Steel Drums Ensemble: music brings them together

Visitors to any high school, upon walking through its main doors, are greeted by the sounds of normal high school life: loudly ringing bells, announcements, and hallway chatter. But visitors to ARHS may also be greeted by another sound: the resonant melodies of the Steel Drum Ensemble. Steel Drum Ensemble meets in a room off the main hallway; the class is a music elective and is open to any student with room in their schedule. Steel Drum Ensemble is taught by music teacher and orchestra director, Yasuaki Suzuki.

Students in the ensemble are assigned songs to learn in groups, with each student choosing which drums to play.  “Each steel drum gets an individual role in the ensemble and has its own purpose,” said Suzuki. “When we play as a group, it’s like piecing puzzles together.”

Steel Drum Ensemble performs a varied selection of songs. “So far, [we’ve done] my own arrangements of ‘Imagine,’ ‘Bad,’ ‘GhostBusters,’ and ‘Toxic,’” said Suzuki, when asked about his favorite songs the Ensemble plays. “I keep the first three songs in rotation for every quarter. However, we have done ‘Toxic’ only once, since it was so hard to teach and learn the arrangement. Hope to do it again soon.”

Students may take the class regardless of past musical experience. “This class gives students with no musical experience a chance to play music, and teaches them to play as an ensemble,” said Suzuki. The class may also appeal to those with more musical experience, like senior Liam Whitcomb, a multi-instrumentalist who has played music as a hobby for years.

Whitcomb is new to the Steel Drum Ensemble this year. Despite having a musical background, he wasn’t initially that interested in the Ensemble, until a friend took the class. “It seemed cool,” said Whitcomb. “I actually don’t remember signing up for the class, but I’ve ended up really enjoying it so far, which is nice.” 

There are many kinds of steel drums for different registers, ranging from lower-pitched bass drums to higher-pitched tenors.  

Whitcomb said he has a preference for tenor drums. “It’s what I imagine when I hear… steel drum,” he said. His favorite is the double tenor which consists of “two spread-out pans with a lot of notes on each one. [Playing it was a] little bit of a learning curve, a bit of a struggle.”

The class offers students a chance to gain confidence and experience performing in front of others. “I get to witness some students performing for the first time in their life,” Suzuki said. “And to see the sense of pride and accomplishment I get to see in their faces is priceless.” 

Whitcomb says he experienced these benefits personally. “Performing again, even if it’s just like, one class of people, it’s a little nerve-wracking,” Whitcomb said. “Getting more comfortable with that is something I’d like to do.” 

Whitcomb said the class is important to him because it builds community among a diverse group of students: “People say it a lot, but music really brings people together,” he said.