Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 1984, Page 21

Description:	Drum line, flag corpshelp develop many skillsBloomington Souths drum line was anextracurricular activity offered to percussionists and nonpercussionists to helpmusicians develop a sense of time,rhythmic independence, andcoordination.The group was started because of student requests. After marching bandseason, there was no drum line; andstudents were not challenged in symphonic band, according to JonathanGurney, Bloomington South banddirector.Gurney said the two qualities of thedrum line that stood out were dedicationand versatility. Students in the drum linegave up three hours of their Saturdaymornings to practice as a group.Many people in the drum line playedother instruments as well as the drums.Gurney said a lot of talent came out whenstudents switched instruments. Thegroup played rudimentally or technicallyoriented pieces and did not enter anycompetitions. The drum line changed tovery technically challenging music,Gurney said. He also noted that the drumline is more musically oriented fromplaying patterns over and over.Senior Therron Thomas said he was inthe drum line because its a lot of fun, itdevelops your skills, and its a tight knitgroup. He also said he gained selfesteem, leadership, and obedience (howto follow directions) from being in thedrum line.Bloomington Souths flag corps performed during football season with themarching band. The corps developedbasic equipment handling skills, coordination, and independence, according toGurney.South had a flag corps last year(1982-83), Gurney mentioned; but mostof the students who had participated in itdid not decide to be in it again. Gurneysaid those who stayed with the corpspulled the group together.TOP: Bass drum players Susan Park, BarbAndersen, Stacee Williams, and Zach Smith standat attention during rehearsal.BOTTOM: Flag corps members practice theirroutine to be as uniform as possible.Drum Line/Flag Corps 21
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/1742
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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