“Music is a lifelong skill.”
According to Katy Briel, the director of the Drum Corps International INpact Indiana’s Future Band — which brings together hundreds of middle school band students annually — the goal of the program is simply to help that truth shine through to growing musicians.
For 10 years, since its inaugural year in 2012, through outstanding education and opportunities for lifelong performance memories, the INpact Band has done exactly that.
2022 was yet another shining example.
“Past middle school, past high school, into drum corps, into universities, we want kids to see the future of music education for them,” Briel said.
The 2022 edition of the INpact band program saw more than 500 middle school band students from across the Hoosier State converge on Indianapolis during the DCI World Championships. According to Briel, interest for the INpact Band was sky-high in 2022; she noted that more than a thousand students initially applied to take part in the program.
From that pool, selected participants took part in two full days of rehearsals and activities alongside a tireless team of music educators and staff members before putting their talents on display to Indianapolis audiences.
“We had students from 50 different schools in Indiana,” Briel said. “We had a lot of students who are just excited to be together and making music.”
Along the way, students had the chance to soak up an array of helpful skills related to the performing arts in beyond with some of the best educators in the marching music activity, including a movement clinic with renouned coreographer Michael Rosales, as well as leadership training with Fran Kick.
“Students learn and have a good time,” Briel said. “We just focus on those two things, and everything else works out.”
Participants’ work throughout the weekend culminated in a pair of performances in downtown Indianapolis, as part of DCI “Finals Week” festivities.
Friday, August 12, INpact band members took part in “Shining A Light on Music Education,” a public event in Indianapolis’ Monument Circle that featured a variety of musical acts, all centered around promoting the positive message of music in schools.
The next day, members had the ultimate opportunity to perform as the kickoff act in the 2022 DCI World Championships, the finale event of DCI’s 50th Anniversary Summer Tour.
Featuring a pair of recognizable tunes — A-Ha’s “Take Me On” and Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory” — as well as the contributed talents of world-renowned trumpet player Al Chez, the INpact Band was, as always, an Indianapolis crowd favorite.
And when all was said and done, the positive skills learned and memories made by hundreds of middle school students provided the ultimate prize.
“Watching them perform, they’re having fun, they’re excited, and that’s why we do what we do,” Briel said. “The students having a good experience is the best part.”
Learn more about Drum Corps International's BANDtastic! programs