A Seckman High School student who started taking band classes in middle school in hopes of going on field trips will take part in the ultimate field trip this summer.
Brayden Doebber, 16, of Imperial has been selected to perform with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, a group that performs on the Drum Corps International (DCI) circuit. The junior plays the marimba, a percussion instrument that has tuned wooden bars arranged like a piano keyboard that is struck with mallets.
The Madison Scouts will travel about 7,000 miles to perform in more than 24 events in 10 states from June through August, culminating with the group competing in the DCI World Championships on Aug. 6-8 in Indianapolis.
“I started playing percussion because my friend played in middle school,” Doebber said. “He told me we could go on field trips if I was good enough. When I was in fifth grade signing up for middle school, that is what drew me to percussion and doing band.”
Doebber said he played numerous percussion instruments as part of the Seckman Middle School concert band and started playing the marimba as a freshman. He also has performed the last two years with Freedom Indoor Percussion, a Winter Guard International Independent group in St. Charles.
Joe Simino, Seckman Middle band teacher and Seckman High marching band’s director of percussion, said Doebber found an identity in band.
“It is always fun to watch students find a passion,” Simino said. “He has worked very hard to get to where he is. He is always asking questions, finding what he can do to make little things better. To see the payoff of him getting to do stuff like the Freedom Indoor Percussion and Madison Scouts is great.”
Brayden’s mother, Angie Doebber, said Simino has been her son’s mentor, providing free lessons. She also said she has been impressed by how much Brayden has grown as a musician and a person since starting high school.
“His freshman year, he started to blossom,” Angie said. “The marimba is his instrument. He has so much passion when he plays. His technique and everything, when he started doing Freedom, went up a level. I can’t wait to see him after this summer because I’m sure he will blow us away even more.”
Auditioning
Brayden said he became interested in trying out for the Madison Scouts because some of his Freedom teammates had marched with the group. He said his desire to join was solidified last July when he watched the Madison Scouts perform at DCI St. Louis in Belleville, Ill.
“I saw that and was like that is what I want to do,” he said.
Brayden said his father, Tim Doebber, drove him to Dayton, Ohio, to participate in a one-day audition camp for the Madison Scouts.
He received an invitation to take part in a weekend camp in December in Milwaukee, and after the December camp, he was invited to return on Jan. 16-18 for another camp in Milwaukee.
Brayden said he was not selected to march with the corps when the camp concluded on Jan. 18.
“I was disappointed, but I was grateful to spend those two weekends and day in the audition process,” he said. “I met so many people, and they were all so nice.”
Brayden’s disappointment did not last long.
He said he had performed well enough to be placed in the first alternate spot to play the marimba with the Madison Scouts, and his phone rang on Jan. 19.
“The next day, they called me and told me someone dropped,” Brayden said.
Ben Middleton, Seckman High’s band director, said when Brayden first told him about trying out for the Madison Scouts, he thought the audition process would be a good experience for one of his students. He said it is incredible that Brayden has been selected to perform with the group this summer.
“That is a top-12 drum and bugle corps,” Middleton said. “It is one of the oldest and established corps. For me, it is not just that a kid made a drum and bugle corps, he made one of the, capital T-H-E, drum and bugle corps. He went big.”
Summer tour
Brayden said he will go to Madison, Wis., this month for a camp to get ready for the summer tour. He said he will return to Madison right before the end of the school year on May 22.
“I will have to take my finals a little early,” he said. “I am really excited. I will be gone all summer.”
The Madison Scouts’ first performance is scheduled for June 27 at the Madison Community Concert in Madison. The corps also will play in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Texas, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Indiana throughout the summer.
Brayden’s parents said they will try to attend as many performances as possible.
“I was very proud of him, but I also told him it would be a hard summer for mom and dad to have him away from us,” Brayden’s dad, Tim Doebber, said. “He puts in a lot of time and effort to prepare himself and improve his skills. He is eager to learn and willing to travel and do whatever he has to do to be part of this program.”
The Madison Scouts are scheduled to perform in the St. Louis area. The group will be part of DCI St. Louis on July 21 in Belleville, Ill.
“I am pretty excited to see how this goes,” Middleton said. “I am going to have to figure out how to get tickets to DCI in St. Louis. All of the band kids will fight over getting tickets. It is sold out every year pretty quickly.”
Musical journey
Simino said Brayden was not a naturally talented musician.
“There is always some innate talent, but (Brayden) had to find it and unlock it,” Simino said. “He did that through perseverance and work. He has a good work ethic.”
Angie said the family rented a 7-foot long marimba when Brayden was in sixth grade, and they purchased him the instrument last year.
“He has a music room downstairs where he practices it a lot,” she said.
Brayden said he was drawn to the marimba because of where he is positioned in the marching band, up front and near the crowd.
“You can see the crowd, and the crowd can see you,” he said. “You know they are looking at you. I just like that experience.”
Simino said because Brayden is 16, he has the chance to play with the Madison Scouts for the next six years. Brayden will need to audition every year, but Simino said it is more likely for a musician to be selected to the corps after performing with them in previous seasons.
“To make a world-class group like this when he is competing against college students and other high school students is a huge accomplishment,” Simino said. “I’m proud of him for putting himself out there. This is going to be an experience he will never forget. Knowing him, I can foresee him doing this for many years. This can be a big chunk of his life for a long time.”