Aberdeen drum major invited to participate in London New Year’s Day Parade

The local senior is one of 60 awarded All-American status

By Louis Krauss • December 23, 2017 1:30 am
(Courtesy Karin Beard) Eric Beard leads the Aberdeen High School marching band at the Victoria Parade of Bands. Beard will travel to London to perform with 59 other All-American drum majors in the New Years Day parade.
(Courtesy Karin Beard) Eric Beard leads the Aberdeen High School marching band at the Victoria Parade of Bands. Beard will travel to London to perform with 59 other All-American drum majors in the New Years Day parade.

While most teenagers spend winter break at home with family, Aberdeen High School senior and drum major Eric Beard has a slightly different plan: flying to London to march in the world’s largest New Year’s Day parade.

“It feels pretty awesome,” said Beard. “There’s only been three others from Aberdeen High School who have gone, so it’s really cool.”

Beard is one of 60 All-American drum majors invited from around the country, a designation he received for his skill and performance at a state summer camp. Currently in his second year as one of the high school’s drum majors, Beard said he had hoped to get the award as validation of his progress.

“It was my goal to get in, mainly to just be the best that I could at being drum major,” said Beard. “It makes me happy, because this is really an acknowledgement of that.”

Although the position is called drum major, there isn’t any drumming involved. They are the ones who stand at the front of a marching band with a tall, fuzzy hat and a baton that is then spun around and twirled while they lead the instrumentalists. It’s a role that fits Beard well, as he’s always felt pulled to leadership positions in music.

“I’m naturally pretty extroverted, so I like the performing and leading side,” said Beard, who also plays lead trombone in the school’s jazz band. “I’d call myself a natural leader, not to toot my own horn, so it comes naturally to me.”

His decision to pick up drum major may have also come from his father Jeff, who was in Aberdeen High School’s marching band back when they would regularly travel to international festivals.

“He’s grown up hearing about what we did back then, and it’d been part and parcel of who he is,” said Jeff.

In order to pay for his trip, Beard had to find a number of odd jobs, and was assisted by more than 50 donors and local businesses that helped total $3,470, including the Cosmopolis Lions Club, Aberdeen Police Department, Ocean Shores and Aberdeen fire departments, and many anonymous donations.

Beard will fly to London today on his own, as his father Jeff said he wanted to let Eric have the trip be something to enjoy for himself.

“I have some family out there, and we thought about going, but they’ve got them so regimented in what they’re doing,” said Jeff. “We decided that this is his, he needs to go shine and be a big boy on his own.”

In preparation for London’s parade, Beard and fellow drum majors have been practicing a routine video sent to them, which consists mostly of baton spinning maneuvers. After getting to London and having a couple group rehearsals, they then march in the city on New Year’s Day, paired with a larger group of around 1,000 All-American cheerleaders. In total, there’s more than 10,000 performers in the parade.

Although music is important to him, Beard hopes to learn making concept art for movies and video games at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. While the college doesn’t have a marching band, he said he would like to continue pursuing jazz trombone and possibly form a band there.