Drumline beats on
Echoes from the beat of drums boomed across campus at the Missouri Western Drumline performance on Friday.
The drumline usually performs every week at Missouri Western football games, but due to COVID, they are unable to. They decided to plan performances outside Kelley Commons for the Griffin community to attend, and to help the students in drumline.
Dr. Joshua Knight is the percussion ensemble instructor.
“It gives the students some applied learning opportunities that are really hard to come by this semester, we don’t have the performance opportunities we normally have,” Knight said. “It’s an opportunity for the students to perform and for us to get some high quality audio and video that we can share virtually on social media.”
This is freshman Isaiah Sterling’s first year being a part of the drumline here at Missouri Western. He was a snare player for four years in his high school drumline and says performances have been different this year.
“Usually the drumline plays about every other weekend at football games and such, but with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, most of our performances this year sadly aren’t happening. That being said, every few weeks we are playing these short gigs around campus to help boost morale, either with the marching band or by ourselves. I’m glad we do this, so we at least have an outlet to perform amidst such a confusing and challenging time,” Sterling said.
Watching a Missouri Western Drumline performance, there might be an interesting sighting: a stuffed Darth Kermit sitting among drums.
“There’s not really a story behind Darth Kermit besides we have a freshman from Truman High School who said, ‘Dr. Knight, I ordered a Darth Kermit and I really want him to be our official mascot,’” Knight said. “If the students get excited about something and they’ve taken a little bit of initiative, even if I think it’s a little bit questionable, I’ll go with it.”
Drumline member Sterling also shared his thoughts on the drumline mascot Darth Kermit.
“If Kermit is present in our performances or practices, good luck is always bestowed upon us. Whenever we play with Kermit, we never have to worry about making stupid mistakes, we never have to worry about playing bad. We essentially have nothing to fear. Kermit is a symbol of group morale and always keeps us in check,”Sterling said.
If students are looking for something to do on campus, the drumline might be a good fit!
“The drumline is an open opportunity to all students, so if you play drums at home or if you were formally trained in high school in drumline or marching band, you can be a part of the drumline! It’s open to everybody, I think that the biggest thing students need to know,” Knight said.
Sterling mentions that he really enjoys the drumline, most importantly, the friendship and trust that is seen in the drumline.
“My favorite part about being on the MWSU Drumline is the camaraderie. Regardless of any possible personal differences, everyone on the line seems to understand each other well and knows how to treat each other with respect. This helps us not only grow friendships that’ll last a long time, but also helps us click better when we perform,” Sterling said.
The Missouri Western community can see the next performance from the drumline on Oct. 2 outside Kelley Commons.