From taking the podium with raised arms leading the marching band as drum major to carrying the tune with fellow members of the choir, junior Zach Torf’s passion for music and performing makes a statement in all of his commitments.

Torf said performing is enjoyable for him in a weird way because he likes the anticipatory pre-show nerves unique to live performances.

“You can practice a million times and you will always be nervous,” Torf said.

According to Torf, he is in multiple extracurriculars such as the Pep Band, Glenbrook Symphony Orchestra, Ow!, and Express. Although he focused on sports in the earlier years of his life, he joined the musical community after listening to his family’s suggestions to try different extracurriculars, such as the sixth grade musical.

In an email exchange, Torf said out of 250 students at the drum major camp he attended, he was the only junior among 10 students who passed all four stages of the Drum Major First Class tests. Only he and those nine others, mostly seniors with previous drum majoring experience, received their first class honors.

According to Torf, the experience of marching has helped him give feedback as the drum major of the marching band. He said he hoped the feedback he gave the band members stayed with them so they had a good experience during the season. He also hoped that when those band members became section leaders they could pass on those experiences to their sections. 

Torf said throughout Glenbrook North’s band camp, when the band was learning all the sets for its show, he was rarely on the podium. He said a drum major who only stood on the podium conducting was not a drum major, but rather a conductor. Torf said he wanted to rewrite the drum major’s role not as just another conductor, but as a leader to the band.