FAMU appoints first woman Head Drum Major in Marching 100 history: meet Dupe Oloyede

For Florida A&M student Oluwamodupe "Dupe" Oloyede — whose name translates to "Lord I thank you," — playing her saxophone has not only been an instrument of worship but a form of expression that bridges all her worlds together in harmony.

Oloyede will continue to play her praises but this upcoming school year she will function as Head Drum Major for the university's "incomparable"  Marching 100 band . She is the first woman ever appointed for this position in the band's 79-year reign.

She previously served as freshman section leader for the saxophones, assistant section leader and even earned "Most Outstanding 2nd Year." She was also the second woman to serve as a drum major before becoming the head.

"I'm grateful," the senior theater performance major said in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat. "It's an honor to be selected to serve in that capacity. So I was really stoked and excited."

As Head Drum Major, Oloyede will lead the band musically as well as serve as the head of show planning and dance routine. This is the highest ranking-student leader position in a marching band.

"Appointing Dupe as the first female Head Drum Major of the Incomparable Marching 100 is one of the proudest decisions I've made," FAMU Director of Bands and Professor of Music Shelby Chipman said in a prepared statement. "She's a model student, a theater major, a top ensemble musician, and has consistently taken on leadership roles within the band, including show planning. Her warm, spirited nature, steady demeanor, and ability to lead with integrity make her the ideal choice."

Oloyede says this is a position she believes she is anointed for.

"Drum Major is a leadership capacity," she said. "I lead in the classroom, I lead on the field, I lead wherever I am."

The best part about it? "I still use my saxophone."

Oloyede celebrated her new position with family in Washington, D.C., which she says pulled out all the "theatrics" with shouts, running outside and praying altogether after she got off a Zoom call to hear the results of her spring audition.

"It's a heavy mantle because I understand there were women before me who are definitely qualified and just not given the opportunity. So I do it in their honor," she said. "I also do it for my nieces, because nobody in my family went to FAMU. I want them to see you can go to an HBCU and do great things."

Where it all started

The Atlanta native says her lore is that she was "born dancing," with Afrobeats and Fuji music from her Nigerian culture running through her pulse.

"I've always been in love with music," she said.

She fell in love with marching band when her middle school teacher encouraged her to try it, and landed on the brass instrument because she "could play it in church."

Oloyede says that she could easily see the parallels.

"At the end of practice, in pre-drill, we march from the patch, we come up the street, we turn left, and we end up over here (at the band hall). First time I experienced that I was like, 'this is like praise and worship,'" she said.

She refers to this blend between her two passions as syncretism, a term she uses in theater.

"Essentially you've got all the drums going, everybody's rattling. We're dancing in cadence together, then we come in the band room, we walk in, we stand and we just wait for it all to end. That's the benediction," she said. "It's kind of like church in a way, the worlds inform each other. That's why I love theater, that's why I love band. I'm just grateful to be in this type of place where everything can work together."

Oloyede was told before that she would be a drum major before she even considered the position a possibility. She calls it a "dream deferred."

"When I first started band I saw the people who were in the front and how they commanded the room. There were two women doing it at the time. I didn't know that, that was an anomaly," she said.

Now Oloyede is laser focused on the busiest season of the year, football season.

Training like an athlete

Oloyede says when the going gets tough she refers to her sources of inspiration to dig a little deeper and muster the strength to conquer these obstacles.

One person she looks to is seven-time Olympic champion Simone Biles.

"She doesn't really do too much trash talk to the other people, because her biggest competition is herself, especially when you're at that pinnacle. It's like who do you compete against? You have to compete against yourself," she said.

This is her "champion" mindset.

Oloyede emphasizes that everything she does is a part of team effort so being dependable and evolving has been her fuel.

"I just don't want to be the same way I was yesterday. I want to keep pushing and keep pushing the people I'm around, they're pushing and so I can't be the weakest link. Can't do that," she said.

Football season being the busiest time of the year forces each member to foster a stronger form of discipline.

For Oloyede it's finding a way to balance classes, additional school organizations like Images Modeling Troupe, FAMU Essential Theatre and Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority.

What's next?

Once Oloyede graduates she hopes to attend the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University to study acting.

She hopes to be on broadway, get into theater education, open a performing arts school and "wherever (else) the Lord takes me."

For now, she is finding ways to live in the moment and create her own "legacy of excellence."

This includes advocating for better uniform accommodations that flatter all body types — and adding Afrobeats to the band's catalog this school year.

"Dupe earned this honor, and we are excited to watch her lead this season," Chipman said.

Kyla A. Sanford can be reached at ksanford@tallahassee.com

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU appoints first woman Head Drum Major in Marching 100 history