Dakota drumline takes state championship

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — For the first time ever, the Dakota High School drumline won the Michigan Alliance for the Performing Arts (MAPA) Scholastic A drumline championship.

“It was a long time coming,” Dakota drumline coach Kurt Reyes said. “Since I’ve been here for over 12 years, it was always one of the bigger goals in mind for the program.”

The product of a long year of practicing and success at a series of preliminary events, all leading up to the big day at Eastern Michigan University on April 2, the win came as a bit of a shock to Reyes and band members.

“We came in first place in our very first competition in early January, which was a pretty good starting driving force for us,” Reyes said. “Then we came in second place in our second competition, and that also was another driving force because now we had something to try to attain. It wasn’t like we were on top by a lot for all our competitions, which is why ... getting first place was a good feeling because it was not something I was expecting for MAPA state championships.”

Drumline is a type of musical competition derived from the percussion section of marching bands that employs theatrics and supporting instruments to put together a routine. Dakota’s winning routine was a rendition of a duel between legendary composers conveyed through three actors as well as a rhythm section and the headlining percussionists.

“Our performance was about a fight night between Beethoven and Mozart, basically two music composers that were arguing during a concert about whose music was better,” sophomore Madison Flint said. “Toward the end, it was a boxing match between the two composers, and the crowd would cheer to see which composer would win at the end.”

While it was the audience that determined the outcome of Dakota’s battle, judges were the ones to determine which ensemble won the day. Dakota’s score of 87.4 narrowly won out over Hudsonville High School’s 86.3, with Dakota scoring consistently better than the west Michigan school on music-related categories.

The win’s meaning varies from student to student, a key factor being their prior experience with the program and their time at Dakota. Spencer Brong, a sophomore, sees this as a new benchmark to keep striving for.

“Winning now kind of sets the standard and makes me want to uphold it and makes me thirsty for more,” Brong said. “It makes me want to keep doing it.”

For seniors, who had early seasons disrupted by the arrival of COVID-19, they’ll leave Dakota on a high note.

“We had a really good music season, we had a really good show, and then all of sudden things changed and that offset the rest of my high school year,” senior Robert Duron said. “Last year, we went back, and we did everything again. And now, to come here after such an interesting high school experience for winter drumline and having (won) first place, I guess I never thought (it) would happen. ... I look back (and) play the videos, and I still get goosebumps from it because it’s so surreal.”

For everybody involved, the championship serves as the highest achievement for what was once considered an “underground” activity. Once seen more as a club consisting of about 10 people, according to Reyes, it has grown to a team of 46 people for 2023.

“It is such a big difference from where it was in, say, 2018 to now, and that is not that long of a time,” senior Beavis Notman said. “Those people that would perform in the 2018 (or) 2019 show would still be there and just getting better. Having this state championship under our belt for the season, any newcomer is going to see our integrity and drive to be the best that we can be while also helping them get really involved. I think that will push us onto a big incline.”

Even with the state championship under its belt, the Dakota drumline has no time to rest on its laurels. Percussion, rhythm, actors and all are back on stage in Ohio on Thursday, April 20, to compete at the Winter Guard International world championships in Dayton.

“This is our new foundation,” Duron said. “Let’s push even further.”