In only his second year in the highly competitive world of drums corps, an Innisfail resident is now on top of the world.
Jordan Walker and the rest of The Cadets, a drum corps from Allentown, Pennysylvania, won the 2011 DCI (Drum Corps International) World Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana on Aug. 13. Their score of 98.35 was enough for the Cadets to capture their 10th world title and first since 2005.
In correspondence with the Province, Walker, 18, said the championship made all the years of practising music well worth it.
“It was a moment where I truly felt that everything musically in my life was for something,” he wrote in an e-mail. “I now had something that separated me from so many other musicians in the world. Although whether we won or lost, I still had that same mentality because when the crowd stood up clapping and screaming for the last minute of our show, it was a moment when I knew that everyone who was a fan of DCI truly appreciated what we had performed for them.”
Walker gave much of the credit for his success to his first music teacher, Steve Sherman. Sherman was Walker’s bandleader when he began playing trumpet in Grade 4.
“He saw potential in me from the very beginning and pushed me to excel by moving me into more advanced ensembles than most students my age,” wrote Walker.
While attending Innisfail Jr/Sr High School, Walker was a member of the school’s concert band, jazz band, and jazz combo. He also performed with the Red Deer Rebels Marching Band for five years, the Canadian University College Chamber Orchestra, and the Red Deer College Symphonic Winds. His experiences with the bands took him to Australia, Europe, Canada and the United States.
In February 2010, Walker joined the Academy Drum and Bugle Corps of Tempe, Arizona. The team finished 14th at last year’s world championships.
Last summer he was accepted to Boise State University on a music scholarship and is currently in his second year as an international business student. Walker is a member of the Boise State Jazz Ensemble, Boise State Symphonic Winds, Boise State Marching Band, as well as the basketball, volleyball and fall pep bands. He is currently the trumpet section leader for the school’s marching band.
Playing in front of large crowds in college football and National Football League stadiums is a tremendous rush, Walker said.
“When there are tens of thousands of fans who are paying to watch you execute a 12-minute show with minimal errors, it really gets you excited and emotional,” Walker said in his e-mail. “It makes the hours of rehearsal outside worth it.”
Walker’s father, Brent, said he and his wife Tracey are proud of Jordan’s accomplishments.
“It’s great to see your child have success,” he said. “He’s had a lot of opportunities with it, which is awesome.”
