VENTURA : Drum Majors Strut Their Stuff at Event

About 25 high school drum majors from as far away as Fresno and San Diego strutted their stuff at Buena High School over the weekend in the first of a series of statewide competitions.

The music was prerecorded and there were no bands to lead. But the drum majors were pictures of concentration as they prepared to demonstrate their skills to a judge who paced closely behind.

One student buffed his gleaming black shoes before inspection, another ran a lint brush over his tartan plaid sash.

Mike Hill, 17, the drum major at Moorpark High School, tightened the wrists of his white gloves with medical tape so that they wouldn’t come off as he twirled his mace, the long, heavy baton used to lead a band.

The competitions are held at high schools throughout the state during the winter and spring. Drum majors are judged on their showmanship and conducting ability, as well as on their entrance--that portion of their routine that involves spinning the mace and giving commands to the band--said Bob van der Valk, Buena High School boosters club president.

Some students, such as 16-year-old Meredith Wheeler of Ventura, use the competitions to prepare for drum major auditions for the next school year.

Wheeler, a junior and a majorette at Buena High School, said she wants to be drum major because it is in her blood. Her father directed the Buena band for 10 years and her sister was the school’s drum major for two years.

“I’ve been around marching bands since I was born,� she said. “In fact, I was born on the day of a parade.�

Wheeler, who won the mace apprentice category, was one of three Ventura County students to win their divisions in the seven-event competition. Hill, of Moorpark, won the mace masters event and Karl Spoentgen of Buena High School won the mace majors.

The competition also captured the attention of those who live near the high school. The music is what brought Lucille Gessner. “I love band music and parades,� she said. “I get goose bumps.�

Kristina Kelsch, 7, watched the competition from the sidewalk and announced that she would like to be a drum major some day because “it looks like fun and I like playing drums.�