Atlantic Indoor Association

January 2010 

It is always exciting to hear of a new program coming to the floor in AIA competition. Such is the case of Freedom High School in South Riding, Va. The school itself opened in 2005, and the newly established indoor drumline makes its debut in 2010. This writer took the occasion to interview Will Riddell, the talented pit instructor tapped to launch the group.

MK: Together with two fall staffers, you have taken on significant responsibilities starting an indoor program at Freedom High School. How did you come on, and how did you approach it? How are you attacking the show from a writing and teaching standpoint?

WD: Like many great things, it started with a text from my friend Chris Martin. Joel Galway, the band director at Freedom, had asked him if he was available to teach their indoor line. Chris is currently busy with life as a newly-wed and his duties as caption head at George Mason University, but he thought I would be a good fit for the program and referred me to Joel. I was very excited to come aboard, and with the help of Joel and their fall techs I began teaching in late October. My predecessor Ben Tufts did a lot of great work with the kids, but the group is still relatively new to the indoor scene. Considering that, the show is designed to establish a solid foundation of basic skills to build upon in future seasons. So far it seems to be working pretty well.

MK: You have taught at Chantilly for some years now. Do you continue to, are you doing more or less there now? What about that fine program are you bringing with you or shooting for at Freedom?

WD: I'm currently in my sixth season at Chantilly. Throughout the years my level of involvement has varied, but my position has always centered around teaching the front ensemble. The best thing about Chantilly has been working with a wide range of talented staff members and learning everything possible from them. I like to think that my writing and teaching style is a hybrid of all the best traits of my colleagues' approaches. I don't think I pull off the man-purse as well as Alan Johnson (director at South County) though.

MK: More generally, what would you have to say about band directors, if you could tell them all about your observations of their percussion sections, their marching programs, or their pits? 

WD: I've been involved with several programs and met a lot of band directors as a result. The awesome thing is, nearly all of them understand what a benefit indoor drumline can be to their band programs. Most of them are eager to get involved and often they volunteer to help however they can. The programs that get good fast tend to be the ones with the most supportive directors and parents. As a result, I try my hardest not to overstep my boundaries as "the drum guy," and to keep them happy by not being too demanding of them. Some days that is definitely easier than others!

The biggest thing to remember is that each school is different. Not every program is ready to be handed an Open or World class show and expect to be successful. Consider the following factors... What are the feeder programs like? What is the community like? How hard is it to get rehearsal space? All these things can affect the level a group can reach within each season. I think it's reasonable to say that most schools can have a competitive indoor program, but it's simply unrealistic to expect all of them to develop into world class WGI finalists. It's much more satisfying to write an easier and more manageable show and achieve a high degree of performance with it. It's also better for the long term health of the overall band program and the circuit in general. More successful drumlines = more kids who have the opportunity to participate.

MK: How long before we can look for freedom at Dayton? 

WD: Uh, when they're ready? Seriously though, the trip to World Championships is a long and challenging one. I've seen groups put all their efforts into taking a group to finals, and practically bankrupt their booster program in the process. It's equally discouraging to the students if they get thrown in the mix with the "big kids" (California, I'm looking at you!) before they're ready, and get stomped on as a result. Nobody wants to go all that way to only perform once! With Freedom, I'm planning on hopefully having a successful first year and building on it gradually. The "crawl before running" approach really does work for competitive success and student recruiting. Now if you'll excuse me, I think there's a guard rehearsing in MY gym somewhere (just kidding... kind of). See you in the stands!

Will Riddell is a full-time composer, arranger, and percussion clinician, and is currently the percussion director of Freedom and Broad Run High Schools, and the front ensemble technician for Chantilly High School. He is an endorser of Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, and Zildjian cymbals. Will is currently accepting arranging and composition commissions for the 2010 marching band season and can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

Submitted by: Michael Kirby