North Atlanta High School’s Marching Band has long been a highlight of this institution. Year after year countless accolades have been awarded to these talented students and you can’t help but think that band director Adam Brooks is doing something right. One thing, however, that these previous groups didn’t have was Drum Major Dylan Walker. With his incredible dance moves and energetic conducting, he adds an extra oomph to the already brilliant band.

The love story between Dylan Walker and the marching band was not as probable as some might have thought. He became an official drum major in his junior year after a long time playing the bass clarinet. Now, he has 2 impressive years under his belt which would look great to recruiters in college marching bands but for Walker, if the band is not up to his standards, then it is not a requirement for his future. “I honestly didn’t have much interest in being a drum major at first,” said Walker. “But Mr. Brooks convinced me that I might be a good fit and the rest was history.”

A program that does meet Walker’s standards is the historically black college North Carolina A&T. HBCUs have always been recognized for their incredible marching band programs with not only magnificent music but also the spectacular performance that comes with it. It’s not every day that you see people in splits carrying a 30-pound tuba or drummers with sticks moving a mile a minute. “North Carolina A&T not only has a really good marching band but a great engineering program as well, which is great because I want to major in environmental engineering,” said Walker.

The process of being a drum major is not as much of a one-man job as it seems. There are section leaders for each instrument in the band who report to the drum major with problems that need assistance. Each role is important in ensuring the success of the band, but Walker doesn’t just want success, he wants the band to thrive. “I wanted to be a unique drum major and create a legacy,” he said. 

And create a legacy he did. This year for the first time, Brooks and Walker led the North Atlanta Marching Band to become grand champions and won every single division. Thirteen trophies sound like a pretty good way to make people remember the impact that you made. Dylan Walker is that guy, and no one should forget it.