Winter Drumline is back again
November 13, 2017
The second quarter bell goes off with the echo of the rubber basketball bounces off the walls of the court, the two teams leave the court, letting a new one to take the court’s face. This new group, is the Winter Drumline known as the Tiger Performance Drumline [TPD].
“Winter Drumline is an NBA style drumline,” director LeVon Bristol said, “It’s all about tricks, it’s all about stunts, it’s all about difficult music than we would play in the marching band. There are highly technical changing time signatures, changing tempos; I mean we go all over the place.”
The NBA style challenges the players to perform as real drumline professionals would at college or national level basketball games. The band’s style helps it stick out among other high school level Winter Drumlines.
“There is a clear definition that you have to know what you are doing when you walk into it,” bass player junior Ben Siemiantkowski said. “Unlike the marching band drumline, where you have time to perfect what you do or do not know, you have to jump into this program with the knowledge that you are going to have to perfect your skill relatively quickly.”
Participants who enter auditions and get in must recognize that they must perfect their skill to remain in the drumline for the season. The program’s skill level criteria for players while in the season can present a challenge to some of the players, this allows only the top performers to remain.
“Anybody that can read music and handle the stress of the drumline and the stress of instrument, could show up at our audition,” Bristol said. “I only take the highest level of music readers and percussive technicians, a lot of people end up getting cut in the winter because it’s a very sought after group to be a part of.”
Auditions will be Nov. 21 in the band room after school to get the required music for the audition, contestants should report to band director Andy Perkins in order to obtain a copy of the audition music. The program is not limited to music students from classes and programs, others who have an interest and skill in percussion can still take part in the auditions.
