Yvonne Chow has joined the Crimson Kings as a Fife instructor. She has marched with the Crimson Kings as a fifer and a baritone horn player. Yvonne marched with the corps as a volunteer (2010) and member (Fife & Baritone horn) and was the former Fifeline Captain (2011) and Drum Major (2012-2013). She is currently triple majoring in college while she's working hard at helping build a solid Crimson Kings fifeline. Get to know her better with the following Q&A session.
CK: Please describe your teaching style
I give constant reminders and positive feedback so that alertness eventually becomes second nature. I aim to incorporate a proportionate amount of audio, visual, and kinesthetic lessons into rehearsals in order to engage our different learners. Hopefully, this will help them look for patterns in their music so that they may better understand and memorize their music.
CK: What goals are you setting for the fife line in 2016?
My goal is to maintain a safe environment, encourage students to ask questions, and listen to one another. This kind of attitude stems from the classroom, if not from inner drive, and is needed to motivate everyone to practice their music at home.
CK: What has been the most pleasant surprise so far working with the Crimson Kings?
The members are incredibly inclusive and open to learning. The staff is stern yet patient, and takes suggestions from their students.
CK:What do you hope to bring to the Corps?
I hope to set a good example for not just the fifers, but all the members, including staff.
CK: What message would you like to say to the Corps?
If you’re not right, then you’re the other right. Also, thank you for welcoming me (back); I hope to give more to the corps than what it has given to me.
CK: What is your favorite thing about the drum corps activity?
Drum Corps teaches core values in an eclectic environment, which engages all five senses. Sight, sound, and touch are worked into performances, and taste and smell come later as reward for hard work. The core values depend on each person, but from drum corps I’ve learned how to work diligently and work in a team.
CK: If your students can take one thing away from being a part of a drum corps, what would you hope it to be?
My students are each going to take away different things, whether or not they realize what these things are. The one thing that I hope they all take away is to listen to each other. Listening to each other is important because it teaches an individual where they stand in the corps, how to blend, and why their actions matter. You might as well be a one-person-band if you don’t. I genuinely hope that they all apply this core value, as well as all the connections and experiences they have gained from drum corps, to all aspects of their lives.