The recruits of the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums have come to the Revolutionary City from many different backgrounds. Some always knew they’d join this ensemble. Others seemed to have stumbled on it accidentally.
All of them have signed on to a life-changing journey.
In these audio clips, the recruits tell the stories of what brought them to the corps and the lessons they have already taken away from the experience.
I HAVE TO PRACTICE A LOT…
Recruit Matthew Mills, shown at left
Matthew Mills describes the path led to the Fifes and Drums and the challenges he found being part of the group.
IT’S USUALLY SERIOUS…
Recruit Sam Turner
Drummer Sam Turner explains his road to the corps and the occasional moments of levity he finds there.
ISN’T AS DIFFICULT AS IT SEEMS…
Corporal Kennedy Becke has a conversation with her sister, Lindsay, a recruit, about the bonds the Fifes and Drums have forged in their family.
Recruit Lindsay Becke
THE MEMORIES YOU TAKE…
Recruit Macy Brenagan
Fifes and Drums alumnus Jeff Brenegan and his daughter Macy reflect on two generations in the corps.
Ben Swenson lives in Williamsburg, Virginia with his wife and two sons. His writing career has led him to all sorts of odd corners of the world: he has jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, wrestled crab pots on a Chesapeake Bay work boat and taken a helicopter ride through a twisting river gorge. Odds are good you will find him outside with them somewhere when he is not chasing or telling stories.
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