Kyle Orton

Winter Drumline is back and better than ever. Every member of the team has worked extremely hard to achieve what they have accomplished. It is just the start of a new season for Winter Drumline.

Winter Drumline is a team consisting of eighteen people and led by two coaches, Jeff Foster and Zack Watson. The seniors are Noah Young and Xavier Cooper. The juniors are Grace Halley, Katie Crofton, Russ Foust and Marvin Guillen. The sophomores are Ben Smoke, Hunter Darsey, Alex Watkins and Kyle Orton. The freshman are Julian Fernandes, Eighth graders Kara Marshall and Madison George and Seventh graders Noah Walton, Ryan McConnell, Bennett Bruno, Andrew Metz and Danielle Kelly. They have four captains, bass Captain Noah Walton, quads Captain Alex Watkins, drum and snare Captain Noah Young and pit Captain Grace Halley.

They practice two times a week, Monday in the high school band room and Wednesday in Grace Gym. They are currently practicing for an upcoming show. Their performance, written by their instructor, Zack Watson, is called “Fault.” Sophomore Matthew Plunk says, “Fault is a show that uses original music to tell a story of a human condition through the lens of an earthquake.” The team is competing in the Georgie Indoor Percussion Association circuit in the Scholastic A- marching division, “playing up” by one classification. Their first competition is on Saturday, Feb. 4^th at North Gwinnett High School.

Plunk, being a part of Marching Band and Winter Drumline, said, “Winter Drumline is way more challenging in every aspect than marching band. This is a great activity for anyone who enjoys pushing themselves physically and mentally.”

Senior Noah Young said, “Winter Drumline is awesome because it really helps improve your musical skills. Many of the members are not percussionists, but their background in music helps to add chemistry to the ensemble. We have a great group this year.”

Young also said, “There are many challenging things about Winter Drumline. One being that playing mathematical rhythms while also moving around on a floor can be very difficult. Winter Drumline also has lots of expressive movements and it requires members to be able to express feelings through the music we play and the way we move on the gym floor.”

Junior Grace Halley said, “Our season started a few weeks ago, and it’s been a blast so far! Even though I joined to make music and to have fun, I mainly joined because of the people. They’re very dear to my heart and they’re one of the most united and inclusive groups that I know of. They’re my family and I don’t know what I’d do without them. So, they are basically my favorite thing about Winter Drumline.”

Coach of Winter Drumline, Jeff Foster said, “This fun group of kids are always very focused and a great desire for excellence – that’s what it’s all about.” Foster is dedicated to coach this team to be the best that it can be this year.