Who is a part of the marching band leadership? What does being in leadership entail? During marching season, the band performs at football games, competitions, pep rallies—you name it. Marching band leadership are a key part of the whole operation. These individuals help rally the band, organizing sections and helping out fellow section members and so much more. Recently, I interviewed three people in marching band leadership about their role in and experience in the band: Aubree Erickson, Laura Margo, and Carson McCay.
Zoe Huels (ZH): First, what is your leadership position?
Aubree Erickson (AE): I am the pit captain of the Anderson Trojan band.
ZH: And what do you do?
AE: Usually that requires a lot of making sure people get here on time, telling people where they need to go, what they need to be doing—it’s a lot of logistical stuff. I also play the role of the center marimba, which basically means that I’m in charge of timing for the pit when the battery’s not playing.
ZH: For people who may not know, can you explain the difference between pit, battery, front ensemble, drumline…? What is all of that?
AE: We like to use the term drumline to pertain to anybody who plays percussion—anyone who does marching band and plays percussion. Battery is strictly the drums that march on the field, so quads, bases, and snare drums. Pit, or front ensemble, (they are interchangeable) is the mallet instruments (marimbas and vibraphones) as well as the electronic section (the synths and a lot of the sound effect equipment such as symbols).
ZH: Okay! And what is your favorite part about being pit captain?
AE: I love getting to meet everybody and then being able to play as a group, turning a piece of paper with a bunch of notes on it into this production that we call a marching show. It’s really fun to get to watch people’s relationships and musicianship grow.
ZH: So, I know you told me a bit about going down to UNT in Denton for drumline camp this summer, can you explain how that was for you as someone who normally doesn’t march drums?
AE: It was a lot! They didn’t exactly go into marching technique or anything like that, so I was going off of what I already knew from drumline. It was a really really hard experience, but I was really happy I went and I had a lot of fun. It was definitely way out of my comfort zone!
ZH: Alright, we’re going to move into more general questions now. What would you say is your favorite part of being in marching band?
AE: I love getting to play music and perform this show that we’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into. I really really enjoy the people—they’re some of my favorite people to be around. I know I can trust them with a lot and that we’re all working together as one team to be able to create something that’s bigger than ourselves.
ZH: So, hearing about your love of band, are you planning on continuing with band after highschool?
AE: I am, I’m hoping to be a Music Education major.
ZH: Very cool! Alright, is there anything else you’d like to add or say to someone who’s interested in joining band?
AE: If you have even the smallest desire to try it, come watch us play, look up DCI online—just take a look if you have any inkling of doing it at all. Come to an event, come to one of the camps we’ll have in the spring, come and just try it, because even if you’re terrified and you have no musical experience, it is so much fun. You get to meet so many cool people and make this really cool show. If you have any desire, I just recommend trying it so that you’re not left not knowing.
Laura Margo (LM): My name is Laura Margo, I’m a senior, and I’m a drum major of the Anderson band.
ZH: And what do you do as drum major?
LM: Our main job is leading rehearsal: we start reps and conduct for the band. A big part of that is making sure that we have all of the equipment we need for rehearsal—hauling speakers is a daily activity. Getting there early and leaving late is an everyday thing for us, but I really like it.
ZH: What is your favorite part of being drum major?
LM: My favorite part is definitely having more of an opportunity to connect with everyone in the band. As drum major I’m not limited to one section. I get to learn everyone’s names and make small talk with them, and I think having that connection helps them trust me more as their drum major.
ZH: I know you did SASI camp, tell me about that.
LM: So our SASI camp was drum major-only SASI camp, which is a little different from normal SASI camps because they have all leadership come in—some schools send their entire leadership team. Our SASI camp was half leadership talk and half conducting. My favorite part about it wasn’t really the content, it was getting to know every single drum major of the schools around us—that’s been making football games a lot more fun because I actually know people in the other band. SASI camp was really cool overall. The Leander band director led it, and he’s an awesome person and director.
ZH: What’s your favorite part of being in marching band?
LM: I love the community because you know you can count on everyone there. They’re all there because they love playing music with other people, which I think is really cool. For example, everyone in Wind Ensemble (one of the concert season ensembles) is so motivated to sound good. We play really good music and getting to experience that is amazing. I’m just really happy that I chose to band. Let me talk more about marching band—I like the hustle of marching band a lot. I like making it to every rehearsal and seeing people both trying really hard and motivating each other when things get hard. I think seeing the end result—full runs or going to competitions—is validating even though we don’t need the validation. It feels amazing to work towards that kind of end goal.
ZH: So, are you planning to continue band after high school?
LM: Ooo! Great question!
ZH: Thank you, I’m here all day, haha.
LM: So, if I go to UT I will definitely be joining the Longhorn band. I’ve been around it quite a lot—I did sideline crew (went to a UT football game) and I know quite a few people in the band. I really love the band’s energy and the school spirit is pretty insane. They also play such cool music on a much bigger platform, with thousands of people going to these games and these functions that they play at, and of course they sound really good too.
ZH: Ready for the final question?
LM: Yes.
ZH: If you could say anything to someone who’s interested in joining band, what would you say?
LM: I would say if you’re skeptical about it, definitely at least try it because you’ll make so many new friends, you’ll learn so much more about yourself, and you’ll learn a lot about how to interact with others in a leadership setting, alongside basic communication skills. You’ll start seeing a lot of self-growth and it will feel really rewarding to be part of something bigger than yourself.
Carson McKay (CM): Hi, I’m Carson, I’m a senior.
ZH: What is your leadership position and what do you do in your leadership position?
CM: I’m woodwind captain, and I oversee the woodwind section, which is roughly 50 people. Each section within the larger woodwind section has their own section leaders which I work with to make sure everything runs smoothly.
ZH: What’s your favorite part about being woodwind captain?
CM: I’d say my favorite part is getting to be a part of every woodwind section, because members tend to just be in their own section, but being woodwind captain has allowed me to get out there and meet people in all the sections, making me really feel like a part of the larger woodwind section.
ZH: What is your favorite part of being in marching band?
CM: My favorite part is always going to be the people. I love competitions, I love games, I love committing myself to doing something hard, but I wouldn’t be able to do all of that if I wasn’t surrounded by great people.
ZH: You’re planning on continuing band in college—can you talk about why you’re interested in college band?
CM: I want to continue band in college because I think it’s always good to have a hobby to commit yourself to, even when you’re already doing school. I also love the community, and even though it’s a big change from high school to college, it’s still a bunch of band kids. There’s still the feeling of everyone being there to do the same thing and have fun, because everyone wants to be there.
ZH: Last question, is there anything you’d say to someone who’s interested in joining band?
CM: Give it a shot! I think it’ll be a lot different than your perception of it—you’ll find it a lot more fun.
ZH: Alright, thank you Carson.
