The sounds of drums resonated from the parking lot of Wright State University’s Irving J. Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, as dozens of drumlines from across the country came to compete at WGI World Championships.
Among these organizations was the fledgling drumline named Constitution, a first-year line based in Raleigh. Instructed by Will Goodyear, the instructor for N.C. State’s drumline, Constitution has several members hailing from the University.
The group left Cary High School on Wednesday evening, destined for Dayton in five 15-passenger vans. Upon arrival in Dayton Thursday morning, the members called Parkview Church of the Nazarene their home until Saturday evening.
There they made last-minute adjustments to their show in preparation for their preliminary performance Friday. This placed them performing directly between the Blue Knights and Music City Mystique, groups who have both won gold medals in the Independent World Class in previous years. “I’m not nervous right now, but I usually get nervous just before I go on,” Cory Hinton, a freshman in mechanical engineering and tenor player in Constitution’s drumline, said during rehearsals.
Bass guitarist John Smith also denied being nervous.
“I know I’ll have an awesome show,” he said.
After six months of rigorous rehearsing under the most grueling of conditions, Constitution was ready to perform in its final competition. For approximately seven and a half minutes, the group performed its show, entitled Equilibre, in front of thousands of people.
The group then retreated to the parking lot to pack its gear and await the standings. Instructor Will Goodyear approached a little while later to give them the unfortunate news that they did not make finals.
Members of the group congratulated themselves on a good and fun season and were given praise by the staff, many of whom profusely used the word “proud.” Despite this bad news, spirits among group members never dropped. Instead of being upset, they stayed in Dayton to watch their competitors.
“It isn’t so bad. We accomplished all of our realistic goals this year,” Hinton said. “It doesn’t bother me too much.”
For many members, the experience was as much about family as it was about drumming. Nate Ouellette, a junior in mechanical engineering and bass drum player, said he “definitely” plans to return next year, while John Smith said Constitution was “the coolest group of people I’d have never met otherwise.”
