8 Senior Caroline Tarleton conducts the Spartan Regiment during the Sept. 16 football game The band plays an active part of keeping the crowd in the game by leading cheers and playing music to keep the atmosphere festive. Photo by Aniya Sparrow
MAJORLY
committed
The story behind the leaders of the band By MaryGrace Cummings Staff Reporter It’s another Friday Night, spirits are high as Anna Schwarm and Caroline Tartleton, senior drum majors, put on their uniform, adjust their gloves and prepare to lead 110 of their bandmates onto the field at Don Muench Memorial Stadium. The drum majors main job is to make sure the band is on the same page and provide leadership. “By definition, it’s just the word out there for conducting through. Like the performances, keeping everybody in time,” Tarleton said. “But it’s also a lot to do with leadership and meeting everybody through just everyday things and also competitions and football games.” Drum majors hold an enormous
amount of responsibility in the band and keeping it as one, and they have to go through a rigorous process to get this position beginning with an application. Drum major applicants then discuss their answers to questions on the application with band staff. “That starts to give us an insight to just who they are as leaders, how they’re thinking about leadership, their philosophy on leadership,” Band Director Nathan Griffin said. They then move onto a “nerve wracking” as Schwarm says interview in front of the rest of the band. Mr. Griffin explains that he does this for lots of reasons. Not only does it benefit the band, but seeing how the applicants do under pressure, seeing if their answers are either selfish or band-first, and just
seeing how they overall command the room is helpful. Drum major applicants have a long interview process because of how important their presence is to the band and the band staff. “[I’m] looking for somebody who is a servant, first and foremost because the responsibilities they’re going to have in this job is really going to be serving the band,” Mr. Griffin said. “They’re going to be put through so much, almost like staffing, they’re gonna be handed so many responsibilities.” Band majors truly do have many responsibilities outside of conducting the band on those tall podiums we all see. Whether it is having to find quick solutions to things when performing or dealing with drama, a lot goes on behind
