“Detail atten hut!” senior Hudson Moore yells from the top of her eight-foot stand above the 130 marching band members below her.
“Pride!” they yell back.
Moore, a graduating senior, is leaving behind her position as the marching band’s drum major.
“When I stand on the stand to conduct, it is honestly my favorite place in the world,” Moore said.
Moore joined band as a flautist when she was in sixth grade and says she has always enjoyed music. Moore’s parents have been playing music around her for most of her life, which contributed to her love of music.
“I want to be a band director, because I have seen the incredible impact that band has had on so many students, and I have wanted to be a teacher since I was little,” Moore said. “I joined band in high school and saw how many people changed from scared little freshmen into flourishing members of Northwood because of marching band and how many friends people make, and their confidence increases. Just everything gets better because of band, and I want to be able to spread that to as many people as I can.”
Moore has been the drum major for two years.
“I love looking down and seeing the faces of the entire band, and they are all my best friends,” Moore said. “I love seeing all of them watching me … and feeling like I am part of something that is bigger than myself. That is one of my favorite things about band, being a part of something so big, and I feel like I have an impact on people’s lives this way.”
Moore practices conducting every day for 45 minutes and stays later after rehearsals to make sure everything is cleaned up.
“A drum major has a lot of responsibilities; the most obvious one is conducting the band during a performance, which is what everyone sees,” Moore said. “During the performance, I make sure the band stays at the right tempo; I cue in sections; I give in dynamic sections and make sure the music is sounding the way it should be. At daily rehearsals, I have a lot more responsibilities, because I act as an assistant teacher. I take attendance, I make sure everybody is doing what they should be doing and also I help with rehearsals and make music suggestions. There is a lot of stuff involved.”
According to band director Brett Cox, the drum major has one of the most important leadership positions in the marching band.
“If there was no drum major, I would have to do everything; things would not be as organized as they are,” Cox said. “If we maintained the same numbers and didn’t have a drum major, it would be impossible to do the competitions that we do.”
Junior Mary Wardrop has been in band since sixth grade and is a section leader. She describes Moore’s leadership in marching band.
“Hudson is a really good leader,” Wardrop said. “She is really nice to everybody, but she is assertive, but not too much, so you know what you are supposed to do, but she’s not mean about it. She was really sweet, and she knew what she was doing, and she’s really caring and nice to everybody.”
Although Moore will be playing the flute in Western Carolina’s marching band this fall, she is sentimental about leaving behind Northwood’s marching band.
“I feel very very sad about leaving Northwood band,” Moore said. “This has been my home for four years, but I’m going on to become a band director, and a large part of that is due to Northwood’s band program and everything that is has done for me. I’m wishing the best for the band, and I know that the new drum majors and the new leaders are going to do an amazing job, but I will miss it very much.”
Sophomore Macie Marsh will take Moore’s spot as the drum major next year. Marsh was the assistant drum major in the fall. She was the first assistant drum major in recent marching band history. As the assistant drum major, Marsh helps conduct the band, as it continues to grow in size each year. Marsh has been in band since fifth grade, and before she was a drum major, she played the trumpet.
“I really like the people in band, and I like how we can all relate through music,” Marsh said. “I’ve always liked leading people and being a leader.”
Cox said that he has been impressed with Moore’s performance over the past two years.
“Hudson has definitely set the bar for every drum major,” Cox said. “Hudson was phenomenal; she kept me in line whenever I needed to be, especially the first year when I didn’t know the history of the program. She was the torchbearer from Mr. [Eugene] Cottrell to me, and she made sure things went as smoothly as they could. She had even more responsibility than a normal drum major would have.”
Next year Marsh’s assistant drum major will be Clayton Hinson. Cox is hopeful that the new drum majors will continue on Moore’s legacy.
– By Sarah Helen Shepherd