**Responses have been edited for length and clarity**
From the minute I first sat down with Patty, I was taken aback by her liveliness. She had just come back from post-rehearsal dinner with her friend (which is already more than I care to do in one evening) but was nonetheless even more excited than I was for the interview. It goes without saying that this ability to juggle activity after activity has served her well. Patty is a biology and anthropology double major in addition to fulfilling several leadership roles in Tau Beta Sigma, her co-ed National Honorary Band service sorority. Her most esteemed accomplishment so far, though, is leading the University of Maryland’s Mighty Sound of Maryland as one of only two drum majors.
“The [drum major selection] process actually changed coming up to this season…they made the process way more thorough but for a good reason,” Patty said. “They broke it into basically three stages. The first one was interviews and applications. The second round was a lot of stuff…you had to do a salute, whistle commands, vocal commands, conducting…you had to do this sequence that was three-to-fiving across the field and then you had to learn the drum major Truck…In round three you did all of that again but now the band was invited to watch.” All said and done, she won the position- but it did not come easily.
Patty performing at halftime
Photo courtesy of Patty Pelingon
“I’ve been trying since I was a freshman…because even though I was young and I didn’t see it as likely I wanted to get my foot in the door and I’d like to think it worked,” Patty told me. The fact that she was the only female out of an applicant pool of fifteen made the task feel even more daunting. Patty’s journey to being a woman in leadership began last year when she became the squad leader for the color guard. She noted that while the drum majors are responsible for teaching marching to the band members, squad leaders have the equally important role of correcting and reinforcing the drill within their sections.
Along with teaching marching, Patty performs several other functions as a drum major. The most visible of these is conducting the band, but she mentioned other jobs ranging from administrative work to running the metronome during rehearsals. “You can think of [the drum majors] as basically a liaison between the members and the directors,” she explained.
While Patty said that she hadn’t faced any explicit prejudice because of her gender, it is clear that barriers for women in music still exist. Marching band has historically been male-dominated. Its roots lie in military bands, which provide morale-enhancing music on the battlefield and perform at events such as funerals and parades. At the University of Maryland, women were not permitted to join the band in any capacity until 1937, nearly twenty years after it was founded. The first female director was not appointed until last season when Dr. Andrea Brown became the second female director of a marching band in the Big Ten Conference. Patty views Dr. Brown as a role model.
“The Truck” to the stadium on Saturday, November 2nd
Photo courtesy of Mighty Sound of Maryland on Instagram
“I think one of the things that really helps me as a woman leader is our director who’s also a woman…she’s great and she’s really big on women in positions of power. She literally runs a facebook group for women band directors,” said Patty.
Despite having a positive example to follow, Patty still had doubts. Many came from internal pressures to maintain a strong presence as a physically unassuming person, while others came from defying the expectations of others.
“I came into the job wondering if I would be taken seriously…I’m a 5’ Asian girl and the other drum major is a 5’11” white guy so it used to cross my mind,” she said. “[The other drum major] and I were actually talking recently and he asked me if I ever feel like people are challenging my authority unconsciously…and I said maybe people have to be somewhat more emboldened to stand up to [him].” She still deals with the vestiges of these worries today when it comes to matters of discipline. “The other thing that I’ve had to personally deal with this semester is…some things I’m afraid to do because I don’t wanna look like a bitch…sometimes the band will be talking when it’s time to do something and I’ll hesitate for a second like ‘should I blow my whistle to get their attention?’ and in those few seconds of hesitation the other drum major will have done it,” she said.
Patty at rehearsal
Photo courtesy of Patty Pelingon
These experiences have taught Patty plenty about leadership and femininity. “I think something that I would like to let readers know is that the biggest thing I’ve learned with this job is to learn to forgive yourself. Everybody makes mistakes, the only difference is that as a leader you’re on a bigger platform so it’s a little bit easier to see sometimes. I’ve repeatedly had to tell myself this season whenever I mess something up that it could happen to anybody and that doesn’t make me any less qualified for my job,” continuing, “At the end of the day if you make a small mistake people forget about it by the time rehearsal’s over.”
For any women who may find themselves losing faith in their abilities, Patty had some parting words: “you have your job for a reason, you’re trusted to do your job and you can do whatever that job entails without having to be afraid of how people will perceive you.”
Patty on colorguard
Photo courtesy of Patty Pelingon