Mead graduate leads peers on and off the field

She’s attained the rank of major and wears her uniform with pride, but Emma Phillips isn’t in the military – she’s in marching band.

As one of two drum majors for Mead’s marching band, Phillips carries a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders. Band director Rob Lewis said, “A drum major is the leader on the podium that keeps the band glued together, but 90 percent of their job exists in times where people don’t ever see it.”

Indeed, Phillips said musical knowledge and ability is a small part of the job. “There’s lots of listening and knowing how the music works together, but that’s only one side of it. The other side is that we become kind of like the mom and dad of the band – a liaison between the students and the staff.”

Lewis said they’ve relied on her leadership this past year. “She sees the details that need to be taken care of to make the bigger picture happen.”

Phillips was thrilled to see that hard work pay off during an award-winning year for the band. “We actually won first place in the Grand Sweepstakes at the Cavalcade of Bands,” she said of the annual Tri-Cities event.

In addition, she and her fellow drum major won the Best Drum Major award. “It’s a symbol of their abilities on the field,” Lewis said. “It was awesome for me to see them get that recognition.”

Her positive attitude and outgoing personality have impressed counselor Melanie Fender. “Her smile says it all,” she said, adding that Phillips achieves academically as well as musically. “She took three AP classes her senior year.”

And Mead isn’t the only place where Phillip’s musical and leadership abilities shine. She’s also served as drum major for Spokane Thunder, an open class drum corps, and for the Oregon Crusaders, a world class drum corps.

“I always thought drum corps looked cool,” she said. “But I was hesitant to try out for drum major.”

Now, she’s glad she did. “I fell in love with drum corps after that first season with Spokane Thunder.”

That passion led her to audition for a drum major position with the Portland-based Oregon Crusaders. She was delighted to be selected. “I was the youngest to audition,” she said.

The group toured 21 states and performed 24 shows last summer. “It was the best thing I’ve ever done and the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Phillips said. “You eat, sleep and breathe drum corps with 12 hours a day of rehearsals, and then you do the road tour, which was even more rigorous.”

But Phillips has always loved traveling. In fact, she hopes to pursue a career in international social work and will attend Whitworth University this fall. “I got a good music scholarship there,” she said.

She feels the skills she’s developed as a drum major will serve her well. “A drum major is constantly helping people achieve more.”

Lewis has no doubt this student will continue to excel. “She’s always pursuing ways to make things better,” he said. “She always has ideas and has helped us both on and off the field. We’ll miss her.”