Rufus King International High School varsity drumline repeats as MPS champion
The Rufus King International High School varsity drumline was crowned the city champion on Saturday, December 14, 2024 at the 22nd annual MPS Battle of the Drumlines.
The event took place in the packed gymnasium at Rufus King International High School, 1801 W. Olive St., Milwaukee. Battle of the Drumlines takes place at the defending champion’s school; this was the 17th year that the King varsity squad won the title, taking first place with 86 points.
Riverside University High School’s Mighty Marching Tigers drumline took second place, with 81.2 points; the Reagan College Preparatory High School varsity drumline placed third, with 74.8 points; and the Rufus King International High School junior varsity drumline came in fourth, with 65.2 points.
“What was most exciting about today was how many people there were in attendance —just the energy of this many young people and their families, and all the people who came to see how much this has grown,” said Sharie Garcia, the district’s music curriculum specialist.
Saturday’s event was the biggest drumline battle in more than a decade — 16 schools performed their choreographed drumming, up from 10 in 2023. In all, nine schools competed for the championship, and seven schools performed in exhibition.
Also competing were the Washington High School of Information Technology Raging Gold drumline, the King High School junior varsity drumline, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School Tuff Tuff Trojans drumline, the James Madison Academic Campus Green Machine drumline, the Barack Obama School of Career & Technical Education Hit Squad drumline, and the Reagan High School junior varsity drumline.
Exhibition performances were by student-musicians from Henry David Thoreau School, Rufus King International Middle School, A.E. Burdick School, Obama SCTE, Milwaukee Parkside School for the Arts, Edward A. MacDowell Montessori School, and South Division High School.
Six MPS schools added drumlines this school year, reflecting music education’s growth at MPS since 2020. One of those schools, Obama SCTE, has two drumlines, for a total of seven new MPS drumlines.
“There were kids who have never done anything like this in their lives, and they stepped up there and they made it happen,” Garcia said.
The drumlines varied in size and in style. One drumline had three members; some had as many as 50.
“There’s a vibe for every drumline. Some of them are real serious, and some of them are real funky, and some are just joy,” Garcia said. “I feel like it’s a little microcosm of what MPS is like. It is different everywhere you go, but it is still amazing everywhere you go.”
She added that students cheered on musicians from other schools — in particular, older students who were competing were encouraging the members in the new drumlines, many of whom are middle-school age.
“That was cool. That was great to see,” Garcia said.
She noted that many of the middle-school-age students will be going on to perform in high school drumlines as soon as next school year. “That’s something we’re working on building, that sort of pathway,” Garcia said, to support middle school musicians as they develop their skills and prepare to study music in high school.
