Gavin Berkin
When I joined Senators I was 14, now I am 15. 2005 was my rookie year and I was the youngest in the corps. I come from Waterlooville which is just outside Portsmouth. Obviously I love Drum Corps but apart from that... I like playing snooker with my mates after school.
I came from Pegasus Drum and Bugle corps. I was a member there for seven years and I played soprano all the way!!! We started out doing a few BYBA shows a year, never making finals. Still it was a wicked experience when I was eight because I got to see the bigger corps. I saw Senators for the first time in 2000, and was amazed, I was only ten at the time and I ended up talking about Senators the whole way home!!!
By mid-autumn in 2004 I decided that this would be my last year and in 2005 I wanted to join Senators, so Ii spent the whole year trying to improve and getting as much information as I could. I learned a lot in Pegasus and still have really good friends that I’m sure I will never loose!
Why did I choose Senators? Well, a lot of people who were in Pegasus went on to join Senators, plus I knew a couple of people in there already, my old instructor from when I started at Pegasus aged out in 2005 with Senators, and it was cool to march next to him again.
I learnt such a lot in 2005. My first rehearsal was nothing like I thought it would be, I imagined robots who were like Drum Corps machines, I didn't think I would fit in and that I would stand out a mile!!! Well what a shock, we were learning the warm up book and doing some other tunes, it was so relaxed Ii was really surprised. In fact, the whole winter program was relaxed, we learnt the whole show in like five camps. I learnt so much about playing, much more than Ii had ever been taught before, things like pitch centre and techniques like double tounging.
By the end of the winter I had made 18 new friends and didn't feel nervous at all. Then the summer came, that was a different story!! Man I never had to worry about marching before, jazz runs were like something out of a dream, but let me tell you being thrown in at the deep end of a pool when you can't swim is the same as when we stated the drill. I had my own tech, Gemma, and she was really nice, she helped me with everything. The staff on the tower were great and although I stood out a mile for the first few months no one ever got angry or frustrated with me.
If anyone is reading this thinking about joining Senators then my advice is always try and take everything in. By the second half I was given a massive compliment. I was told that I didn’t stand out at all - ok to you its not that big a deal but when you are on the field trying so hard to be a great marcher it means a lot to know that you are up to the same standard as the people around you who have been marching and winning red patches for years! By then I felt like a proper Senator!
My best moments were finals night and when we went out on the Yamaha expo night. Finals was great because the whole year was coming together and whole corps was on a high! There was a buzz that is indescribable, the type of feeling you only get in a show but for the whole week! The coach ride on the way to finals was special too, everyone is crying and the whole thing is just really cool. I'll never forget my first Senators Finals and I'll never forget the year I had leading up to it!! The Yamaha expo night was cool as well. We were staying in a nice hotel after a nice swim we all got dressed up ready for the night out - now, you may think that people at Senators were tame and like robots, trust me you couldn't be further from the truth!
Within the Senators, I hope to become 1st trumpet in a few years and just continue having a wicked time. I hope to march in DCI with The Cadets, but you never know, this might change!
Being the youngest in the corps was cool, I was like 10 years younger than some people, but I was still never left out! You wouldn't believe how much I have learnt over the year, but it was made so much easier by the people around me, everyone was helping all the time and as long as you take it in and listen to what they are telling you, its all good! The main thing I have learnt over all is relax, don't get stressed over things, don't slack off ,but just don’t over work yourself. Everyone is there to help and everyone is learning all the time.
Bring on 2006, Queen, I can't wait it's going to be great!
