Ahhh…  It’s been several years since I’ve attended a DCI (Drum Corps International) contest, and last night’s trip to Dublin Coffman High School on the Northwest side of Columbus, was even more thrilling because one of my kiddies was marching.  

In 1979, the summer before my freshman year of high school, my band director, and her college friend, a nationally known choreographer, took me to Lafayette’s drum-corps show.  I could not imagine a marching band without woodwinds, only brass, percussion, and guard.  

I can still recall the increased pulse rising in my chest, the chills, and the hair lifting upward on my arms upon the first full sound of the first corps I saw that night, The Spirit of Atlanta.  

Little has changed in 37 years with my reaction. I felt it all, again, last night, especially when seeing my student, John Newcomb, in the front percussion ensemble with Legends. 

It was great seeing John living his passion!