By: Stephanie Graves
It is no secret that the lives and
practices of the Trojan Marching Band often parallel that of the USC football
team, this afternoon being no exception. Today, the Spirit of Troy's annual
spring competition took place, but unlike the team who is trying to fill 22
starting positions, the band only had to fill one:
The USC Drum Major.
Often
referred to as "Tommy Trojan" due to the tunic and armor he dons on
game day, the Drum Major is the highest ranking student leader in the band and
is often looked as the embodiment of "The Spirit of Troy"
itself. It takes an entire semester of training before one can even be
prepared to audition. Subsequently, the entire summer is devoted to preparing
for the newly selected leader's Fall Debut.
Last Year, Kenny Morris stepped in
the leather sandals of this Trojan Warrior and has spent the past year carrying
the very much iconic sword.
"You don't really think about
it until you get to this point," reflects Morris. "But it was one of
the greatest experiences of my entire life."
Today he passed that experience, and
the sword, on to 21-year-old Tim Larson. The junior neuroscience major from
And so the second chapter of the
journey began.
"Being so close last year drove
me to work even harder," recalls Larson. "I was constantly practicing
and going over the things I needed to go over. If I wasn't practicing, I was
thinking about it. I really pushed myself as hard as I could to go for
it."
Now with two years of constant
dedication finally over, the dream that was born his very first day of band
camp as a freshman is a reality.
Upon returning for his final year
with the Trojan Marching Band, the newly crowned Drum Major is looking forward
to bringing his relentless spirit and enthusiasm to the rest of the self
proclaimed Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe.
"I can't wait to instill that
feeling in other people," says Larson.
Tim Larson is not only a student and
veteran trumpet player, but a dancer and athlete as well. He spent his first
two years at USC as a hurdler on track team and recently joined the Break on 2
Latin Fusion Dance team. We are sure he will use his versatility to relate to,
inspire and lead his fellow bandsmen.
All 325 of them.
Love your writting style Stephanie, this is a great story on a long tradition at Troy...
Congratulations to Tim, he the best!
Mimi
Congratulations!! .. err..Just tell dude to get a suntan!... =)