There was a reason why your mother told you to stop banging on those pots and pans when you were little. You could have ended up like these guys.
Fortunately, the ETSU indoor drum line bangs their stuff with style.
The indoor drumline is a group of percussionists who look like a marching band without the trumpets and the clarinets.
They consist of two parts -one is marching percussion that includes the snare drums, tenors and bass drum. The other part is the front ensemble that is stationary and consists of a marimba, keyboard, xylophone and vibraphone.
The purpose of the indoor drumline is to give percussionists the opportunity to let their talents flourish in a unique way. They’re preparing for a competition at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 15.
When they compete, their ultimate goal is to leave a lasting impression on other percussionists. They want to make their audience remember who they are and where they come from.
“We’re able to go out and represent our university and say ‘We’re from ETSU’ and have people know where ETSU is and know what we’re capable of, know that we’re capable of a very high caliber ensemble,” said Dan McGuire, snare drum player for the indoor line.
“The students get international recognition for the university that they attend,” said Rande Sanderbeck, assistant professor of percussion. “Recognition of our school makes degrees from our school more obvious. People will say ‘I’ve seen that school before.'”
The students in the drumline will compete against other schools and get to experience many diverse types of percussion.
“When we go there they will be able to see real African people playing real African music,” he said. “They will get to see people from India playing music and giving clinics.”
Sanderbeck said the percussionists in the indoor drumline are the best the music department has. The majority of the percussionists can play several instruments and have had years of experience in marching and playing. Several of the older students write the show’s music and the marching drill with Sanderbeck.
“We all participate in a way and share ideas,” Sanderbeck said. “I do my best to inspire their creativity because I think it makes it mean more to them than just always regurgitating information by some composer. It gives them not the freedom to just jam aimlessly but to participate in what they’re going to end up performing.”
This year’s show is a classical ballet piece, Medea, which was written by Samuel Barber.
The students who participate in the indoor drumline agree that hard work and long practices are worth while.
“It’s fun,” said Megan Hill, member of the front ensemble and the only girl in the drumline. “It’s an enjoyable way to be dedicated to something,”
Sanderbeck said that last year the front ensemble won the award for best front ensemble. He said it was an honorable award because they were competing against some of the best percussion programs in the country.
“It’s something that we do here that is very specialized and nobody can really appreciate it on a big level,” said Mike Allen, member of the front ensemble. “As far as my degree is concerned, it makes my degree mean so much more just to know that we can go out and do something and people can see it.”
Not all the students in the drumline are music students. Sanderbeck said anyone who is interested and has the skill could be a part of the drumline.
“This is a competitive thing,” Sanderbeck said. “We don’t necessarily make our goal to just go and win something, it’s more for the performance. It’s to highlight and show that our school is competitive in the fact that we have quality musicians.”
The indoor drumline will be performing their show Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. in the MiniDome. They will be traveling to Ohio Nov. 14. The students are responsible for raising a portion of their travel money. Some of the other funding comes from Friends of Music and other donations. Anyone who would like to donate money to the students or the program can call Sanderbeck at 439-5387.

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