It’s late at night at a Jesuit football game. The gigantic crowd of students, teachers, parents, and family roar as the Rangers score the last touchdown of the game to win. The field and stands erupt in excitement and famous Jesuit Fight Song begins. The Jesuit Ursuline Ranger Band is one of the most important teams at Jesuit. They bring the crowd to their feet, pump up the players, and bring further excitement to football games and other events here at Jesuit.
Band directors Donovan Putnam and Zane Crownover have announced the new drum major for next year’s marching season; current juniors, Drew Curran and Jake Radcliff. The Jesuit Ursuline Ranger band never fails to excite the crowd with their many stand tunes, drum cadences, and half time shows. However, what would all this be without a steady beat to play to? This is the job of the drum major. They conduct those stand tunes, cadences, and half time shows to keep the beat steady. Being a drum major is considered prestigious and honorable and takes a tremendous amount of commitment and positive attitude. Band director Putnam, described the role of drum major as an “extension of the band directors”, giving the example of leading a morning band practice in place of a director.
The formal audition process for selecting the drum majors for the 2014-2015 school year was held earlier in May after school in the Band Hall. While only about 10-14 members of the band auditioned, the process lasted from around 4 to 6pm. Reflecting over the experience, Curran said that the audition consisted of “conducting to different tempos and different time signatures”, reciting “all of the commands, and to end it”, each member had an interview with the directors. He added that while he “was very anxious and nervous before and during his audition”, he was “ecstatic” when he found out, wanting “to be a drum major since freshman year”. While the auditions took place a few weeks ago, the process began weeks beforehand. In preparation for the auditions, Curran said that this year’s drum majors held “rehearsals everyday for the three weeks leading up to the audition before” or after band. In Drew’s eyes, the role of drum major is to “conduct during the marching season while also being the student leaders of the band for the year”. Prior to the start of the school year, the drum majors “teach” the incoming band members all about marching and the inter-working’s of the band “during band camp”.
Since the announcement of band positions at the 2013-2014 Band Banquet, the Jesuit Ursuline Ranger Band has spent the last few weeks of school preparing for the upcoming and exciting new marching season. With drum majors Curran and Radcliff, the half time show will definitely be cause to stick around during half time.
