As a top drumline in Minnesota, Rochester Lourdes Indoor Drumline closes coffee-infused show

Apr. 15—ROCHESTER — With coffee beans spilled on the floor and coffee cups attached to their drums, the Rochester Lourdes Indoor Drumline poured a jolt of joy for community members celebrating their show season.

As hopeful baristas in Starbucks-esque uniforms, the drumline invited people to "Cafe Lourdes," its coffee shop and jazz-influenced show, at a community event on Monday, April 15. Much like baristas' latte art, students weaved their musical and artistic skills through each note and movement. One student even designed the logo on the group's aprons.

"The whole activity of drumline is a unification between this marching band style, drumline-type percussion performance with theater elements," said Andrew Scheller, Lourdes marching band and drumline director. "Our show 'Cafe Lourdes' was a look inside a coffee shop and our performers were baristas and you hear narrations come through that are various customers and it takes you through the life of the hustle and bustle of a coffee shop."

From the morning rush of customers to a "punctual exciting finish," the six-minute show envelops people in the relaxing vibes of a coffee shop. Scheller describes the middle movement as a "dreamscape" before the show returns to the espresso-infused tempo and the serving of mobile, drive-thru and inside orders. He said the weekly practice grind shows the students' dedication to improving small portions of the show.

The drumline, including snare drums, quad drums, bass drums and the frontline, had a "big increase" in members with 27 students in the group of eighth- through 12th-grade students, according to Scheller. He said 22 students were either new to drumline or new to playing their instrument.

"We actually had a pretty young group this year and a lot of new people in it and seeing the growth in the group throughout the year was pretty outstanding," Scheller said. "It was the kind of show where obviously having fun was a big centerpiece in the concept so allowing the kids to really be expressive performers and have fun as part of the show was really cool to see and just I think a great experience for them growing throughout the year."

For their final competition run, "it was quite the nail-biter" Scheller said of the results. The group finished second at the Minnesota Percussion Association's championships on Saturday with one of Lourdes' highest scores at 84.375. The drumline placed within the top three at several competitions in the 2024 season.

In his third season as drumline director, Scheller said the group's high placements were only the whipped cream on top. He is excited to see how the students will continue to grow and perform in the upcoming years.

"We spend a lot of hours throughout the season essentially working on what boils down to a six-minute show. So throughout the season, we're continually adding in layers and not only just building the show itself from beginning to end but adding in little visual elements and choreography, different musical elements, strengthening the musical elements and adding in little fine details as we go," Scheller said. "One of my favorite things is just seeing the confidence growth throughout the season in the performers."