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University of Maryland's Newest Student Group Keeps Up the Tempo
By Jessica Davis, TheWorldJournal.com

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One of the newest Student Government Association recognized organizations on the University of Maryland, College Park campus has actually been five years in the making.

The Maryland Indoor Drumline is the brainchild of senior Brian Foltz and junior Chris Dickinson, both involved in the Mighty Sound of Maryland marching band percussion. Although the original idea was hatched in 1999, the required paperwork was just recently handed in for the MID to become officially recognized by the SGA in February, according to section leader Foltz.

While the group receives some funding from the SGA, percussion companies Yamaha, Remo, and Zildjan have all expressed interest in supporting the MID, group president Dickinson said. The Maryland athletic department has also produced t-shirts for the organization.

This semester, monetary donations were accepted from members and friends to buy extra equipment and pizza for practices. The MID hopes to eventually receive more funding from the SGA to take trips to competitions in Pennsylvania, central Maryland, and Virginia, Foltz said.

The drumline currently has about twenty-five active members playing snare, bass, tenor and cymbals. In the future, Dickinson hopes to expand those instruments to include keyboards and a drum-set. Because the group marches indoors-as opposed to the band's usual location on the football field in the fall-it is easier to have immobile instruments, he said.

The group has found a home in the Armory for now, where members practice Thursday evenings. They also schedule intermittent weekend practices to compensate for the busy schedule of MID advisor, Aubrey Adams.

Adams, a retired US Air Force musician, is a world-renowned instructor and author who also teaches the Maryland marching band drumline. He advises the group on how to organize, get things accomplished, and divide the workload, Foltz said. Adams also co-wrote this year's show with Foltz.

Steve Weickert, a snare player in the MID and member of the marching band drumline in the fall, joined the group to continue practicing during the marching "off-season".

"Being in the indoor drumline is a good opportunity to play the drums in the spring," Weickert said. "It forces you to play more and increase your ability and percussion skills."

Steve Kern, a cymbal player, agrees that the MID is a good way to keep up his chops over the winter but also likes how the indoor drumline varies from marching band.

"My favorite aspect is the fact that we get to try new things and depart from the normal repertoire of marching percussion," Kern said.

Although barely four months old, the MID has already made two appearances on campus and have another gig scheduled soon. The group played before the opening of the movie Drumline at the Hoff Theater and at Kay Theatre at CSPAC during Maryland Day. They will also be showing off their skills on the mall for the 2003 Art Attack on Friday, May 2nd at 3:30 p.m.

Eventually the MID would like to be involved in indoor drumline competitions such as the Tournament of Bands (TOB), Keystone Indoor Drumline Association (KIDA) and Winter Guard International (WGI). For now the line is set, Dickinson said, but new members will always be accepted. However, they would not be able to actually perform until next year.

Foltz hopes that the MID will eventually be a competitive WGI group and own their own equipment. The instruments they currently use belong to the Maryland Marching Band and are being loaned for the first few years, courtesy of marching band director L. Richmond Sparks, Foltz said.

"If anyone has an interest but doesn't think they have enough percussion skills, we will be more than happy to teach them what they need to know," Dickinson said.

"We don't want to just focus on drumming. The goal of the Maryland Indoor Drumline is to improve leadership skills and form a positive relationship with the community."

"Our ultimate goal is for somebody to walk out of this and not only help those around them in the campus community but also become a better musician and overall person," Foltz said.

Dickinson invites anyone interested in the organization to e-mail him with questions or concerns at md_drumline@hotmail.com or visit the Maryland Indoor Drumline website at http://inform.umd.edu/StudentOrg/MID

© March 18, 2003

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