Senior finds success in drumming

In a narrow hallway outside the state band audition room, senior David Beeder sat studying the sheet of jumbled music notes that had occupied his time and attention for the past six months. Fellow percussionists surrounded him practicing on their silent audition pads, trying desperately to work out the last few kinks before the audition.

Beeder started some small talk with a few drummers he knew, doing anything to refrain from thinking about the audition. Finally, his number was called.

Beeder strolled into the audition room and took his place at the timpani set. The blind audition required a divider set up between him and the judges. The only thing the judges knew about him was his number, 2202.

However, as soon as his mallets hit the drums, he became more than just number 2202. He became a percussionist, one eventually named first chair timpani in the All-State Orchestra.

“You know everyone out in the hall is listening to you, waiting for you to make some mistake,” Beeder said. “But once I get in the room, my nervousness transfers to adrenaline to play my best.”

Beeder first began playing the drums in elementary school when he joined the school band. Right from the start, he knew this was the perfect fit for him. Beeder said he had always had a liking for rhythm and recognized drumming as something he wanted to pursue.

“At first my parents were hesitant and didn’t want me to become the extreme garage band type kid,” Beeder said. “But when they realized I had a passion for the put-together part of band, they turned out to be really supportive and backed me up 100 percent of the way.”

Beeder stuck with band and gradually was allowed to try out a vast variety of percussion instruments. Of the different instruments, the timpani, a large brass drum, has always been especially important to him.

“I’m impartial to everything,” Beeder said. “But the timpani is definitely the one I understand most. I love its roll. The timpani is the timekeeper of the orchestra and the conductor for the audience telling which way the song is going.”

Over the years, Beeder has continued to expand his repertoire of styles and genres of percussion. He is involved in drumline, pep band, and Blue Knights jazz band, his favorite.

“He’s one of the hardest working, if not the hardest working, percussionists in my thirty years of teaching,” Band director Kim Harrison said.

Harrison feels that his work ethic sets an example for all aspiring drummers and band members alike. After hours of daily practice on the drums, Beeder has earned ones, superior ratings, at multiple state solo festivals for percussion. He also received second chair in the All-State Band last year. Over the years he has put in an insane amounts of hours, dedication and devotion into percussion.

“He is the nerd when it comes to drumming,” fellow band member senior Brian Rodgers said. “He knows more about the technical side of it and all the nit-picky stuff.”

Beeder plans on incorporating drums into his day to day routine for the rest of his life. It has become a vital part of his life and he doesn’t know what he would be without it.

“It know it sounds cliche, but I try to cherish every moment I play,” Beeder said. “I enjoy every moment I get to play the drums for someone. It is the best way to explain myself to people.”