L’view band “drums up” pleasing music

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

It’s a pleasing sound to most, one that’s unique and not exactly one you normally hear in a rural area such as Van Wert County, but that’s about to change.

During Thursday night’s Lincolnview school board meeting, members of the new 17-member Lincolnview High School steel drum band shared a small taste of what they’ve learned in a very short amount of time. The new steel drums were picked up just a few months ago.

“These students are picking up things faster than I’ve ever seen,” band director Mike Archinal told the board. “My goal was to have four songs to be able to play by December, but they hit 12 songs in three weeks. It’s progressing so fast and they’re playing well and learning.”

“We’re going to start going out in the community – nursing homes, businesses, I’ve got a couple of places for us to go play to be entertainment for the community,” he added.

Archinal also said he’s in the midst of planning a special gala event for the board, administrators, parents, and the Van Wert County Foundation to hear the very first performance by the band. The event will be held at the Wassenberg Art Center in Van Wert on a date yet to be announced.

He told the board he’s planning on eventually branching off to the junior high school level and perhaps even the elementary level, if the schedule permits.

Archinal also said he’s had inquiries about possibly forming a community steel drum band, something will likely become a reality at some point.

“The opportunities are endless here,” he said. “This instrument, and this ensemble does not technically need to have technical ability or be able to read music. When you go down to down Carnival or Trinidad or anyplace like that, most of those players never read music…none of them can read music.”

Obtaining the steel drums was a two-year project, and funding came from different sources, including a $20,000 grant from the Van Wert County Foundation, an amount matched by the district, plus $15,000 from the band boosters.

The drums took over a year to manufacture and Archinal said each one took up to 80 hours to make. He explained the different sounds each drum makes and had members demonstrate before playing two songs for the board, including the theme song from the movie “The Breakfast Club.”