Watkins Memorial’s Brinnon drums into Rose Parade
PATASKALA – When Ryan Brinnon finds a challenge, he attacks it 110 percent.
So it’s no surprise that the 2021 Watkins Memorial graduate and drumline section leader will be part of Ohio University’s famed Marching 110 this fall. And, he was also selected for the Bands of America Honors Band, which will march in the 2022 Rose Parade On Jan. 1 in Pasadena, California.
“I like finding things where I can really apply myself to them,” said Brinnon, who will play snare drum. “If it’s easy, I’m not going to be as serious about it and spend so much time on it. The music (for the Rose Parade tryout) was not easy. I just thought it was such a prestigious opportunity, and I couldn’t pass it up.”
Brinnon was one of just 23 students picked from Ohio (Licking Valley clarinetist Owen Dorogi and his band director, John Barrett, are also headed to Pasadena). There will be 326 students from around the country. The Honors Band started performing in this parade in 2005 and has done so every four years since then, with the exception of 2021 because of COVID.
Not only will Brinnon get to march in the Rose Parade. But the Honors Band will perform at Disney in front of the train station, and attend bandfest at a university. “I’m really excited,” he said.
Brinnon spent his summer teaching at the Watkins summer band camp. “I want to maintain some kind of bond with Watkins, and I wanted to help out with my knowledge,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot of leadership there and formed a lot of ties. It’s not every day, that you get to listen to music like that, get to play with people you know that well, and have fun doing it.”
“He is one of the most self-motivated and driven students I have ever taught,” said Robert Davis, Watkins Memorial director of bands. “And he is especially diligent about practicing and improving his skill level. Throughout high school, he sought extra-curricular performance opportunities any chance he could, including the Bands of America Honor Band. Ryan participated in honor bands, drum corps camps and clinics, and performed with Cap City Indoor Percussion.”
Brinnon started with band in eighth grade as a drummer, and also played marimba in the concert band. He was glad to have had Davis for all five years at Watkins.
Davis is especially happy to see Brinnon perform with Ohio University’s Marching 110, which he was part of himself as a trombone player. “He is an exceptionally gifted young man, and I have no doubt that he will make us proud in Pasadena on Jan. 1,” Davis said.
Ohio University’s Marching 110 is known for its unique marching style and choreographed dance moves. It has performed over 40 NFL halftime shows, at NYC’S Carnegie Hall, in three Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parades, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, and internationally in Canada, Ireland, Italy and France.
“I had to submit two videos to show what I could do,” Brinnon said. “They invited me back for a third video. They usually suggest trying out with two instruments, but I only had to do one. It’s difficult to get on the drumline as a freshman. Just the tradition, the history that group has. It’s exciting to carry that on. It’s not every day you see that good of a drumline.”
Brinnon, a computer science major, will continue the Watkins connection to the Marching 110. Ohio University junior Addy Plessinger plays cymbals and is also a Warriors’ alumnus. dweidig@gannett.com 740-973-4503
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