Indoor percussion groups perform throughout winter season
By midwinter, football season and marching band season have wrapped up, and many extracurricular activities are settling down at area schools.
But for student musicians involved with indoor percussion groups, the music doesn’t stop.
The musical activity — which brings together choreography, marching band drill skills and drumline and percussion instrumentation — typically runs from November to April, in between the marching band and football seasons and spring marching band activities.
Students work together and collaborate with directors and teachers to put together performance shows and compete at local and national competitions.
“The easiest way I refer to it is, I kind of say it as a joke, but it’s ‘drums in a gym,’” said Dave Campbell, director of Nomad Indoor Drumline, an independent competitive indoor drumline based in Lyndora. “It’s all the elements of a high school marching band percussion section brought inside, and features a theme that is told through visual representation and music.”
Nomad Indoor Drumline is a program of the General Butler Vagabonds Drum and Bugle Corps and Mars Indoor Percussion at Mars Area School District, which are the two indoor percussion groups in Butler County. Both groups compete at events run by the Three Rivers Winter Ensemble Association, a Western Pennsylvania group of ensembles and teams.
Nomad’s ensemble is independent of any school district and recruits musicians from as far away as West Virginia. The group has approximately 20 members ages 14 to 23. The Mars ensemble has 37 total members from grades eight to 12.
Mars Indoor Percussion director Dave Soose said many of his ensemble’s students join indoor percussion as a way to keep busy over the winter and continue being involved with music after the marching band season is over.
“They want to be pushed even further,” Soose said. “They do it because it’s a thing to do in the winter to keep them occupied and busy, but a lot of times we get kids that really excel in the marching band season that want to continue pushing themselves to greater potentials.”
Mars Indoor Percussion practices twice a week during the school week and has longer practices on Saturdays.
“I did front ensemble in outdoor (marching band) this last outdoor season, and I’ve noticed that our skills from everywhere kind of all work together,” said Kota Gamble, a Mars junior who plays snare in Mars Indoor Percussion.
“Indoor, I’ve noticed, is one of the most intense things I’ve ever done,” Gamble said. “I’ve had to do so much more work for it because not only is it difficult music, but a lot of the time it’s solid 170-180 tempos, good rhythms that are not necessarily easy to play at first glance, along with the visual element that comes with indoor. That’s something completely new to me.”
Nomad requires auditions to participate in its ensemble, and, as such, tends to field musicians who have some level of experience with the activity.
“It’s typically drummers that are seeking to become friends and play in an ensemble with other drummers,” Campbell said. “It builds friendships and bonds.”
Campbell said the ensemble teaches “life skills” beyond its musical components.
“Being on time, being in a team program, being responsible for themselves, time management, punctuality, all of those are kinds of things we stress in addition to the teaching of music and trying to make them better performers and to increase their skills in the percussion instruments they choose,” he said.
The social aspect of Indoor is a big draw, Soose added.
“A lot of these kids are really good friends,” he said. “We’ve seen kids come in, even starting in the marching band season being super shy, and now they have definitely come out of their shells, and are really comfortable around their peers, which is great.”
For indoor percussion students, along with winter guard performers, who compete in color guard and other visual categories, a lot of participation is based on competitions. Each ensemble puts together a five-minute show. Soose said Mars’ show, “Ancestors,” tells the story of a fictional tribe, and Campbell described Nomad’s show, “Pixel8,” as being inspired by video games. Themes are usually developed before the season starts.
“We have a list of things that we write down when we think of it,” Campbell said. “Every year, around July or August, we’ll start discussing what we want to try to do, and what concept or theme appeals to us.”
The competitive aspect is exciting for many students, Soose said.
“They enjoy it because they enjoy being challenged,” Soose said. “They love the competitive aspect of it. We always try to talk to them about how competitiveness is fun, but it’s not the be-all-end-all of everything, it’s not always about the final number, it’s about the experiences you make. But they still love going out and competing. They love when a judge comes out and gives them feedback.”
Junior quads player Shane Cannon, who joined Mars Indoor Percussion in eighth grade, said he got involved with the ensemble after seeing it perform at Mars Area Middle School in 2018.
“(I thought) This is awesome, and I have to do this because it would be so much fun,” Cannon said. “It’s been a blast. It’s a lot of hard work, but for me, the payoff is absolutely worth it.”
