If you’ve ever been to the Homecoming football game and happened to stay in your seat during halftime to watch the Marching Band perform, you’ve likely seen someone in all black standing on a podium, voguing like Madonna. This uniform-clad Material Girl is the Drum Major, the conductor of the Marching Band, a student who is chosen by the band director to lead, keep time, and represent the band in all competitions.
The Drum Major serves a term for a full year, even while Marching Band isn’t in season. They begin their term when clinics begin in March; run practices, performances, and pep band games until November; conduct at basketball games; and train the next year’s candidates the following March. They have to attend leadership clinics, meet with section leaders, and coordinate with the Band Director, it is not a role to be taken lightly.
The Drum Majors for the 2026 Marching Band season were announced just a couple weeks ago. This year we will have two, one will act as the Head Drum Major and the other will be the Assistant. Senior Audrey Tree will act as Head and Junior William Robertson will act as Assistant.
Tree started Marching Band going into her sophomore year, after not making the tennis team. She had been playing French horn since 7th grade, but transferred to the marching version, the mellophone. She immediately fell in love with the program, the people, and the music. “We are a team and work together and every person is important,” Tree says. “We can have fun while we work, not everything has to be locked in and serious all of the time.”
She was inspired to go for Drum Major by the Head Drum Major her first year. “He always wanted to be there and was kind to everyone,” she recounts. She had seen how Drum Majors could positively or negatively impact the lives of others and wanted to make a positive impact in the band. She hopes to get the band to a place they are proud of by the end of the season. “In life, just keep going. Everything feels insanely important and also temporary, so you just have to go with what’s given.”
Tree swears by the mentality of “fake it til you make it” in leadership, and she’s had a long history of leadership in the band program, acting as the Symphonic Band Representative her freshman year, Vice President her sophomore year, and President this year, while also serving as mellophone section leader for two years.
Robertson is a bit of a special case, as Drum Majors are almost always seniors, but his love for the program and determination to be the best he can be set him apart. He began playing clarinet in 7th grade and after watching both of his older brothers perform in Marching Band, couldn’t wait for his turn, joining the summer before his freshman year. “I love the people,” Robertson says. “The sense of community in Marching Band is so amazing. You’ve always got people to be there for you and let you be who you are.” He climbed the ranks quickly, serving as the clarinet section leader his sophomore year and working closely with past Drum Majors. “They are some of the people I look up to the most. The passion that they give is so inspiring, their character makes you want to be a better person.” He hopes to inspire and give people a passion for marching and music in general, as the previous Drum Majors did for him. He fundamentally believes that we need to be kind to everyone because everyone is fighting a battle we don’t know about and wants to promote an environment of belonging in the band, a place where everyone wants to be.
When asked what message they’d want to give younger marchers or musicians in general, Tree and Robertson had similar responses.
“Just show up,” Tree says. “I know life gets crazy busy and it’s hard to juggle it all, but if all you do is show up and try, it’ll pay off.”
Piggybacking on that, Robertson says, “All the effort you put in will come back tenfold. Try your hardest. Give it your all and know that other people are there to support you.”
Tree and Robertson are immensely talented members of the band and they will be phenomenal leaders. As a member of the drumline (and a long-time friend of Tree’s) I can’t wait to see how they lead this program, I believe wholeheartedly they will do an amazing job and they will be the inspiration they hope to be for future members.
