The article “Women of the Marching Arts” from PASIC 2026 discusses the experiences of women in the marching percussion field over the past 20 years. Female percussionists are significantly underrepresented, which limits role models for young women and negatively affects diversity and inclusivity in the community. The lack of female role models discourages many from entering the field, perpetuating gender disparities. Women also face challenges such as prejudice, fewer opportunities, and pressure to conform to male-dominated norms. The panel emphasizes the importance of female representation to foster a supportive and diverse percussion culture.

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Women exist across all fields in the world of percussion, but they are so few and far between that they hardly ever get to exist in the same room. This PASIC 2026 panel discussion, “Women in the Marching Arts,” will discuss the experiences of women throughout the field of marching percussion, discussing both their time in the marching activity and how these experiences have affected their professional journeys. Each panelist, spanning different marching eras from the past 20 years, speaks on the breadth of their experiences as women in percussion and how it got them to where they are today. With all of these perspectives in one place, this panel provides a unique opportunity for conversation and community building.

Female-identifying percussionists, especially in the marching percussion world, are vastly outnumbered by their male counterparts. Without a diverse collection of performers, including women, the depth to the social and performance experience for the audience is lost. Furthermore, without these female role models, we also lose a critical point of humanity — a trait of replication and gender identification within our realms of study. As children, we unconsciously imitate the people who surround us. As we move into adolescence, a time period in which most begin their musical journeys, this unconscious imitation and now emulation of the people around us grows, shifting into a realm of conscious and intentional imitation. Having role models is a necessity to perpetuate cultural systems and behaviors, and a lack of these role models perpetuates a lack of societal behaviors and values. Therefore, role models are a necessity to set societal norms and standards within a community. Without them, people of like characteristics are less likely to feel comfortable or join that community. If there is nobody to emulate, then the imitation shifts to rejecting that environment, rather than entering it. The more that young female percussionists continue to witness a lack of women within the percussion realm, the less likely they are to feel safe and invited into the field. 

The lack of representation is visible in every aspect of percussion; there are significantly fewer female higher-education professors, professional musicians, music business founders/CEOs, and composers than male, making women in percussion a minority from both an educational and professional standpoint. While many face prejudice, some also simply receive less opportunity or recognition than their male peers. Some women feel the need to adjust to the pressure, intentionally avoiding behavior that affirms gendered stereotypes or more domestic societal expectations in an attempt to fit in with a male-dominated field. This directly contributes to the lopsided gender breakdown of percussion students at universities, further perpetuating the gender gap as further generations move into the professional music community. 

I witnessed this first-hand; in my time as a college student I have had no female percussion professors, and I remain the only female-identifying student in my master’s program. Similarly, in the drum corps world, a mere eight percent of percussion educators working for world-class finalist corps in 2026 identify as female, with only one recognized designer and one caption head being female. In the same sense, tier-one professional orchestras in the United States feature women in only five percent of the positions that make up the percussion section. 

Equitable societies are proven to provide and nurture a positive learning environment, this further promoting an increase in female-identifying percussionists in the professional world. Aiming to increase artistic efforts to create equitable space for all musicians encourages music at large, and it creates an overall inclusive space for all musicians to be seen and heard, regardless of their identity. This is not just about the lack of female identity in the percussion community, but about creating an equal opportunity and inclusive space for all musicians to be seen, heard, and encouraged. 

This PASIC roundtable will open up discussions about the difficulties and barriers women specifically face in the marching arts, and how we can continue to bridge the gender gap to make the performing arts a safe and educational experience for all percussionists, regardless of their identification. These are ideas that can extend beyond the scope of the marching community, touching on larger themes present within the entire percussive community, at large. The five panelists, Mo Longo, Claire Kenney, Chelsea Levine, Megan Campbell, and myself, provide a breadth of knowledge, experiences, and insight to highlight the ever-evolving presence of females in the percussion community, as well as the trials and tribulations, success stories, and opportunities that are being paved for future female percussionists. We aim to highlight how battling a male-dominated field helped us succeed, and the new opportunities that each panelist was able to create for themselves in the music field, including entrepreneurial endeavors, touring/gigging, composing, creating, and teaching.

There has been a drastic increase in efforts to encourage young female-identifying percussionists and to develop safe spaces to bridge this gender gap. Efforts such as Girls March, which I had the pleasure of partnering with to help develop the Girls March Midwest camp this summer, as well as the Network for Diversity in Concert Percussion, the Women’s Drum Center, IN STEP, and Women Who Drum, are just a few of the many increased efforts to promote and encourage women in percussion, and create a sense of community that these young women lack. While the conversation is increasing, we all remain focused on one common goal: that women in percussion are eventually viewed as a standard, societal norm within percussion spaces, and advocacy groups are no longer needed to promote a space that is already gender-inclusive. 

Although misogyny continues to become less frequent within the marching scene, the subtext remains. The efforts to combat misogyny have been drastically increased, and have already opened up the floor for a more inclusive musical environment for young women, especially over the past ten years. However, bits and pieces of these sentiments remain, and until those clear, the fight for commonplace recognition and inclusivity within the percussion community continues. Throughout my own time as first a member and now a staff member of highly respected ensembles, I have witnessed and experienced countless instances of misogyny that make me question my own line of work. From being viewed and commented on for being “too weak as a girl to play marimba,” to being seen as “too emotional for a percussive leadership position,” to even being dismissed as a staff member simply for being a woman, the push to create a safe space, even for myself, continues. 

Our goal with this panel discussion is to open up the floor for discussing our experiences, both good and bad, as a minority group in the marching arts, and how the five of us have persevered and continue to push boundaries and open the doors to inspire and motivate the next generation of young female percussionists. To build a more welcoming and inclusive community for women is to build a better, stronger community for all.