On December 2nd, 2023, a particularly cloudy day, the Maggie Walker Drumline performed in the Dominion Energy Christmas Parade for the first time. This local festivity starts at the Science Museum of Virginia, heads down Broad Street, and ends at the Richmond Coliseum. As one of the major Richmond holiday events, the parade was something the drumline was ecstatic to have been asked to attend. Mr. Merillat, director of the drumline, stated that the students did not seem nervous, but excited, even though they did not know that they were performing until about three weeks before the parade. Charlie Bell (‘25) explained that up until that point, the drumline had been practicing “about twice a week since the beginning of the school year,” so they were very well prepared as an ensemble. He added that even in the face of two vacancies that required students to sub in only a few weeks before the performance, the performance turned out “perfectly fine.” The drumline put in lots of hard work to make this performance happen and represented Maggie Walker well.

Being fourth in the parade lineup (of almost 100 acts) and the first community-organized act meant that the drumline had to start the parade off with a bang. The first three floats were policemen and the parade banner, so the drumline, with their explosive sounds, helped indicate that the parade had officially started. When asked about the impact of being fourth on their preparation for the event, Mr. Merillat said the early lineup position didn’t affect the drumline at all. Throughout the year, the drumline regularly practiced for school events such as the pep rally, field day, and concerts, so they brought the same repertoire that they had been preparing throughout the year to the parade. Grace Crislip (‘24), bass 2 for the drumline, said that while she was not playing drums in the parade, “being the first thing that people saw, [meant] that the reactions were so enthusiastic” which made it “such a memorable experience.” 

One major difference about the parade compared to their previous performances, however, was the length of the event. The Dominion Energy Christmas Parade route is 2.2 miles long, and this meant that the drumline had to carry drums ranging from 15 to 30 pounds for about two hours. After a while, the drums begin to get awkward and clunky to carry, but that didn’t affect the drumline. Mr. Merillat commented that after the parade, the students were “rolling their shoulders around a little bit,” but were ultimately in “good spirits,” and no one brought up the heaviness. Bell, who plays the tenor drum, mentioned that his first thought after finishing the performance was that he “couldn’t move [his] shoulders because they were so tired,” but added that the people “hyping us up” during the performance helped to make the strain bearable.

Bell served as captain of the drumline. Before the parade, the ensemble had to account for changes in weather that might affect their performance. Bell commented, “We were lucky that it wasn’t cold, around 50 to 60 degrees, but it was really humid,” which made it even more tiring to carry the heavy drums. As captain, he was also responsible for keeping a constant tempo for the entire performance and throughout their many practices. 

With close to 100 different acts including floats, music, and dancing, pulling off the annual 2.2 mile Christmas celebration was no small feat. Even more nerve wracking was the Maggie Walker drumline’s task of setting the tone for the parade early on in the procession. However, despite heavy equipment, humid conditions, and last-minute changes to the lineup, the performance went off without a hitch, bringing joy and Christmas cheer to the parade’s spectators. Finally, Bell added, “Drumline is awesome, and my favorite thing I do here,” and he’s grateful the parade gave them the opportunity to bring the Maggie Walker drumline to light.