By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
Evan Herriott may have found a silver lining associated with COVID-19.
The recent Mahomet-Seymour High School graduate was a four-year member of the M-S Marching Band and planned to audition for a position with the Illinois State University Marching Band.
Musicians are like any of us; there are good days and there are bad days.
Imagine staking your future on a single audition where you must deliver a stunning performance that impresses those who are judging. A missed note could be the difference in making the cut or watching from the sidelines.
It’s not a matter of knowing the material. It’s about casting aside the nerves, hitting the tempo to perfection and playing flawlessly.
Thanks to COVID-19, which prompted in-person auditions for the ISU unit to be canceled, Herriott was able to provide a tape that revealed the best of himself as a percussionist.
Setting up on his parents’ screened-in porch, facing a video camera mounted on a tripod and borrowing his parents’ phones (because “their camera quality is better than mine,” he said) Herriott performed each of the nine required songs.
When the tape was completed, it looked like a fluid and effortless production.
That was the beauty of the setup.
“I was able to record each piece of music that was required, as many times as it took to get an almost perfect take,” Herriott said. “It took many takes for each video I recorded. Each piece of music required could be done all in separate videos.
“I took a few hours a day on each video with a few days off here and there, so it took a little over two weeks of playing, and refining everything I played down to the note.”
The length of the tape Herriott submitted was about 7 minutes, 30 seconds, which he said is “pretty standard for any audition, but realistically it took multiple hours a day.
“This included all nine pieces that were played, along with a beginning intro video of me introducing myself to the instructors.”
Each piece of music came with a set of requirements.
“For example, one of them could have looked like this, ‘Play from measures 7 to 55 at 140 BPM (beats per minute),’” Herriott said. “The kind of pieces I had to play ranged from warm-up exercises, public performance pieces and two of their cadences.”
When he originally saw how the audition would be structured, Herriott was a bit uncertain.
“At first, I didn’t know what to think,” he said. “I didn’t know the right way to record myself.
“I didn’t know if this way of auditioning would actually benefit me or not, and I didn’t want to annoy my family with all the playing. Snare drums are loud, and my family was relieved when I finished.”
Herriott auditioned for a snare spot for the 2020 season of the ISU BRMM (Big Red Marching Machine) Pulse Drumline.
It took nearly two weeks before he heard back from ISU.
In the interim, he was wary.
“I was very nervous when I submitted the audition,” Herriott said. “I knew that I had played everything required to the best of my ability, but I had no idea what my competition was, and how many people auditioned for the pretty limited spots.”
When he got word, it was all good news. He will be one of nine members on the snare line along with the quints, bass drums and cymbals.
There are still more requirements for Herriott to meet.
“It is a set position, but I do have to complete summer video assignments for June and July,” he said. “This is just a way of showing that you are practicing, and learning new music that they give you throughout the summer.
“As of right now, I have just completed all my video assignments for the month of June, and I am still practicing for around an hour each day.”
Despite his experience at M-S, Herriott took nothing for granted as he prepared for the audition process.
“I knew that it was a possibility for me to play at a college level when I contacted the instructor about my interest in the line,” Herriott said. “He sent me the audition packet, and I started practicing that day.
“It took quite awhile for me to transition from high school level music to college level music. It’s pretty different. Definitely more challenging.”
He is thankful for the opportunity to continue to showcase his talents.
“It means a lot to me,” he said. “This is something that isn’t just given to you. You have to work for it, and I am very thankful that my work has paid off.
“Drumming has been one of my passions my whole life. I am very excited to meet everyone in the line, and start playing with them.”
Herriott has a lengthy background in music.
“I have been playing drums for as long as I remember,” he said. “The person that inspired me the most is my dad, Ben Herriott.
“He has also been a drummer all his life, and also played snare for the Mahomet Seymour Marching Band like I did for all four years of high school.”
Evan Herriott’s first teacher was his dad.
“He taught me when I was very young, and I decided to continue playing percussion in fifth-grade when school concert band started,” Evan Herriott said.
He is more than a percussionist.
“I also play the guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, ukulele, and some piano,” Evan Herriott added.
His interest in drumming extends beyond performing.
“I also give drum lessons,” Evan Herriott said. “I have two students that are both going into eighth-grade, but actually auditioned and made the high school drumline for their eighth-grade year.
“One of them made snare, and the other made a bass drum spot. I am definitely interested in having more students who want to improve in the world of drumming as well.”
Evan Herriott doesn’t yet have his future completely mapped out, but plans to major in agribusiness at ISU.
“As far as drumline goes, this might be my last level of playing,” he said. “I definitely plan on playing for every year at ISU.
“The next level of playing after college level would be DCI (Drum Corps International), And as of right now, that is only a dream. Their level of playing is extremely high, and I do think that it could be a possibility, but I will have to see where playing snare at ISU takes me.”
He realizes he wouldn’t be in the position he finds himself without the assistance of others.
“I had a lot of help learning the music from my dad, and my two private lessons teachers, Anthony Hish, the former U of I center snare, and Aaron Kavelman, one of the U of I drumline instructors,” Evan Herriott said.
“I would just like to thank everyone who has helped me get to this level of drumming. Too many people to list off.
“I have had some amazing drum instructors in the past, and I have some pretty incredible teachers now that are continuing to help me get even better as a drummer and as a musician.”
Those concerns Evan Herriott had at the outset about doing a virtual audition have now vanished.
“I later figured out that this way of auditioning could actually be a good thing,” he said. “The only issue with this format is that I wasn’t able to practice with the full drumline at all.
“After experiencing this way of auditioning, I definitely prefer it, because I am able to get nerves out and show what I can actually play, instead of going in and playing everything at once where it is basically all or nothing.”
Herriott’s golden moments at college can be attributed to the silver lining he uncovered from his final days as a high school student.
