This Sept., Archie Williams announced the beginning of a new branch of the music program: a school drumline. A drumline, a marching band’s percussion section, usually includes a snare line, tenor line, bass line, and cymbal line. Supervised by Archie Williams Music Director Mario Aparicio, the drumline presents a new opportunity for students to practice, learn, and perform percussion instruments.
While the drumline has yet to arrange performances, Aparicio currently plans for the future.
“The plan I have for the drumline is to play at sports events like basketball and try to catch some football games. Halftime show kind of thing. [Jazz Band] did a girl’s basketball game last year, and that was pretty cool, so I want to bring it back,” Aparicio said.
Archie Williams senior Zeke Cunningham is one of the newest music ensemble members. Zeke also plays the drums in the Archie Williams Jazz Band and Performance Workshop.
“I’ve been playing drums… at high school, even before Mario was here. I’m big on percussion and drums, and when I heard there was a drumline I was just exuberant. I immediately jumped on the opportunity, as it is just another way to express my interest in percussion,” Zeke said.
Freshman Gus Ziegler joined the drumline because it presented a new opportunity to practice music.
“I’ve always been sort of a musical person. Drumline just presented an opportunity to get more music in [my life], which I’m always trying to do, so it was an obvious choice,” Gus said.
Despite the drumline’s fairly simple and beginner-friendly qualities, Zeke believes that certain aspects can be very challenging.
“The main challenge that [drumline] has presented me with is music reading. Drumline is very heavy on that, especially with the synchronization, and everyone has to be in the same rhythmic mindset. Reading music is the perfect thing to really push and hone my [percussion] skills,” Zeke said.
The school drumline currently harbors 6 members, practicing each Friday at lunch. Zeke also expresses how much he is enjoying the drumline so far.
“I’m loving it. [The drumline is] so fun, and I’m getting to try all this new stuff and it’s really great, especially, you know, playing drums is usually kind of a solo thing. When you get to do it with like 10 other people and make a drum circle/ drumline kind of thing, it’s so fun,” Zeke said.
The drumline presents a new opportunity for Archie Williams students to engage with each other and play percussive instruments. While the drumline is a recent development of the Archie Williams music program, Aparicio has impressive plans for its future. Archie Williams may see performances by drumline at school events in the coming months.
