In the 180-year history of the Notre Dame Marching Band, Saint Mary’s junior Kimberly Ortiz-Morales joins Linda Lawson Batista ’81, Jill Ann Buettner ’21 and Hana Larkins ’23 as the fourth Saint Mary’s drum major in band history.
“It was very exciting to receive the role. Being a drum major is like being one of the three leaders of the band; you lead the band during march outs and also uplift the band. We give speeches before game days to the whole band, to make everyone prepared for the day, win or lose,” Ortiz-Morales said.
Ortiz-Morales has been a member of the Notre Dame Marching Band for the past three years and previously played in the piccolo section before accepting the role of drum major.
“When I heard that I could join the band here, it was scary. I almost didn’t do it because it was such a big band, coming from a [high school] band of 46 people, Ortiz-Morales said. ”I was nervous and I was really quiet, but then I went through the audition process and I made it, I became the loudest person ever, and I’m constantly involved in the band.”
Making the Notre Dame Marching Band requires a multi-stage audition process that begins in the summer. Sophomore trumpet player Megan Welch explained the marching band staff, “send you the audition materials to practice and give you the option of recording your audition from home.”
The in-person piece of the audition begins when current and inspiring band members return to campus early.
“We move in a couple of days early for this. Marching auditions are led by core band members, who consist of the older members in our section,” Welch wrote.
During three days of band camp, core band members teach the audition routine to the rest of the band. Welch said the routine is similar to the band’s pregame performance before football games. On the Sunday before classes begin, band members perform the routine for the band directors.
“The band season runs from late August till November, without including any bowl or playoff games,” junior cymbal player Rachel Sirianni said.
The time commitment includes regular rehearsals throughout the week. Sirianni explained general practices run Monday through Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with each section hosting additional separate practices at varying times.
Midway through the season, drum majors announce marching rehearsals for students interested in auditioning for the position.
The drum major selection process involves several stages. Candidates first complete a marching audition and submit a recorded conducting video. Eight band members were then selected to advance to the final round of auditions, including Ortiz-Morales, who said she was the only Saint Mary’s student among the finalists.
Finalists then participated in interviews and wrote essays before the band voted to select the three drum majors for the upcoming year.
“Being from Saint Mary’s and a drum major is amazing because no one from my year or younger has seen an SMC drum major,” Ortiz-Morales said. “While being in the band, I feel like it shows good representation that we’re not a minority ... because there is a big percentage of us. Still, for one of us to be drum major, I was incredibly proud of myself.”
