A hush overtakes the crowd as the soothing, gentle tones of a marimba fall into perfect harmony with the harsher, more powerful beats of a snare drum.
The Percussion Spring Show is an event that happens every year, but this year the show had a special guest that set it apart from the rest: Rascal Flatts drummer, and friend of drumline director Quiyan Murphy, Jim Riley.
“It was really interesting and exciting to see a professional drummer and his talent,” sophomore bass captain Christian Kelly said.
Riley arrived on May 14 and spent the day rehearsing with the percussionists before their show at 7 p.m.
“I’m having a great time working with the percussion ensemble, it’s fantastic,” Riley said. “It’s been really fun to get with everybody and give them my perspective, give them the composer’s perspective.”
The show featured some of Riley’s own compositions, as well as performances with Riley, including his ensemble, “Jim’s Diner,” which he said he hadn’t played in 10 years.
“[The show] was probably the best thing we’ve ever done,” said Kevin Rivera, junior drum and snare captain.
Even aside from its guest performance with Riley, the drumline has been hard at work, hosting its own competition as well as placing 5th in a competition in Plano, and 3rd at the Lone Star Classic.
“It’s been hard but its been a lot of fun,” Rivera said. “Staying mentally focused is really the hardest part of drumline. You need to have your mind ready, you need to know when there are going to be changes to a show, and be ready for those changes.”
According to senior tenor captain Yared Admasse, the music that percussion and drumline played this year was more classical and more challenging.
“The amount of time you have to put into practicing is just ridiculous,” Admasse said. “Your final result is just as good as you put in. It was hard, but pushing through it, it became easier.”
While both Kelly and Admasse said that drumline is a camaraderie of people who love to make music, for most members it’s about more than just music.
“It made me more mature as a person [and] taught me how to be a leader,” Rivera said. “[But] its more of a family because we have to stick together and be loyal.”
As some of the school’s percussionists see themselves pursuing music beyond high school, Riley gave some insight to his own pursuits.
“[In college] I got to UNT and thought, ‘If I’m not even the best in this little town in Texas, what’s that going to mean when I get out into the real world?’” Riley said. “[But] what I realized was that there were a lot more great drummers in that little town in Texas than there were in a lot of the places I’d ever been.”
And as for his success, Riley offered some words of encouragement for those who reach their dreams.
“The one thing that’s interesting about accomplishing your childhood dreams is you’re forced to come up with new ones,” Riley said.
