Drum Majors & Block Captains

Drum Major
The drum major is the heartbeat of the University of Minnesota Marching Band. The drum major is the primary student instructor of the University of Minnesota Marching Band and wears many hats – musician, conductor, leader, performer, and role model for the Marching Band community.
These band members took great pride in leading one of the finest marching bands in the nation. The band has had 65 drum majors, including 5-year drum majors – George Aagaard (1931–35), Jim Wetherbee (1949–53), Richard Johnson (1961–1965), Jim Mitchell (1966–1970), and Kirk Juergens (1987–1991).
Drum Major Jon Ingram
Jon Ingram grew up in Victoria, Minnesota and graduated from Chanhassen High School in 2019. Jon was very involved in the music program all throughout high school, participating in marching band, concert band, jazz band, pit orchestra, and pep bands for various sports. He served as one of the three drum majors for the CNHS Marching Band during his senior year. In addition to this, Jon participated in the choir program and took classes to further his music theory knowledge and leadership skills. It was participating in these various ensembles where Jon found his love for music, leadership, and teaching.
Currently in his senior year at the University of Minnesota, Jon is majoring in Biology within the College of Biological Sciences and minoring in Music. Once graduated, Jon plans on exploring careers in the medical field and plans on staying close to the Twin Cities. In his free time, he enjoys backpacking, reading, bouldering, and spending time with friends and family.
Before becoming Drum Major for the Pride of Minnesota, Jon was a member of the trumpet section for three years, serving on the trumpet leadership team during the 2021 season. During his time as a trumpet leader, he further developed his leadership and teaching skills, and hopes to apply this experience to the Drum Major position. As Drum Major, Jon hopes to work together with the block captain, Kindra Peterson, to strengthen the relationship between sections, further connect with groups that the band closely collaborates with, and support every individual within the band as best as he can.
1892: Jennings C. Litzenberg 1895: N.D. Bessessen 1896: Ben Towne 1900: George B. Webster 1903: W.B. Stout 1905–1906: R.C. Cannon 1908–1910: George Cottingham 1914–1917: Carl G. Swendseen 1920–1921: Leonard Aamodt 1924–1927: Wallace A. Thexton 1928: Walter Johnson 1936–1938: Winston Jewson 1939–1941: Walter Holmstrom 1940: William Balamut 1943: John Gruye 1944: Albert Burns 1948: Robert Thompson 1954–1957: Don Elsen 1961–1965: Richard Johnson 1967: Bill Ekstrum 1974: Charles Buck 1977: Pat Patton 1981–1982: Dan Kuch 1985–1986: Ed Long 1992: Aaron Fisher 1995: J. Drew Kunkel 1998–2000: Andy Richter 2002–2003: Jon Tepe 2005: Dick Osterberg 2008–2010: Aaron Marks 2014: Joe Walsh 2017–2018: Tommy Greco 2021: Julia White |
1893–1894: Joel Gregory 1896: Tom L. Jones 1897: Claude Cotton 1903: R.T. Hugo 1904: C.W. Huntington 1907: Ben E. Taylor 1911–1913: Carroll F. Nelson 1918: D.W. Kitzmiller 1923: Herbert Liese 1928–1930: Wallace Benton 1931–1935: George Aagaard 1939–1941: Laurence Ellefson 1939–1940: Ted Mosio 1942: Jerry Benson 1944–1947: John N. Smith 1947–1948: Cliff Schroeder 1949–1953: Jim Wetherbee 1958–1960: M. William Johnson 1966–1970: Jim Mitchell 1971–1973: Bryan Warren 1975–1976: Jim Krikava 1978–1980: Grant Benjamin 1983–1984: Jeff Thomas 1987–1991: Kirk Juergens 1993–1994: Chad Saloka 1996–1997: Alec Charais 2001: Todd Olin 2004: John Thompson 2006–2007: Molly Watters 2011–2013: Brandon Folkes 2015–2016: Robert Rudin 2019–2020: Chamberlain Gregg 2022: Jon Ingram |
Block Captain
The block captain works closely with the band's faculty, staff, and leadership team to serve the needs of all band members while continuing to serve as a regular member of the ensemble.
The band has had 15 block captains, each with their own spin on the position and contributions to the organization.
Block Captain Kindra Peterson
Kindra Peterson grew up in Underwood, Minnesota and graduated high school there in 2020. While in high school, Kindra was a three-sport athlete who also participated in the arts such as band, choir, pep band, various small ensembles, and community theater. Additionally, she represented her community at the American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation program and led her community service organization for several years. These activities created the foundation of her love for music and serving her community.
Today, Kindra is a rising junior at the University of Minnesota double majoring in Political Science and Russian with a minor in Communications. She is hoping to one day use this unusual combination of studies to pursue a career in national security and counterterrorism. In the meantime, she is a proud member of the trombone section, where this year she will be taking on duties as a section leader in addition to Block Captain. She is also a member of the university’s Athletic Bands, where she enjoys watching hockey and basketball. In her free time, she loves to bake and decorate cakes, play flute (as trombone is actually her secondary instrument), and is currently reading Game of Thrones.
With a year of UMMB experience under her belt, Kindra is honored to be a part of the team to lead the band in Season 131. Along with Drum Major Jon Ingram, she can’t wait to take steps to strengthen the band’s performance, formulate relationships across sections, and prepare performances for the university community and beyond.
2006: Megan Ivers 2009: Nick Aspholm 2012: Raoul Shah 2015: Amelia Forsmo 2018: Ryan Beczkiewicz 2022: Kindra Peterson |
2007: Elliot Redmann 2010: Brandon Folkes 2013: Joe Walsh 2016: Cole Jobin 2019-2020: Bethany Mestelle |
2008: Chesney Engquist 2011: Quentin Knutson 2014: Phil Homen 2017: Connor Jensen 2021: Neil Garcia |