In honor of Women’s History Month, the Madison Scouts are proud to feature stories from the first class of women in membership as well as the women on staff.
Katherine Willer is originally from Spring, Texas and currently resides in Austin, TX with her fiancé. Willer will be spending her fourth summer with the corps and serves as a mellophone instructor and member of the media staff.
“I think that drum corps is such a cool thing. It’s so magical. We get to come together from all over and it’s such a special thing that people get to do together. I just want to do the thing. Make beautiful music, look beautiful while we do it, and do it with some people that we really love.” - Kat Willer
How did you become involved in marching band and subsequently the Madison Scouts?
W: When I was in middle school band, I was the biggest band nerd. Got into high school and it was no shock that I loved it. I was a drum major in high school and I remember the first time I saw drum corps and thinking “Oh my gosh that’s so cool”... And then finding out that, “Oh by the way only brass players can do that.” And I was like, “But I’m a flute player…” From that moment, my interest was piqued in DCI. I remember going to the Tour of Champions show at the Berry Center that summer and thinking it was the coolest thing in the whole world. Went into college marching band and did it for all four years while I was at the [University of Houston]. I tried out for Crossmen my age out and didn’t make it and I was like, “Well, I guess that’s it for marching drum corps.” I was still really determined to be involved in DCI and Daniel [Montoya Jr.] helped me get involved with Guardians. I was initially on admin that summer, but the show that season had vocalists as part of the show and I volunteered to work with them. At that point, I started to be in charge of rehearsing the vocalists and helping with managing the EQ levels with the front ensemble. After that summer, I started asking around for any corps that needed a teacher and who was willing to hire a flute player. Daniel put me in contact with Andy Grindle who was the caption head at Genesis. We talked on the phone and he said he wanted me on the team and hired me to teach the mellophones for that season. After that season he left Genesis to work with the Madison Scouts. I sent my application to Scouts and they agreed to give me a try as an intern. I’ve been here for three years since then.
So do you think your familiarity with teaching brass instruments is how you were able to bridge the gap between being a woodwind player and working in a strictly brass instrument environment?
W: Absolutely. As a band director, I go into work every day and try to find ways to help my students be better. I look for the little details of every little thing in every little bit of their playing, whether that’s how they’re articulating, how they’re using their breath, how they’re holding their instrument, etc. I work to build awareness in my students of what they’re doing while they’re playing so that they can take more responsibility for getting closer to the sound that we are going for. A lot of instrument pedagogy transfers across different instruments. Knowing how to take a good breath, how to use that air correctly, and how to articulate all mostly transfer. All that’s left is knowing what the proper formation of the embouchure is for that instrument. At the end of the day, as an educator, you’re always looking for the little things you can fix to bring the sound closer to the ideal sound you have in your head. If you know what the sound is you are trying to create and how to get the sound to be that way, then you don’t necessarily have to play the instrument to be able to teach it and make someone a stronger player.
Tell me about the various roles you’ve held within the Scouts.
W: I’m on the media staff [with Scouts] and I’ve been doing media for three years now. I remember Chris [Komnick] reached out to me because I did media for SASi Leadership out of Austin. I also did the media for General Effect for a few years. As far as with Scouts, I am also primarily a mellophone instructor. I feel like the unique thing I bring to the staff is that as a middle school band director, I am comfortable with working with any of the sections in the hornline. I’m able to go where someone is needed and make sure that the section I am with is still able to grow. The last role I play with the Scouts is being a part of the curriculum staff with Forward Leadership - which we started revamping in the past year. When we started the revamp, I worked with Jason [Robb], Rachel Montañez, Ryan Ellis, and David [Lofy] re-write the curriculum, freshen it up, and make it more relevant to the needs of young people today and even beyond. Over the summer I went out to different schools to teach and implement the Forward Leadership curriculum in their programs.
What keeps you coming back to the Scouts?
W: The people at Scouts are just genuinely the best people in the whole world. I remember every time we finished a call to plan for Forward Leadership or met as a brass staff thinking that everyone on the staff was just so genuine. The admin genuinely cares about everyone and wants the best experience for the students and staff. It’s such a great environment to be in. I’m surrounded by so many people that I can learn from in just about every way. All of the beliefs of the organization align with things that are important to me. I haven’t even thought about trying to go somewhere else. I don’t know that I would really consider it, honestly. I really love all of the people I work with, work for, and interact with.
What is your favorite memory with the corps?
W: Gosh. That’s so hard. I remember the first time I got to hear the corps sing “Never Walk” was really, really powerful. I think it was actually on the day that Todd Ryan came. The corps sang “Never Walk” with Todd that night and it was just amazing seeing everyone be so connected with each other and how moved so many of the members felt by it. I was just a mess. That first time I heard them sing “Never Walk” was really awesome. I remember being really moved the first time I heard the corps play the new arrangement of “Never Walk”, too. Just hearing the corps sing or play the corps is one of my favorite things.
What are your goals for the 2022 season?
W: I just want to see us continue to grow. I know the design team talks about bumping up some placement spots which would be great, but the most important thing to me is seeing the corps continue to grow as performers and people. I want to see them all be great leaders on the field whether they have the leadership title or not. I want to hear them make some beautiful music, look beautiful while they do it, and see their performances affect their audiences.
