Ono and Nakayama take the stage as new drum majors

By Risa Askerooth
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Drum Majors copy
(L-R) Junior Daniel Nakayama and Senior Tyler Ono

Senior Tyler Ono and Junior Daniel Nakayama have stepped into their roles as drum majors for the marching band, speeding up the tempo of their year between their responsibilities conducting, maintaining order and boosting the morale of the band. Both have welcomed their positions as leaders with the hope that they will keep the band performing at its best throughout the year.

"They've been taking their role as their leadership responsibilities very seriously and very maturely. So, I think as the season progresses, as they get more comfortable, they'll end up being really good leaders for the marching band," stated Marching Band adviser Derek Kaapana.

This is Ono and Nakayama's first year as drum majors, requiring them to quickly adapt. "Towards the beginning of the season, I didn't feel any difference at all. But as the season progressed and the responsibilities kicked in and I had more and more of them I realized, 'Hey, I'm drum major. I need to step my game up,'" said Nakayama.

Ono and Nakayama have been part of band since the sixth grade. Ono was previously an attendance officer who kept track of the band's attendance records and both were in the trumpet section and were librarians who printed out sheet music. The step-up to drum major was a big transition. Ono stated, "Instead of just printing music and taking attendance, you have to lead them as for morale and to keep them running."

When the selections for drum major were announced in May 2013, both looked forward to the coming year. "Honestly, I couldn't believe it," expressed Ono, "It was (what) I wanted to be and I got it." Nakayama added, "I was pretty excited, almost jumping off the walls kind of thing. Well, I kept it all inside, I tried to collect myself but it was pretty hard."

The audition process began in March, in which the previous drum majors Alumni Kailee Goya and Keanu Robles hosted a clinic for those interested. After going over the conducting pattern and other components, the number of those auditioning fell from about ten to three: Ono, Nakayama and Senior Jeffrey Caballes Jr. "By the time (the) audition came, there's only three people left (that) actually wanted to do it. So we just kind of battled it out and it so happened, (Nakayama and I) got it," said Ono.

Following their training, they went through an audition, during which they conducted a song in under three minutes. Ono chose Gerudo Valley from the Legend of Zelda Symphony and Nakayama selected the song from the credits of Super Mario Galaxy. Since the scores of the three remaining candidates were so close, a second audition was called. Ultimately, they were selected based on their conducting, confidence and overall leadership. "You really need to have that kind of intrinsic motivation to want to lead a marching group," said Kaapana, "When they audition it's kind of a good experience for everybody because you kind of see what they really strive (for)."

Following this year, Ono plans to major in music at UH Manoa, while Nakayama will audition for drum major again as a senior.