with those guys about how I felt. For the most part, they tried to make me feel as included as possible. This year, I am most excited about not having to worry about these girls not being in my corner because they know exactly what it’s like to be a woman and exactly what it’s like to be left out and not heard.”
