Boardman High drummers gear up for Drum Night

By JORDYN GRZELEWSKI

jgrzelewski@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

Boardman Spartan Marching Band’s percussion section lined up in a row at a recent practice, quad drums strapped to students’ waists, bass drums hoisted into the air and cymbals clashing.

With just a few days to go before Boardman Drum Night, the group confidently ran through its lineup, at one point swaying in synchronicity and at other times breaking apart into other choreographed moves.

Boardman Drum Line

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Members of the Boardman HS Drum Line are having fun making music.

Through it all, the students led the show.

“I have almost nothing to do with this. They produce this on their own,” said Tom Ruggieri, director of bands at Boardman High School.

The event, which takes place Monday night, brings together drum lines from Western Reserve, McDonald, Liberty, Champion, Austintown, Howland and Youngstown State University. BHS began hosting a drum night several years after being inspired by Howland High School’s annual drum line event, Ruggieri said.

The show will feature individual performances by each of the participating drum lines, then will end with a “drum jam” in which all 130-plus drummers will play together.

“It’s exciting,” Ruggieri said. “The audience seems to know what the high points are, and they’ll applaud. There’s a lot of energy.”

Among the drummers is BHS senior Luke Durbin, who plays the quad drums. He’s been part of drum line for two years.

“It’s just a fun experience,” he said. “There’s a lot more performances than the whole band. We’re all one big family.”

BHS junior Mary Garrett, who plays bass drum, has been playing drums since the fifth grade.

“It’s fun. Not everybody gets to play drums, and there’s not that many girls,” she said. “I’ve met my best friends here.”

She enjoys Drum Night because it gives the drummers the chance to interact with students from other schools.

“Everybody goes into the cafeteria. We actually talk to the other drum lines and meet them,” she said.

Each drum line has its own style and focus, Ruggieri said. Some drum lines specialize in technique, for example. For Boardman’s drum line, visuals are important.

“With marching percussion, there’s a big visual element to it,” Ruggieri said. “When they do things in sequence and in sync, it’s really cool.”

The event takes place at 7 p.m. Monday in the high school gym. Admission is $2 per person and free for senior citizens.