A unique drumming experience

Melissa Strle
Times Reporter

 

A unique music event performed for the crowd at Holy Cross Collegiate (HCC) Hawks football game on Oct. 28.
The HCC drumline, part of the school’s music program, was part of the school’s pep rally on the day of the football game, much to the delight of the home crowd and visitors alike.
According to HCC music director Sarah Haughey, members of the away team at the football game “were so excited to see it. I think they thought it was cool.
“The drumline is interesting because I think there’re only three or four high schools in Alberta that have a drumline,” added Haughey, who said Chestermere High and Three Hills are among those schools.
According to Haughey, drumline is new to Canada, but is quite popular in the United States.
“It happens in the U.S. all the time,” she said, and there is even a movie that showcases the music called Drumline.
“I’d just like people in the community to know that there are musical experiences outside of traditional, classroom music and band that are really beneficial to students,” said Haughey.
In the U.S., drumlines play at pep rallies and sport events, and competing schools have drumline battles. Drumline encompasses only the percussion of a marching band. It includes snare drums, bass drums, quads and cymbals.
Haughey saw drumline for the first time at a teacher’s convention workshop when Chestermere High teacher Leo Johnson did a drumline workshop.
“We thought, how cool is that, and the division basically provided the drums for our school for something new,” said Haughey. She explained that it is not cheap equipment.
HCC also offers a world drumming program in addition to the regular concert band offered to Grade 7 through Grade 12 students, and it contains traditional percussion from around the world.
“My world drumming I’m really proud of too, because that’s really different as well,” said Haughey. “A lot of schools have drum days in the elementary part, but through high school there’s not usually much of an opportunity to learn authentic music from somewhere else in the world.”
Haughey teaches traditional West African drumming to Grade 7 students and then switches to more of a world drumming focus once students reach Grade 10.
The program for high school students encompasses African drumming, Japanese Taiko drumming and some steel drumming from Trinidad, which was just added to the program this year.
Haughey said the world drumming program gives students, who aren’t necessarily band students, an opportunity to participate in music.
“They get a really good, authentic music experience without knowing how to read music because we learn traditionally,” said Haughey.
Haughey attended the University of Lethbridge where she said there was a pretty big world drumming community. So, during her second year teaching at HCC, she decided to bring the program to the students who aren’t necessarily interested in band as a musical experience.
Haughey and her music students often go to the University of Lethbridge to do clinics with percussion professor Adam Mason. “There’s not that many people in Alberta who really know a lot about world drumming,” said Haughey.
Haughey said both the drumline and the world drumming groups may be going to play in the Fort Macleod Santa Claus Day Parade on Nov. 26.
Haughey and her music students are travelling to Whistler, B.C. to compete in the Con Brio Whistler Music Festival, a three-day non-competitive music festival, running Apr. 27-30, 2017. They will stop in Vancouver prior to the festival to do some world drumming workshops. Fundraising efforts are under way.
“At HCC, we really value music and we have a lot of different opportunities,” said Haughey. The teacher said her music group tries to play in the community and is open to performing at different types of functions.