Central’s Drumshow delivered their annual performance on April 10 and 11. The theme for this year, Once Upon a Drumshow, was able to engage and captivate audience members with arrangements of Disney and Pixar soundtracks.
“This year, with the Disney theme, is something that our young and our old audiences can gravitate to,” drumshow assistant director Brandon Estes said.
Since January, rehearsals have been held weekly, with students actively practicing from 6:15-7:30 AM every day.
“For ten years here as director I have been trying to add a 25th hour to each day to give just a little more time to finalize music, set, choreography, and all of the things that go into each Drumshow performance,” drumshow director Tim Berg said. “The cast did so well this year with their preparation and that kept my brain going non-stop.”
During the show’s performance, cast members were encouraged to dress up as their favorite animated film stars. Musicians could be seen on stage performing in colorful costumes, giving a sense of playfulness and childlike wonder to the performance as a whole.
“[Students] got to pick their own superhero and villain,” Estes said. “You had characters from Monsters Inc., Cinderella, Moana, Ariel and all sorts of things.”
Non-traditional percussive instruments were embedded within the performance as well. Estes, Band Director and also the sponsor of bucket drumming, incorporated everyday elements within the show, including brooms, buckets, and balloons.
“Percussion can be anything,” Estes said. “In the last couple of decades, using non-traditional equipment for percussion writing has become very, very popular.”
This year, special guest Ricardo Flores, professor at the University of Illinois, performed alongside the student ensemble playing the congas.
While several of the pieces were arranged by Berg, a senior tradition sprinkled some extra magic into the show.
Each year, seniors are encouraged to arrange a piece of their choice, with this year featuring senior percussionist Noah Gingrich’s arrangement of “First Circle.”
“It was back in November of 2025 when I was talking to Berg about really wanting to play this,” Gingrich said. “Over Thanksgiving break, I spent about 40 hours that weekend starting [the arrangement] and then continued to spend another 50 hours in the next few weeks to finish it.”
With the dedication and hard work that students have put in, the Drumshow production looks forward to future performances.
“The adage ‘it takes a village’ really applies to Drumshow since it takes a lot of work and coordination for all aspects to come together on the stage and I am so happy that the students have recently taken on arranging their own pieces,” Berg said.