Drumroll Please

Grad takes stage with air force band 

Charlotte and Bob Roe ’76 would have been happy if son Mike would have stuck to the piano, but given he was grabbing pots and pans out of the cupboard to use as a toddler’s drum set, it seemed obvious that the piano wasn’t going to be his lifetime instrument.

The Brookings native and 2012 SDSU music grad took piano lessons from age 5 to 12, but his percussion passion grew when he got to play drums in the fifth grade band under Mary Fritz ’73. Today, at age 32, he is in his third year of playing in the prestigious U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West, 60 airmen-musicians stationed at Travis Air Force Base in the San Francisco Bay area.

Roe can’t call selection as an airman-musician as fulfillment of a lifetime goal, but it is a major accomplishment.

“Only the best are selected to perform rock, jazz and classical music with Air Force bands,” Maj. Joseph Hansen, director of the Band of the Golden West, said. “To adapt to the demands of each unique performance situation, Air Force bands are exceptionally versatile. They are filled with experienced and talented musicians.

“Fully 80% of Air Force band bandsmen possess a master’s degree and 10% possess a doctorate.”

Roe would be among that 10%. He earned a doctorate in musical arts with a percussion emphasis from the University of Nebraska in 2018. He also has a master’s degree (2014) and a performer’s certificate (2015) from the University of Arkansas.

Military wasn’t initial plan

Ironically, the academic trajectory he was on caused him to give thought to auditioning for a military band.

“My plan was to teach in college. As I was nearing completion of my doctorate and looking for jobs, there were few out there and most were for adjunct positions that paid $20,000 a year with no benefits. That meant you would need to teach lessons or have a side gig to make a living,” said Roe, now of Winters, California.

His Nebraska adviser saw an announcement about auditions for the Band of the Golden West and suggested Roe give it a try.

Roe thought, “‘I don’t know. I’ve never thought about myself as a military guy.’ Then I thought, ‘I will give it a try. If I get in and don’t like it, it’s only four years.’” Roe flew to California to audition and found himself with a job he hasn’t regretted, especially during the COVID-19 shutdown when most musicians were out of work.

Performing during COVID-19 pandemic

Within a couple of weeks after the March 2020 shutdown began, members of the Band of the Golden West were making recordings and performing virtual concerts.

Initially, recordings were posted on the band’s Facebook and YouTube accounts. The band then began producing targeted music, such as Polynesian music for Asian American Pacific Islander month in May. “Doing recording work was a nice change of pace, but with recordings, everything is really under the microscope. I think people are ready to get back out on the road,” Roe said.

Fourth of July performances were among the band’s first concerts since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.

Roe performed with the band’s country/rock ensemble Mobility in Truckee, California, and Carson City, Nevada. The crowds were large and people enjoyed being at a concert again, he said. Band of the Golden West has five ensembles in addition to the concert band. Musicians are expected to be able to perform in any of them.

Favorite SDSU memory

Roe said his wide background also allows him to play in The Commanders, a jazz ensemble, the Concert Band and the Ceremonial Marching Band.

He got plenty of marching band experience, first at Brookings High School under Brian LeMaster ’97, with SuFuDu, a summer drumline out of Sioux Falls, and then at SDSU. During Roe’s five years, The Pride was directed by Jim McKinney (2008, 2009), Eric Peterson (2010) and Jim Coull ’80/M.Ed. ’85 (2011, 2012). 

At SDSU, he also played in the SDSU Drumline, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble and Pep Band as well as the Symphonic Band. During his college years he also played with fellow students in bar bands.

Aaron Ragsdale, director of the Drumline, was in his first year at SDSU when Roe was a freshman and served as his adviser.

Ragsdale said, “Mike came to us with a lot of talent and experience in marching percussion but he also worked on expanding his playing in the other areas of what we do in the percussion idiom—specifically working on his marimba, vibraphone and timpani playing—and became the best all-around player in our percussion studio. 

“He has always had a great mind for understanding the architecture of music and was able to see the theoretical construction in the pieces we were working on almost intuitively. In fact, he’s gone on to success as a composer for keyboard percussion.”

Roe had a piece for solo marimba published and Ragsdale commissioned him to write a marimba duo that they premiered at the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy in 2017. 

“I always enjoyed Mike in rehearsals and lessons, and I’m glad to count him as a friend and colleague now,” Ragsdale said.

– Dave Graves