Drumline hits the big stage
Liberty’s indoor drumline competes in the WGI National Championships
The Liberty University Indoor Drumline (LUID) competed in the Winter Guard International (WGI) National Championships April 14-17 in Dayton, Ohio, and while they did not place as high as they expected, they saw great improvements from last year.
Tyler Loftin, assistant director of athletic bands and drumline, said LUID is a branch of the Liberty Department of Bands and provides opportunities for percussionists to perform through the offseason of marching band.
on beat — Liberty’s marching band drumline performed at Liberty football games and other events. Photo credit: Ty Hester
“We have marching band in the fall, and that’s our focus from March through November,” Loftin said.
“In the offseason we have a chance to put together a group thattravels and competes both locally in our region and on a national stage.”
According to Loftin, the team performs in an area the size of a basketball court.
The events are typically held in high school or college gyms to provide room for the performance and a place for spectators and judges to watch from.
Loftin said the group did well this year, but not quite as well as they were hoping for.
“We didn’t place as high as we thought we were going to place, but that’s just because of the way the activity has grown in the last 5-10 years,” Loftin said.
Loftin said that the competitions are separated into different tiers or classes of competition.
According to Loftin, A class is the lowest class and consists of groups performing shorter shows and displaying fundamental skills.
Once a team moves into the next class, called open class, they are expected to perform more intermediate and advanced techniques.
“We started in A class, and we actually got the bronze medal in 2014 when we went to Dayton,” Loftin said. “That was kind of our crowning achievement.”
According to Loftin, the team began competing in 2012, so he was very proud of the team for attaining the bronze medal in such a short period of time. He said that after they won that award, they felt like they needed to go up against stiffer competition.
“We decided (since) we’re a college group, we should really be competing in open class, which is more intermediate skills to advanced,” Loftin said.
“There’s a lot of groups that are in that area … it’s even that much more difficult to stake your claim and break into the top groups.”
They were hoping to make semi-finals but ended up two spots away.
Loftin said they are working to improve on two main areas, those being the talent performing and the show itself, to accomplish that goal of breaking into those top few groups.
“We have a base of Liberty students, but our team is open to anyone who can drive here every weekend from January through mid-April,” Loftin said.
Loftin and some of his staff are in charge of designing the show and writing the music. Loftin said it changes every year, so they always have to be ahead of the curve.
“The group itself really broke new boundaries this year,” Loftin said. “Every year we try to up the ante a little bit and bring a new game.”
This was LUID’s fourth year competing in these championships, and Loftin said they plan on going back next year.
For more information about LUID, visit www.liberty.edu/band
Gee is a copy editor.