2008 University of Washington Drumline Auditions and Training Camp (print)
August 18th-22nd, 8am-5pm
UW Athletic Campus
The first day of our week-long camp will serve as the audition. Please understand that this is an audition, not a training day. Students auditioning for the drumline are expected to already have an intermediate to advanced knowledge of contemporary marching percussion techniques. All of the audition music (most of which are exercises or cadences that we will be working on all season) is available on this site along with recordings of each work.
I will be asking you to demonstrate the audition material as a group, alone in front of the group and, if needed, privately. By the end of the day, the drumline will be set. It has always been my recommendation that you come into the auditions prepared on the instrument you wish to audition for, but also with the attitude that you are willing to play in any of the four percussion sections just so you can participate in the drumline, period. We only have a certain number of instruments in each section and it is up to me to decide who will play what.
If, during the audition day, I inform you that your instrument of choice is probably not going to work out for you for this season (I will be able to tell this after about thirty minutes of watching you play), I will ask if there is another section in the drumline that you are interested in auditioning for. This is when you say “Yes! I just really want to be in the drumline!” Your chances have suddenly increased by a factor of ten. I honestly want anyone who really wants to be in the line to have a spot. We just have to work together and figure out what works best for the whole percussion ensemble. That is the most important point. If you are of the mind set that you want to play in the tenor line, for example, or nothing at all, that is fine, but know in advance that it may or may not work out for you. If, for whatever reason, I decide not to offer you a spot in this year’s drumline, you are more than welcome (and in fact encouraged) to stay for the remainder of the week and continue to practice with the drumline. You will most likely be asked to play on your practice pad, but that is better than going home and playing Nintendo and feeling bitter and sorry for yourself.
After the audition day is over, we start out Tuesday morning with a serious sense of urgency. We have a lot of music, and I mean A LOT of music, to learn in a short period of time, because after we’ve learned and memorized that music we will have a lot more music to learn a few weeks later. Our goal is to have the first couple of half time shows and the majority of stands tunes and cadences in your possession and to have worked through them as well. And, believe it or not, we will have a great deal of fun and laughs all week long as we work hard together! I look forward to meeting everyone. Feel free to email me with any questions.
David Reeves
Percussion Director
What to Bring
What you will need: Read Carefully
Do not wear Red! Those are Washington State University’s colors. Do not wear Red!
A place to sleep! If you are coming in from out of town and need to spend the nights here in Seattle I need to know now. There are always people in the drumline and band that will be more than willing to put you up for the week. There are also several hotels near campus if you would rather take care of your own accommodations.
Money to buy food. In years past we have always been able to provide lunches, but you are on your own for breakfast and dinner. There are plenty of stores nearby if you want to stock up on food.
Do not wear Red.
Drumsticks & Practice Pad. If you are planning to audition for the Snare or Tenor section you need to bring marching drum sticks. Don’t tape your sticks Red. Bass drummers, we will provide the mallets. Cymbals, bring some money and plan on going out with the returning Cymbal players to buy some batting gloves.
3-ring binder and a lot of transparent sheet sleeves. Bring a hefty sized binder. You will keep all exercises, cadences and show music in an organized fashion in this binder. It will be your best friend! Do not bring a Red binder.
Dress in layers. Seattle, even in August can get pretty chilly one minute, and very warm the next minute. We will mostly be outside. Do not wear any Red layers.
Wear athletic shoes. Absolutely no sandals, boots or dress shoes. We will be marching some, running some, and standing a lot. You need extremely comfortable athletic shoes.
Hats, sunglasses, sunscreen and anything else you can think of to battle the elements and keep yourself healthy.
A backpack for all of the above.
I strongly suggest bringing a Nalgene water bottle or something comparable.
You will be on your own after 5 pm. I suggest you check out the campus and the University District and maybe even hop on the bus and go into downtown Seattle, BUT don’t overdo it. By the end of Tuesday’s rehearsal I guarantee you will be exhausted and will probably just want to decompress, relax and get to know the other drumline members.
On Saturday, August 23rd we will be hosting our University of Washington Day of Marching Percussion Clinic. You will need to wear tan/khaki shorts. We will provide the shirts. You will probably also need a jacket or sweatshirt. Last year’s clinic was chilly.
Audition Materials
Below you should find all of the audition music. These are some of our technique exercises, as well as some stands cadences. These don't necessarily have to be memorized for the audition. However, these are things that we play all season long, so eventually everything on this list and a list of about 40 other things do have to be memorized. You might as well do yourself a favor and try to have it memorized by the audition. If you have a question about any notation, listen to the recordings first and try to figure it out on your own. If you can’t figure it out feel free to email me.
