Portage junior Triston Hudson puts his Life in the Spotlight by marching to the beat if his own drum – specifically, auxiliary percussion for the Music City Drum Corps out of Nashville, Tennessee.
Hudson explained that he began his marching career with the Pride of Portage Marching Band his 8th grade year when his band director, Drew Rhoda, asked him to play bass drum. He has been in marching band ever since. Now, though, he plays tenor drum.
Because of his love of band, Hudson decided to try out for a drum corps his sophomore year.
“A drum corps is basically an amped-up marching band. It’s completely militant – well, it’s not militant, it has no military relation [now], but it started out as a military practice,” Hudson said. “It’s just a very difficult form of marching band.”
Hudson prepared with “countless hours of practicing my instrument and the experience I gained here [with the] Portage High School marching band.”
After two years of auditioning, he was finally offered a contract with Music City, but even this did not come easily for him. Hudson originally tried out for a spot on marching tenor, but said he was cut Saturday night. He then asked if he could try auxiliary percussion in the front ensemble instead, and there he found success.
He will be touring from Sunday, July 3rd through Saturday, August 13th.
“I’ll be anywhere from California to Michigan to Tennessee, Georgia, everywhere,” Hudson said.
As glamorous as the travel may sound, Hudson said he will have to practice nine to 14 hours every day to learn the music for the show, which is a drastic change from the three to six hour rehearsals he is used to with Pride of Portage. For most of the time, Hudson will also be without his family.
“My mom really wants to travel with the corps and help out and prepare meals for the corps, but she can’t be there all the time, so she’s going to meet up with us where she can,” Hudson said.
Despite this grueling schedule, Hudson said he is looking forward to the people he will meet in his new corps.
“It’s a total family environment,” Hudson said. “There’s no other place you can go to get friends who you’re that close to.”
Besides marching band, Hudson also participates in Pep Band, Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble and Intermediate and Advanced Orchestra Winds.
He also does theatre in his spare time. Mainly, he sticks to tech and often works the light board for the high school’s productions.
After high school, Hudson plans to either attend Indiana University for Music Education and Architectural Engineering at Purdue.
“I’m very torn because those are two completely different, I’m aware, but those are my two big tears,” Hudson said. “Music is what I love, but engineering is very sustainable and very steady and very difficult.”
No matter what, Hudson plans to eventually come back to the high school and be a Drumline Technician for the Pride of Portage. He wants to be involved in music throughout his life.
“There’s no way to explain it,” Hudson said. “It’s just who I am and what I do.”