Students from Salinas will open the prestigious Drum Corps International Competition.

Outfitted with drums and sticks, students from Alisal Union School District practice at Monte Bella Elementary in Salinas. One. Two. Three. Tink! tink! tink! counts drum instructor Julian Estrada, tapping sticks together lightly to ready the kids. Then comes an explosion: Boom! Boom! Boom! Rat-a-tat-tat breaks the silence at the school on a Saturday morning.

Over 40 kids, ranging from ages 7 to 11, move their hands up and down alternating each stick, beating a rhythm. They have been practicing for several weeks preparing for their big event: participation in the Drum Corps International (DCI) Competition, an elite drum and bugle event that happens in different regions across the U.S. and Canada. The team won’t be part of the competition. Instead they will play as an opening act before thousands of people and in the same space where some of the best drumlines from the West will challenge each other.

“It’s mind-blowing we are going to perform there,” says Alexis Roman. He and his twin brother Albert admit to feeling a little nervous. Sometimes Albert experiences stage fright. “Imagine being all the way in Stanford [Stadium] and there is a gigantic crowd,” he says.

AUSD All-Star Academy is drawn from the most talented students in Alisal’s extended learning programs. They come from all schools in the district and have been training every Saturday for two months.

It’s a meticulous process. Practice starts with a review of the songs they’ve learned. After Estrada assesses the team’s weaknesses, they practice portions of the songs the drummers are struggling to master. Finally, they stitch it all together and rehearse their entire performance.

This is the fifth time AUSD’s drumline will participate in a DCI event at Stanford. For many on the team, however, it’s a new experience. Jade Moreno is looking forward to this performance. “It’s my first time going on a big trip,” she says.

Alisal’s All-Star Academy, Color Guard and folklórico will participate at DCI West on Sunday, July 10. The participants from the Color Guard will be showing off their steps while spinning six-foot-tall flags.

Moreno, who will perform with the Color Guard, says the team practices five hours per week. She says the triple toss – where the flag has to spin four times – is the hardest to learn.

The All-Star Academy drumline has tenor, snare and bass drums. Younger kids practice with impact drums so they can become accustomed to working alongside their peers. Before taking on a drum, novice students practice with a set of drumsticks and pads, learning to position the drumsticks and keep a tempo. Jim Koenig, AUSD’s superintendent, says this is an opportunity to learn from more experienced performers. “There are a lot of positive outcomes that come from participating in something like a drumline that will carry over to their future,” he says.

Rosa Carranza, AUSD’S program manager for extended learning, observes that once students put on the uniform they transform, gaining a sense of pride. “We’re telling them, ‘you’re going to be able to show off all your skills,’ and that really excites them and it gets them motivated to do better when they’re practicing or performing for other events,” Carranza says.

Drum classes started back in 2013 with a course at Chávez and Loya elementaries. Since then, it has expanded to all schools, and in partnership with local organizations such as Youth Orchestra of Salinas, Alisal Community Arts Network and Hartnell College Foundation, they now offer folklórico dances, STEM academies and coding.

In addition to AUSD students, another group from Monterey playing at DCI West is the Alisal CAN Marching Band. The group from ACAN – a nonprofit that provides access to performing arts for kids in East Salinas – is composed largely of graduates from AUSD that are now in middle school or high school.

DCI WEST happens at 6pm Sunday, July 10 in Stanford Stadium, 625 Nelson Road, Stanford. Tickets start at $35. To buy tickets or watch online, visit dci.org/events/2022-dci-west