Teams of young percussionists will patta-pa-patta-pom-pom their way to prizes today as a provincial drumming competition comes to Sturgeon Composite.
About 120 student drummers will be at Sturgeon Composite High May 15 for the 2025 Alberta Drumline Provincial Championship. The event — which will take place alongside a car show, food bank fundraiser, and other school events — will see seven teams from across Alberta compete to see who can put on the best drumline performance.
A drumline is a musical performance that sees performers use primarily percussion instruments (drums) to perform a choreographed musical routine from memory, said Sturgeon Composite music teacher Kyle Swenson. Depending on their skill level, teams will either perform at stationary drum sets or don portable ones and march around.
Each team performs a four-to-six minute routine for a panel of judges who evaluate them based on skill, sound quality, and visuals, said Michael Beauclerc, executive director of the Canadian Drumming Association and co-ordinator of this week’s competition. Advanced teams may add large stationary instruments such as marimbas or xylophones, or dress in elaborate costumes.
“We had one group [at the B.C. provincials two weeks ago] do a Barbie doll show all dressed as Ken and Barbie,” Beauclerc said, and another where everyone dressed as Batman.
Sturgeon Composite has had a drumline group since 2018 and recently started a drumline class, Swenson said. Some members of the school’s team have gone on to play for the Edmonton Elks and Northern Empire Performing Arts. Sturgeon Composite won gold at provincials last year in Calgary, and offered to host this year’s event so more Edmonton-area teams could participate in it.
Sturgeon Composite’s drumline team will put on a show full of formation marching, dramatic poses, tossed cymbals, booming basses, and the snicker-snack of sticks on snares, a recent practice session witnessed by the Gazette suggests. Team members Aliciah Kirk and Iylah Mayes will be toting 30-pound tenor drum sets during the show, having rehearsed their roles for months.
“It’s tough to get the moves done at the right part of the song,” Maynes said, all while keeping the right pace and being careful not to bump into your teammates.
Winners of this year’s competition will receive a commemorative drumhead (the diaphragm-like part of a drum), Swenson said.
The competition runs from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. May 15 at Sturgeon Composite and is free to watch. Call the school’s front office at 780-973-3301 for details.
