BEATRIX PRESENTS NEW DRUMMAJOR

Not only is Bas an outstanding musician and performer; he is also a seasoned veteran of our organization who understands our mission and our members very well.

Bas van der Velden’s Resume
Bas was born in The Hague, where he also started his musical career. He joined the Jong Federatie Band (JFB) as a snare player and started playing tenor when he became a member of the Federatie Band. In the 2001 season Bas chose to leave the Federatie Band and joined Beatrix’ Drum & Bugle Corps where he marched in the tenor line for two years.

From left to right: Bas van der Velden, John Hendriks and Ruben Heerding

After two years with Beatrix’, Bas decided to join JubaI Drum & Bugle Cops in Dordrecht, where he marched on tenor as well. In the 2005 season Bas returned to Beatrix' where he joined the bass line playing bass 3.

Bass1 Rob Meester, Bass2 Jeroen ten Brinke, Bass3 Bas van der Velden, Bass4 Mark Vlaanderen Oldenzeel, Bass5 Randy Bohlmeijer, Instructor Harmen Houtman

After that season Bas left Beatrix’ again and joined JubaI in Dordrecht. Now Bas is back at Beatrix’ with a completely new challenge.

Five questions and answers.
1. Why do you think you are the right person for this job?
I'm just very proud to be the drum major for Beatrix'. In short, I’ll do what people expect a good drum major to do. I’ll give it my all and a little bit more!

2. Where do you get your inspiration from?
When Beatrix'asked me to join the corps as Drum major I started doing some research. When you decide to do something like this, you have to put in your best effort. I found a lot of articles and videos on the internet, including a movie on YouTube from a guy called Cory. He does an amazing job directing a band so he'll be my inspiration for now.

3. What do you expect from the members as DrumMajor?
I'll expect the support from the members, which I am already getting. I hope we’ll be able to work in an efficient way with everyone fully focused during rehearsals. We all joined this corps to achieve something, so I expect everybody to prepare themselves at home so that we can really make progress during rehearsals. Set and go. We have plenty of breaks for chitchatting.

4. What is your most beautiful drumcorps experience?
I want to greet the audience with an expression that says "Thanks".. Haha, no that won’t be my greeting; I still need some time to think about that.

5. How does your greeting look like?
I'll greet with a small smile a look which tells: "Thanks".. Haha no this will not be my greeting, fortunately I have some time left to think about this.

You can imagine that we did not select Bas as drum major without reason; his experience at the two largest drum corps in Europe makes him the ideal candidate for this position in the corps. We hope to enjoy Bas’ presence for a long time on the stage.

Bas, we wish you every success in leading Beatrix’ Drum and Bugle Corps.