Chris Leone

So here I am. Fresh out of college with my business degree in hand, working for the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle corps on and off this summer and then moving to Japan in August to play drums. Most of my friends from school have real jobs at this point and the majority of them either start within 2 weeks from now or are already working. I envy nothing about that at all. I really don’t. As excited as I was to start going out and working on my own just a year ago, I’m having the time of my life being out here teaching drumming. I cannot seriously remember the last time I had this much fun. The drumline is playing great - including the bassline - and being able to stand in front of an amazing corps playing such an exciting show is a thrill. I can’t even begin to describe.

The commencment speaker at my graduation spoke of finding your passion in life. Generally speaking, being able to get up and go do something that you love to do every day is the difference between those who are really happy and those who are not.

Obviously, I did not graduate with a music degree. But I still don’t regret the roads I chose to travel. In fact, when I was back in high school, if I chose music as a career, I would never have considered the University of Delaware. And if I never went to UD, there’s no way I would be doing what I’m doing right now. I may never even have been exposed to drum corps. What a strange world we live in…

Point is, music is my passion. I now have to make sure that wherever I end up, music is somehow involved. If I don’t do that, I know I’ll be selling myself short.