The path to drum major

WAYNE, Neb. — Nearly four decades ago, Michael Peters was serving as a drum major for the Wayne State College marching band while studying music education. Now, his former student is doing the same.

“It’s kind of funny that she’s following the same path as I did in the exact same school,” Peters said. “Being an alum there, it’s actually really cool to watch her journey through her undergrad.”

Abby Collins, a 2024 Creston High School graduate and music education student, was named as one of three drum majors at Wayne State a few weeks ago. With 10 years of marching band experience, it was only a matter of time before Collins took her place at the front of the band.

Collins said her journey with marching band begin in fifth grade when she auditioned to join the next year’s Creston Middle School color guard team. She continued with guard through her Creston years, eventually becoming captain of the high school team. However, she had auditioned to be a CHS drum major.

“At the end of my sophomore year we had a senior graduate and he was a drum major, so it was the opportunity to audition for drum major. I was like, ‘Oh, that sounds kind of fun. I’ll give it a shot,’” Collins said. She didn’t get the position, though she did get to help throughout the next two years. “It was actually Sam Duncan that got drum major that year, which is now my boyfriend, which is really funny. He was head drum major and I was guard captain when we started dating.”

After graduating from Creston, Collins continued her education in Wayne, Nebraska, at Wayne State. She planned to continue her guard career, but life didn’t go as planned.

“I was so stressed with so many other things, I missed the audition for color guard,” Collins said. “But then I talked to a couple of people, Peters, his wife, Ms. Gasser... they were all Wayne alumni and they were like, ‘Just give marching a shot,’ so I marched clarinet for my first year at college.”

The following year, Collins tried out and joined the Wayne State guard team. However, after years of pushing herself to her highest potential at Creston, she said the college team wasn’t as fun as she expected.

“I’m bored of color guard because it’s not to my difficulty. So I was like, ‘I’ll give drum major a shot,’” Collins said.

A drum major is the highest ranking member of a marching band, in charge of leading rehearsals and conducting performances. At Wayne State, there are three drum majors. Two of the three positions were open for auditions this spring.

Though she knew she wanted to try out, Collins was nervous, so she contacted Peters.

“She’s like, ‘What do I need to work on?’ I go, ‘Be precise. Make sure you’re clear with everything you’re doing; make sure you use your face when you’re conducting,’” Peters said. “We’re talking about this, just going back and forth and she’s like, ‘I’m freaking out.’ I’m like, ‘I know. Just call me, you’re going to do great. It’s going to be awesome.’”

Collins said 13 people showed up to audition for the two open spots. While practicing, she asked the returning drum major for tips and was told to work on her facial expressions.

“It’s hard to be happy because all through high school we had very like dramatic shows. I had to be very serious, very dramatic,” Collins said. “[Guard coach] Lisa [Peters] had no happy shows except for maybe one. Other than that, all seven of the other shows were very mysterious, dramatic.”

However, Collins didn’t need to worry. As soon as it was her turn to conduct, she felt ready.

“I was just like, ‘I really want this,’ and I had a genuine smile the whole time, very confident, very happy,” Collins said.

Once auditions were over, they were told deliberation would take a minimum of 30 minutes, and that was only if there were clear winners. Ready to hunker down for a wait, Collins began bonding with another girl who auditioned, Aiyanna Frizane.

“I watched this girl audition and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I would love for her to also get it.’ She has the energy, she has like everything you’d want, very confident,” Collins said. “I walked up to Aiyanna and I was like, ‘Dude, you did amazing.’ She goes, ‘No, you did amazing. God gave you a gift and you ran with it.’”

Despite the warning of a minimum of 30 minutes, the room of deliberation cleared out after 20 minutes of conversation. Much to the chagrin of Collins and Frizane, the band director said he had to run an errand but would send out an email with the results soon. The two girls waited together and 10 minutes later, their phones buzzed with a notification.

“I look and I see my name and then the girl’s that I was talking to and I literally turned and looked at her and was like, ‘Oh my God, we did it,’” Collins said.

In their celebratory conversations with the director and returning drum major, Collins said they discovered this may be the first time Wayne State had an all-female drum major group. Whether history making or not, Collins said she’s thrilled to have this opportunity.

Not only is he excited for Collins, Peters said this position will help her greatly as Collins pursues music education.

“I think it’s great for undergraduates to get as much potential conducting experience they can,” Peters said. “I was very happy that she’s going to start conducting early and have a lot of experience standing in front of an ensemble and conducting since a couple of years, that’s what she’s going to be doing for a living.”

Collins will spend the next two years serving as a drum major. She plans to begin her student teaching in the fall of 2028.