Members of the Bridgeport High School Drumline are keeping the beat.

 

BHS Percussion Camp is taking place this week on school grounds, as snare, bass and tenor drummers; keyboard, cymbal and xylophone players get a jump start on the 2014 field show season.

 

Their combined sound is much more than a backdrop for the brass and woodwinds, said Band Director Chris Hayslett.

 

“They keep the rhythm; they are the heart and soul of the band,” he said. “They have a lot more to learn and to do than the rest of the band. They never stop playing.”

 

In between the band's musical sets, the percussion ensemble plays a cadence – the focus of this week’s instructional day camp.

 

For the first time in about six years, the drumline is playing the “Spoonman” cadence.

 

“We’re kicking it back old school,” said Michael Burge of the BHS graduating class of 2008. A former member of the drumline and current member of the BHS Alumni drumline, Burge is helping out with instruction.

 

Also taking the helm is Matt Wood, a 2014 graduate of Alderson Broaddus College, where he was a music education major and served as artillery drum captain. Wood did his student teaching at BHS last school year. At that time, returning percussion members were given sheet music for this performance season.

 

“They worked on it this summer,” Burge said. “Seniors took the responsibility of organizing sections and they worked together.”

 

Those hours of practice are evident at this week’s percussion camp. Together, the unit is working – measure by measure – on six pages of material. The musicians also spend time in small groups, doing some fine tuning.

 

By Thursday, the all-inclusive unit will be marching and playing the cadence which football fans will hear at Wayne Jamison Field in a few weeks.

 

The entire band will be engaged in instruction next week and the following as the traditional BHS Band Camp gets under way.

 

These photos and those at the gallery link below are by Julie Perine 

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2014 BHS Percussion Camp