INDIANAPOLIS — With hundreds of millions of people throughout the world watching Super Bowl XLVI, Avon made a nice splash.
A handful of students in the Avon High School drumline were on stage with Madonna as part of the Super Bowl halftime show.
In addition, Jeff Queen, Avon percussion director, acted as the lead drummer for the National Anthem performed by Kelly Clarkson.
”It was amazing,” Queen said. “It was really cool. It was an awesome experience for the kids. The Super Bowl is obviously one of the biggest spectacles in our country and to be a part of it was a huge honor. The kids treated it that way too.”
He said they were not allowed to notify the community beforehand that Avon students were participating in the halftime show.
Josh Torres, director of percussion at Center Grove High School, got in contact with Queen as he was seeking programs that are familiar with winter drumline performances.
In addition to his work with Clarkson, Queen also aided Torres in helping to get the drumline members where they needed to be.
”For me, one of the neatest experiences was watching the kids interact,” Queen said. “Watching them come to the realization that they are the same (as other students that the often compete against) and understand that we are all good people and we try really hard was one of the neatest things.”
Seeing everyone in the city come together in the week leading up to the big game was a good example, he said.
”It was a neat experience,” Queen said. “To know that it was such a community effort and that it was in our hometown and that everyone was working together to make it happen (was great). We all have competitive seasons going on right now, and we all sort of put that aside in order to do this. It was cool to see everyone come together from a teamwork perspective to make this all happen.”
Through a mutual friend through Drum Corps International (DCI), who was working with the producers of the halftime show, Torres and Queen learned that Madonna wanted to use a drumline.
”If you’re looking for a high school drumline, this is one of the best places in the country to look,” Queen said. “This is a pretty big hotbed for that. I’ve had some pretty amazing performing experiences in my life and this definitely is up there. I’ve gotten to play for presidents and things like that, and this was pretty cool. The bottom line for me was the social interaction for the kids. That was the neatest thing going on, even though they were playing with Madonna.”
ryan.palencer@flyergroup.com
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