From Cheerleading to the Double Bass; How Vegas’ Drumm Found Her Way to Round Top

To find oneself, one must live with intent, and if you are Isabella Drumm, you have already discovered your intent at the young age of 19 at this year’s Round Top Music Festival.

Drumm, from Las Vegas, NV, has so much passion and conviction for such a young age, it’s no wonder she plays the largest instrument in the string family, the double bass.

“I squeezed my middle school orchestra teacher’s hand so hard I watched her facial expression change, and since then, I was basically one of the only girls at the schools I’ve been to that plays bass, besides at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, CA, my college now,” said Drumm.

Despite her height of 5 feet 4 inches and learning how to play during the pandemic, her commitment to playing the bass has never wavered. “Once I started playing bass, I knew that was it and that’s all I thought about. It was the best choice I ever made,” said Drumm.

She also did eight years of cheerleading before she even thought about music but now she is considered a jock… well a bass jock that is.

“The term ‘bass jock’ gets torn around a lot because the instrument is so huge and unique in comparison to other instruments in the string section,” said Drumm. “We have less of a place in the chamber world because there is less music for us to play, but when we get on stage, the bass section is so connected because we understand our challenges together.”

Her teacher, James Van-Demark, has lived up to his reputation and more. “I have learned something new everytime with VanDemark and he reminds me to be a good musician above all else because you get stuck in the world of begin a bass jock when you really want to be a musician first and foremost,” said Drumm. “If you are not a musician first and foremost, then you are just playing notes. Have intention when you play. Know why you are playing it. He keeps telling us to play out of the page and stop looking at your music because when you finally look up and see what everybody else is doing, you finally understand.”

Another thing that has far exceeded any of her expectations is Festival Hill and the town of Round Top, “I just knew it was a really solid festival with really amazing players, teachers, and we are going to get a lot done and then once I saw the facilities it made it even more amazing,” said Drumm. “It really is like a little slice of heaven here.”

Among her peers at the Round Top Music Festival, Drumm has met and seen some of the best of the best from different schools from all around the world. “You don’t have to go to conservatories to find phenomenal musicians,” said Drumm. “You can go to a summer festival, and you will see some of the best of the best. This place reminds you why we all have passion and why we make music.”

If you want to see Drumm and the rest of the Texas Festival Orchestra perform, you can see their summer schedule and purchase tickets at FestivalHill. org.