Thom P. Hannum is a percussionist and music educator that is known for being the former associate

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

of the

University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band The University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band (UMMB) is the marching band for the University of Massachusetts Amherst known for its drum corps style and nationally renowned percussion section. The Minuteman Band is also known for its us ...

. He previously served as interim director after the sudden death of bandleader

George N. Parks George N. Parks (May 23, 1953 – September 16, 2010) was the director of the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band at University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1977 until 2010. He also led the George N. Parks Drum Major Academy, a ...

while the Minuteman Band was on a trip to Michigan, and served in this position until 2011, when Timothy Todd Anderson was named the new director. Thom Hannum has long been regarded as one of the nation’s foremost marching percussion arrangers, instructors, and clinicians having presented numerous seminars and workshops.

Early life

Hannum grew up in the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

area of Pennsylvania. When Hannum was 10, he began to play the drums with the Brookhaven Crusaders, a local drum corps located in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He continued to play throughout high school and joined the marching band at

West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

where he studied history and secondary education. In 1980,

asked him to become a graduate assistant at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Hannum decided that he “had nothing to lose and everything to gain” and accepted the position. He received his master’s degree from UMass in 1984 and was offered a newly created assistant director position with the band.

Career

Thom Hannum taught at the University of Massachusetts for over 40 years, where he served as the Associate Director of the Minuteman Marching Band. In early 2020, Hannum announced he would be switching to a part time role within the UMass Marching band. Hannum stated "after a great deal of thought and careful consideration the time has come for me to scale back my activities and the time spent with the Minuteman Marching Band and other associated duties". In late May 2021, alumnus Ian Hale was announced the new Associate Director and head of percussion of the Minuteman Marching Band, replacing Thom Hannum after 40 years. Hannum has been heavily involved in

Drum Corps International Drum Corps International (DCI) is a governing body for junior drum and bugle corps responsible for developing and enforcing rules of competition, and for providing standardized adjudication at sanctioned drum and bugle corps competitions througho ...

where he is currently a percussion consultant for the

Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, Carolina Crown is a member corps of Drum Corps International (DCI). Carolina Crown won the 2013 Drum Corps Internat ...

. He is also known for his work with

The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps The Cadets Drum Corps (formerly the Holy Name Cadets, Cadets of Garfield, Garfield Cadets, and Cadets of Bergen County) is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, The Cadets was one of the thirteen ...

Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps The Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps is a defunct competitive junior drum and bugle corps, based in Bloomington, Indiana. The corps was the 1991 Drum Corps International (DCI) World Champion. History The DCI years The Star of Indiana Drum and ...

, and Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps. In the summer of 2001, Hannum was inducted into the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame, and in 2008 he was inducted into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame. In 2019, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service to Music Medal The Distinguished Service to Music Medal is an award presented by Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity. It is awarded to people who have contributed to the advancement of the wind band "as a cultural, musical and educational medium. ...

, the highest available honor from music fraternity

Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity (, colloquially referred to as KKPsi), is a fraternity for college and university band members in the United States. It was founded on November 27, 1919, on Thanksgiving Day, at Oklahoma Agricul ...

. In addition to his involvement in the

marching arts The marching arts are a collection of fine arts related activities that are closely associated with wind music. The marching arts include, but are not necessarily limited to marching band, drum corps, pep band, color guard, winter guard, and ind ...

, Hannum was on the design team for the

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

and

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

winning musical, ''Blast!''

References

External links

Official website

Interview
with Michael R. Homes from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

Oral History Collection
Biography
from the

Hall of Fame {{DEFAULTSORT:Hannum, Thomas American percussionists American male drummers University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band West Chester University alumni University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Living people People from Amherst, Massachusetts Place of birth missing (living people) 1957 births