Despite its hard-to-miss presence, the drumline is perhaps one of the most underappreciated aspects of the CHS community. Led by senior captains Leo Simon, Zach Eisner and Shayan Sadegh, the drumline consists of 18 percussionists who gather to rally student support at CHS events.

The drumline is not a class or technically even part of the CHS music department. Instead, the members consider themselves to be a student-led varsity music group, run by their group of captains, rather than an instructor or coach.

“We perform at freshman orientation, halftime during football games, pep rallies, poms competitions, and any other events people ask us to play at, [like] Homecoming proposals,” senior Nitul Purohit said.

To prepare multiple pieces for the various performances, the drumline holds practices from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday. Auditions were held mid-May of last year, and previous musical experience was not necessary for the audition.

“[During a performance] we perform about six pieces, but when we’re in the mood, we just jam,” Simon said.

The 18 drumline members are divided into groups for performance. They consist of five bass drums, six cymbals, five snare drums and two tenor drums. This allows the drumline to offer depth and variety in its performances.

In addition to performing at school events, the drumline is looking to start a competition aspect to the team.

“We plan on going to a competition this year for the first time in CHS drumline history,” Simon said. “What competition, we’re not sure yet.”

The drumline aims to spread school spirit by inspiring students and supporting various groups around the school with musical accompaniment. However, by entering competitions, drumline has the opportunity to be supported by CHS, as well as continue to support it.

Anyone interested in having the drumline play for an event should contact drumline captains through Facebook or at [email protected].