Azle High School junior Emily O’Neill has been selected to spend her summer with the Santa Clara Vanguard in California. The Santa Clara Vanguard is a competitive drum and bugle corps as well as being one of the 13 original founding members of Drum Corps International.
Drum Corps International is collection of corps or bands comprised of performers from all across the nation as they compete against each other and in front of thousands of people throughout United States and Canada. It is considered the “major league of marching music’s competition”.
O’Neill will be in the percussion section of what is regarded as one of the most esteemed and successful drum corps in the country. Her time with the seven-time DCI World Champions will begin May 16 and end after the Aug 11 World Finals in Indianapolis.
This Azle Hornet is a busy student outside of band as she is involved with percussion ensemble, wind ensemble, all region band, varsity softball, tennis and is ranked near the top of her class. Last year Emily and her partner Jorja Erwin were the first females to advance to regionals in Azle ISD history.
She has been in Azle and band since sixth grade playing percussion instruments. Even through all region, district and other extracurricular performances she still comes back and continues to play.
“I still really haven’t experienced anything yet and there’s a lot more to learn about,” O’Neil said when asked about why she loves band and continues to dedicate most of her time to it.
There are two rounds of auditions before being selected for the Vanguard with the first being an initial round that anyone can enter as long as they have registered and paid a fee. The second round is for contestants who received a call back.
More than 300 students auditioned for percussion spots, but O’Neill directly competed with 50 to 60 students for the vibraphone positions. That number was cut in half for the callback round. Some of the students selected have already been part of the Santa Clara Vanguard but had to re-audition, so in light of the competition, O’Neill displayed her skills well enough to make the cut.
Last school year, she attended the first round of auditions but was unable to continue, which affirmed to her that Drum Corps was something she wanted to try.
“With the high school stuff, I’m not challenged anymore, and I want to have an opportunity to keep getting better because I had the best time in marching band when I was struggling” O’Neill said.
This is a great honor for such a young person and shows how dedicated and hardworking she is. The Santa Clara Vanguard is intensive and not just a fun summer camp.
Greg Davis and Michael Strange are O’Neill’s instructors; both have participated in a drum corps and helped clarify how challenging it will be. Compared to high schools, where there are boosters and volunteers to help do things, students in the corps are expected to do pretty much everything from loading vehicles, physical training, cleaning instruments or practice facilities, and sometime even prepare their own meals.
“Most drum corps practice 12 hours a day for the entire summer, that attracts a certain kind of hardworking (person) who wants to be really successful” Davis said.
“The type of students that are drawn to this ensemble in particular are very overachieving and very intelligent,” Strange said.
The highly competitive environment and getting to learn from some of the most well-respected percussion educators in the country make for a place to practice and grow as a musician and look really good when applying for college music programs.
“I don’t really know much because I haven’t been there but I’m going to get a lot better and make new connections” O’Neill said.
While the summer camp is all about music, the biggest growth her instructors felt when they attended drum corps was on a personal level.
“I went from being a boy to a man my first summer” Davis said about how a drum corps summer camp with older kids and more responsibilities affected him.
He explained to O’Neill that she will be tested with some of the everyday struggles of an adult such as waking up on time, practicing so much she won’t be able to talk to her friends and family normally, and having prior commitments like the Drum Corps that affect her day-today availability.
This little trial run of college will be a time for her to grow up musically and individually.
“Getting up everyday and taking your lunch pail to work and clocking in, that’s a skill that will be incredibly helpful for her later in life” Davis said.
“I think the emotional aspect is a huge thing that’s going to be beneficial for her” Strange said.
Strange volunteers to work at some drum corps summer camps and will be at the same Santa Claura Vanguard camp this summer for a few days. He’s excited to see her reaction to how he teaches the professionals differently.
“We treat them like professionals” Strange said.
Crystal O’Neill is Emily O’Neill’s mother and has the normal parental worries about her daughter being gone for the summer but knows she will be fine once she starts playing.
“I’m very excited for her but also very nervous about her being gone so long” Crystal O’Neill said. “Ever since she was born if she knows she wants it, she is going to do it, she’s the one that wants a challenge,” Crystal O’Neill said.
The cost for this great opportunity in total is $5,450. To donate to O’Neill’s there is a Zelle account ( [email protected]) and you can go to the Santa Clara Vanguard website at scvanguard.org to make a direct contribution to a member’s tuition with Emily O’Neill being the member. Direct contributions are not tax deductible.
Azle High School junior percussionist Emily O’Neill COURTESY PHOTOS
