For many college musicians, playing a professional gig would be a dream come true. For the Missouri Southern drumline, this dream could become a reality.

Brian Fronzaglia, assistant professor of percussion and drumline instructor, has been in contact with the Kansas City Royals organization.

“I found out that they were interested in having entertainment at the games and that a drumline was something they were thinking about,” Fronzaglia said. “So I contacted them and I submitted a proposal for the MSSU drumline to play as the official Royals drumline.”

The Royals organization has asked Fronzaglia to prepare a mass drumline to perform during pre-game entertainment at today’s home opener at Kauffman Stadium.

“They wanted the first game to have a huge impact with as many drummers as possible,” fronzaglia said. “After they see if the drumline is a success, we will negotiate for the MSSU drumline to play as the sole entertainment at the games.”

The Southern drumline has been preparing for this gig by learning new cadences that Fronzaglia has written for these performances. The drumline also looks forward to being publicized outside the Joplin area.

“This will benefit MSSU in that we will be playing for over 40,000 fans on opening day and there will also be regional TV coverage as well,” Fronzaglia said. “They have informed me that there will also be an announcement at the game thanking MSSU for its help in putting the mass drumline together.”

It is hoped that the relationship between the University and the Royals will also increase interest in possible high school recruits within the Kansas City area and the Royals’ fan base.

“I would hope that this would bring us the recognition and visibility that we need in the Kansas City area,” Fronzaglia said. “There are area high school seniors in the Kansas City area that I think would be great citizens of MSSU.”

Josh Zimmer, senior percussion performance major and section leader for the drumline, is excited about the possibility of drumming for a professional group.

“The idea of being able to put this type of professional reference on a resume is something that younger musicians can only imagine,” he said.