It has been a month since senior Jacoby Taylor last faced the officials at the drum corps Bluecoats, grinning even as sweat beaded on his brow. One month, and he still has not heard a thing. So he gathers himself, pushes away the last remnants of disappointment, and pulls up a list of drum corps. Maybe this one, he thinks, as he opens his email.

Half a word in, and his inbox chimes. The email address reads bluecoats and for a second, his heart stops.

“I was shocked,” Taylor said, awe still in his voice. “I wasn’t expecting it. I just… I wasn’t expecting it.”

Four audition camps were situated around the country, with roughly fifty hopefuls each, but only 33 spots to fill. By the time Taylor received the email, he had completely lost hope that he had would be one of the lucky 33.

“I was so happy when he found out,” his sister, Clarisa Centamore, said. “It’s incredible to watch how much he works and stresses to be the best he can be. It always has a good outcome in the end.”

The drum corps Taylor worked so hard to get into is made of young men and women who average only 20-years-old.

“The Bluecoats provide programs for youth in music and performance training,” the Bluecoats mission statement says. “Leadership, personal, character and social development skills are emphasized through the challenge, excitement, and self-discipline presented by the corps through travel, competition, and pursuit of excellence.”

Taylor has wanted to be a part of a drum corps since his freshman year, when he first heard about the opportunity.

“It’s one of the first things they told me when I first came to band,” he said. “I just thought, ‘I’m going to do that’ – and now I am.”