Students going to New Jersey to conquering band tournament

The Conquest indoor drum line may be a fledgling organization, but the group hopes to march to victory at an upcoming competition in New Jersey.

'This thing really came into existence in early January, but the young people are working extraordinarily hard,' said Doug Hartman, the group's administrative director. 'We feel that we can be competitive - that we can challenge for a gold medal.'

The group of 25 percussionists has been practicing in the Steel Valley High School gym in preparation for the trip to Wildwood, N.J., for the All Chapter Championships Tournament of Bands on May 4-6.

The Conquest team draws its members from many local schools, including Steel Valley, Elizabeth Forward and Deer Lakes high schools and the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon, Indiana, Penn State and Edinboro universities.

'It's a very diverse group,' Hartman said.

Conquest is one of 38 indoor drum lines from nine states in the east and mid-Atlantic regions that will participate in the competition at the Wildwood Convention Center.

The group will perform Aaron Copeland's Appalachian Spring on snare, tenor and bass drums; mallet instruments such as xylophones and marimbas; cymbals and an electric keyboard programmed with different percussion sounds.

In competitions, drum lines work with groups that add a visual element to the performance - typically rifle or saber toss.

Each team is judged on a 100-point scale on musicality, visual presentation and overall presentation.

Hartman said indoor drum lines date back to the early 1970s.

He said the members of this particular crew were brought together mostly by word of mouth, drawn by the unique opportunity the group offers.

'It gives the students another outlet for their musical talent and abilities and to play instruments other than what they usually play,' he said. 'It gives the students the opportunity to expand and to learn different aspects of music.'

Hartman said the group may continue next year and perhaps will eventually participate in the Winter Guard International competition, the top indoor drum line competition.

'It's probably going to take us a few years to get to where we can effectively compete at that level,' he said. 'We're hoping it will survive, and we're hoping that we grow and go on and compete again.'

Brandon Keat can be reached at bkeat@tribweb.com or (412) 380-8546.