Navy Band Drum Majors Lead the Way

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Drum majors have played a pivotal role for centuries as leaders of military bands. The term itself refers to the top enlisted Army rank of sergeant major. Today, Navy band drum majors continue the centuries-old tradition of military and musical leadership.

Many centuries ago, the position was referred to as "sergeant major of the drums," and was a job of significant leadership, responsible for the defense of the drummers and bandsmen, as they relayed vital communication to the troops for changes in maneuvers. They were responsible for the military discipline of all band members, maintaining standards of dress and deportment, administrative tasks, and overseeing the band's overall standards of military drill and marching movements.

Today, the drum major's role in a military band may seem like window dressing, but it remains a position of significant leadership and responsibility. Navy Band's permanent drum major, Master Chief Musician Joe Brown, is the resident expert on every aspect of any ceremony the band performs, such as funerals at Arlington Cemetery, wreath laying ceremonies, and arrivals at the Pentagon or the White House.

"I am extremely proud and humbled to do this job, and I want to instill that sense of pride in everyone in the band," Brown said. "Being the head drum major, I enjoy knowing what's going on, and knowing all parts of the ceremony."

The top two mission priorities for the band are to provide support for Arlington National Cemetery funerals and for ceremonial/protocol engagements in the national capital region, making Brown the "go to" person for the command's most important jobs. Part of his job is to assist the presiding officer to understand his or her role, a vital ingredient to a smooth and professionally run ceremony. Every band member who performs with the ceremonial band (and that's virtually everyone, at one time or another) looks to the drum major for direction and guidance. The drum major has to know every aspect of every ceremony, everybody's role in it, and be ready to answer to every question at any time.

"Education and training is a natural extension of my job," said Brown. "I start training junior officers even before they report to Navy Band. My main job is to make sure the band and officer are comfortable with the ceremony. Without that, our performance suffers."

Of course, a big part of the job is training his assistants, as well. Currently, the band has five assistant drum majors: Master Chief Musician Tim Dickson, Senior Chief Musicians Mike Cizek and Jerry Keehner, and Chief Musicians Melissa Bishop and Mike Bayes. They were chosen for this very visible job because of their knowledge of ceremonies, superior appearance in uniform, leadership qualities, and ability to communicate accurately and effectively up and down the chain of command. While they are familiar with every type of ceremony the band performs, they start out with the simpler jobs, and, as they gain experience and confidence, are assigned to more complex ceremonies with larger bands.

One unique aspect to our ceremonial band is the presence of the only female drum major among the premier service bands in Washington, D.C. Chief Melissa Bishop was chosen as an assistant drum major in 2006, after an exhaustive training and audition process that stretched over a two month period.

"For me, it's an honor to be chosen for this position. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to serve in this capacity," Bishop said. "The other applicants were extremely talented. Any of them could do it just as well as I. There are so many incredibly talented people in this band, it's extremely humbling to be selected."

Navy Band drum majors are keenly aware of the centuries of tradition the sash and mace represent. They truly are the leaders and mentors to which the entire band looks for guidance and direction on the command's top mission priorities. They lead the way.


For more news from U.S. Navy Band, visit www.navy.mil/local/nb/.