Hoffman Drumline set to bring talent from field to stage

Eleven HEHS students are ready to do more than just beat drums and crash cymbals as they “march” their way onto center stage at this year’s Variety Show.

Starting tomorrow, Hoffman Estates High School is once again holding a Variety Show to let the students share their unique and interesting talents to the community.

We all know the drumline. We’ve seen them perform in the assemblies and football games. Aside from a fun and positive community to be in, they chose to be in the variety show because of tradition. Junior John Emiliano, snare drum player, shared a small insight about being a part of the drumline’s tradition.

“My sister was a percussionist first, and I thought that it’d be cool to do. Drumline has done variety show for the past i-don’t-even-know-how-long-they’ve-been-doing-it years, but they always do variety show and I want to keep the tradition going,” said Emiliano.

Playing for the variety show every year is an important tradition for drumline.

“It’s really fun to perform with a group of people and show all the skills and things you’ve been working on. This year we have a lot more positive energy going into this show,” said Junior Muryum Quadri, snare drum player.

“I like the community and the family that goes with it. We want to show people what we’re about and what we enjoy. It’s just about having fun, enjoying the time especially because it’s senior year,” Senior Nathan Eaton, tenor player.

Yes, we’ve seen drumline perform its usual cadences. So yes, what’s new? Well, every year, they try to change their stagings and formats, adding mallets to their pieces. Not only that, they take their talents to the next level by adding a surprise (special) song to their performance.

“We picked a cadence from last year and a new cadence from this year, both written by our drumline teacher, Griffin Lober,” Quadri said.

“The last “special” song was composed by Muryum and I, which is a famous pop song I think people will enjoy,” Emiliano added.

Songs are one thing to make a performance extraordinary, but the percussionists are another. New and old members are hyped to perform because it’s another opportunity for them to play their hearts out and it is a different venue from the bleachers. They are looking forward to seeing the audience get excited by them playing.

“Everyone wants to be more positive and get better. I like taking any opportunities I can get to play. I just love playing,” said Liam Dunn, a sophomore bass (drum) player.

“I hope for a really lit audience. They need to be hyped, and I guess it’s our job to provide the hype,” said Eaton.
In addition to the drumline members mentioned above, the following students also will be performing at the variety show: Brenden Freres, freshman, Zoie Johnson, junior, Torrie Surney, senior, Crystal Engle, freshman, Piper Bourseau, freshman, and Marcelino Torrices, freshman.

The Variety Show will be held in the HEHS auditorium from Thursday, September 20 to Saturday, September 23. The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets will cost $5. Freshman admission is free with IDs.