2009/2010 University of Washington Husky Drumline
Audition/Rehearsal Camp

General Information

Hello and thanks for your interest in the UW Husky Drumline. The purpose of this letter is to lay out in detail our audition process as well as the week in general. So here we go…

On Monday, 17th August we will begin our week long camp. This is a mandatory camp. The first day or two are used to evaluate everyone’s ability and attitude, and determine the personnel and instrumentation for the season. You can read all about the typical size of the Drumline we field each year by clicking on the “About the Drumline” link on the homepage. Please take some time to navigate through the entire site. I encourage everyone to audition on the instrument that they want to play, but to also keep an open mind. It is the percussion staff’s job to determine what is best for the entire Drumline. If you come into the auditions hoping to play in a particular section, but will be happy just to be in the drumline at all, then your chances have increased greatly.

Please understand that this is an audition. We expect that everyone coming to the audition already possesses at least the basic or intermediate marching percussion concepts of today’s modern drumline, both from a playing and marching perspective. That isn’t to say that there won’t be any teaching taking place. We, as a staff, will do everything possible to help you understand the techniques and try our best to ensure that everyone is able to reach their goals, but the fact remains that this is an audition and while we hope that everyone who auditions will win a spot in the ensemble it is entirely possible that individuals may not pass the audition. Keep that only in the back of your mind. Keep the following in the very front of your mind. We will have a great week!

This is the week that all of our current membership looks forward to the most out of the whole season. Why? Because this is the only week out of the whole year where it is all and only about the Drumline. We have an entire week to work extremely hard, get a huge amount of material learned, and forge friendships and tight bonds that are necessary for any large ensemble’s success. This is the week when we become The Husky Drumline. Come into the auditions well prepared, with an open mind and a willingness to learn and have fun, and you’ll come out of the auditions very satisfied.

After we have finalized the personnel, the real work begins. The Husky Marching Band performs a new ten-minute half-time show at every home football game. That’s six or seven games total. That equals about 60-70 minutes of music to be learned and memorized. In addition to this, the Band also has about 20 tunes in its stands tunes repertoire and the Drumline has another 20 or so cadences/stadium grooves on top of that. In short, we have a lot of material to learn and to make performance-ready in a very short amount of time. We will use the remainder of the week to continue honing our playing and marching technique and also learn and memorize as much material as possible. It will be fun, you’ll see!

Saturday, 22nd August marks the end of our camp. We mark this occasion by hosting our annual UW Day of Marching Percussion. This is a day-long playing clinic. We invite all High School Drumlines to come out and spend a day working with the UW Drumline staff and members. Together, we brush up on skills, learn some new grooves, hand out some prizes, and have a lot of fun. Check out all the details by clicking on the 2009 D.o.M.P. link on the homepage.

We look forward to meeting you in August. Please continue to check out all of the audition information in this link, and check this website regularly for updates.

Thank you!

David Reeves & Nicholas Molenda

UW Day of Marching Percussion Snares and Cymbals	UW Day of Marching Percussiom Snares and Cymbals
2008 UW Day of Marching Percussion Clinic Group Photo

List of needs and important details

• Housing: If you are traveling to the auditions from out of town, state or country and need housing, please contact me as soon as possible. . We will be happy to arrange housing with a current Drumline or Band member.
• Food/Money: We are able to provide either lunch or money to buy lunches. You will need to provide your own breakfast and dinner. I recommend bringing some easy to pack snacks for breaks. Please bring some sort of eco-friendly water container. Store-bought disposable plastic water bottles are a pollutant and you will be endlessly ridiculed and will be given only one stick to drum with and no cymbal straps.

• Clothing/Shoes: Dress in layers. Even in August the weather in Seattle can be chilly. Wear comfortable fitting athletic clothes and shoes.  We will be marching and conditioning everyday. Absolutely no sandals or dress shoes/boots. Under no circumstances should you wear red ! This is the very uncreative color of our chief rival and nemesis across the state who shall remain nameless. If you wear red  you will be ridiculed. You will then be handed an empty store-bought disposable plastic water bottle, and more ridicule will ensue…and the one stick will be taken away and replaced with a nerf implement measuring roughly the size of a small cocktail weenie.

• Backpack/binder: You will be on campus all day. I suggest you bring a backpack to carry all of your daily needs. A sturdy 3-ring binder stocked with transparent (non-glare) sheet sleeves is a must. This will hold all technique exercises, cadences, stands tunes and half-time music for the season. No red binders! Refer to the above paragraphs for the consequences of this offense.

• Misc. needs: Sunglasses, sunblock, aspirin etc. Whatever you need to be comfortable.

Important summary of dates and events before fall classes begin

Aug. 17-21	8am-5pm	Drumline Audition & Rehearsal Camp
Aug. 22	8am-5pm	UW Day of Marching Percussion Clinic
Sept. 2-4	5:30-9:30pm	Rehearsal for UW vs. LSU game (Varsity/Alumni winds, ‘09/’10 Drumline)
Sept. 5	All day	UW vs. LSU
Sept. 7-11	8am-8pm	Band Camp
Sept. 12	All day	UW vs. Idaho
Sept. 13	1-6pm	Full Band rehearsal
Sept. 14	6-9pm	Full Band rehearsal
Sept. 16	6-9pm	Full Band rehearsal
Sept. 18	All day	Full Band rehearsal
Sept. 19	All day	UW vs. U$C
Sept. 28	5-8	Drumline rehearsal This begins our normal fall schedule Mon. 5-8pm, Tues & Thurs 6-8pm, Fri 4-6pm (Friday times vary depending on Saturday's schedule)

Audition Materials

Below you will find all of the audition materials.
The Eight on a Hand exercise and the Flams exercise will be replaced with more complex exercises after the auditions are over and the Drumline is set. This year we will be playing Basic Strokes 2004 (not part of the audition). We will provide you with the parts for this exercise after the auditions are over, but if you wish to purchase the single user edition of this exercise and get a head start visit http://www.tapspace.com/Basic-Strokes-2004-downloadable-pr-20.html