Alabama NewsCenter — All-female drum major team leads 2021 UAB Marching Blazers

By Shannon Thomason

When it comes to hard work, motivation and discipline, gender is irrelevant.

The first drum major team of three women leading the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marching Blazers – Janna Mann, Anna Wilkes and Avery Williams – unquestionably have those qualities, along with lots of gratitude and pride.

Each year, every candidate for drum major undergoes a vigorous audition process. The three students with the highest scores are chosen. While female drum majors have led the band before – in 2006, Norrell Robertson and Sara Tucker led the Marching Blazers, and in 2007, Tucker and Carolyn Myers led the band – this is believed to be the first time it has been led by a three-woman team, says Sean Murray, Ph.D., director of bands and associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Music. The three were selected because they were the most qualified, Murray says, and have worked hard all summer to prepare for this football season.

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