April 2008

Release Date: April 17, 2008

Angelo State Bandsman Joins Elite Drum Corps

Angelo State University percussion student Drew Saenz is marching to a fast beat these days.

The ASU freshman from Austin Connelly High School has been accepted into the Crossmen, a cutting-edge drum corps based in San Antonio.

Saenz said the non-profit 150-member corps combines music and choreography with the athleticism of marathon runners and sprinters.

Saenz accepted a contract in February to play the snare drum for the Crossmen. After training wraps up May 10, Saenz will have a few days before the group’s summer tour begins in Toledo, Ohio.

The tour is followed by “super regionals” in Orlando, Fla.; Atlanta, Ga.; Allentown, Pa.; and the Southwestern Championship in San Antonio on July 19, involving all 23 corps in the Crossmen’s parent organization, Drum Corps International. The national championship will span a week at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., with a 12-corps championship round on Aug. 9.