Trojan Marching Band selects first female drum major

For the first time, a woman will lead the USC Trojan Marching Band.

The Spirit of Troy this week elected India Anderson, a tuba player and junior in the USC Thornton School of Music, as drum major for the 2019-2020 academic year.

“I think it’s just great to have the leader of the band be a woman,” Anderson told Annenberg Media. “I’m really excited for that first game and the first stab into the field.”

Band Director Arthur C. Bartner, entering his 50th year as band director, said he was proud of the band’s decision. In 1971, Bartner brought women into the band for the first time since World War II.

“I’m happy [that] gender was not an issue in the selection of the candidate,” Bartner told Annenberg Media. “I give the band a lot of credit.”

Anderson takes over from Chris Rick, a senior who has served as drum major for two years.