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Non-Binary Indian American Selected as Drum Major at SU Non-Binary Indian American Selected as Drum Major at SU

Mita Gangopadhyay will be one of three drum majors this year

By Trey Redfield

Mita Gangopadhyay
© 2021 Trey Redfield

TREY REDFIELD: Syracuse University senior Mita Gangopadhyay has been on a football field at halftime for most of her life. But for the first time, she will hold the title “Drum Major” in the SU Marching Band, conducting the sounds you’re listening to now. She’s not your ordinary drum major, though. In fact, she is a non-binary Indian American, using the pronouns she/they. Gangopadhyay grew up in India, but she and her family immigrated to the United States in 2001. Gangopadhyay’s family has always been into music. So according to her, it just runs in the family.

MITA GANGOPADHYAY: Also, like, my family cares about music; it is something that my dad is super passionate about, and then my older brother was in orchestra. I’m the only wind instrument player in my family, but that’s my one thing being the different instrument person in my family, so they were definitely supportive of that.

REDFIELD: Gangopadhyay played the flute from fourth grade until eighth grade. In high school she transitioned to color guard, where she became a two-year captain in Montgomery, New Jersey. According to her, that was all she could do as a student.

GANGOPADHYAY: There was a certain amount of like, ‘You had to be taking this class and that class to do it,’ and I couldn’t focus on my concentration in high school, which was art basically. I’m an architecture student, so it was super important for me to have my portfolio going into school.

REDFIELD: Gangopadhyay said having to deal with all of that took away her chance to get that full band experience. But when Gangopadhyay got back on the flute when she joined the SU Marching Band, she worked her way up to becoming a flute leader. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gangopadhyay realized she had enough leadership experience to become a drum major.

GANGOPADHYAY: With the whole, like, crazy COVID semester, I realized, like, I do have the stuff to back it up, and I was, like, very confident in myself, and very confident that I knew with my help, I can help the band run smoothly.

REDFIELD: Freshman Philip Galati was another one of the three drum majors selected for this year. He says he thinks Gangopadhyay is very deserving of the role.

PHILIP GALATI: She saw that opportunity for new leadership and took it and I totally commend her for that, because I think she’s an awesome person for the job.

REDFIELD: The process of being selected as drum major is a long one. It started back in October with interviews conducted by band directors and former drum majors , auditions and then wrapping up with a final vote from the marching band members on March 21. It was all new to Gangopadhyay. But her race and identity to the podium is also new. Gangopadhyay says she thinks as a non-binary Indian American, her impact will spread across campus lines.

GANGOPADHYAY: “Seeing a person of color in… that major role being someone conducting the entire band is super exciting, obviously… It’s like seeing a person in a powerful role in a movie, being a minority. It’s a kin to that kind of feeling of representation. Because it is like, ‘Oh, that is attainable. There have been people who have done it before me, so I don’t have to be the first.’”

REDFIELD: Also, Gangopadhyay said she came out as non-binary in college. She was afraid of what was going to potentially happen, but Gangopadhyay thought it was the right thing to do.

GANGOPADHYAY: Ultimately, I think it was okay. I didn’t have any–what I was afraid of never really happened. And honestly, if someone wants to treat me differently for that, I definitely have the strength to be able to… not just to advocate for myself. Stand up for myself, basically.

REDFIELD: When Gangopadhyay informed her parents, her father was alright with it. But it took a long time to convince her mother.

GANGOPADHYAY: It was, like, overtime slowly… changing the things she had been told from her parents, and the people before them and the attitude before it. A lot of conversations–a lot of hard conversations with my mom.

REDFIELD: The strength Gangopadhyay has endured has led her to the biggest stage in the marching band. Band director Timothy Diem says Gangopadhyay has the marching band’s approval.

TIMOTHY DIEM: I didn’t know her as well until this last year when she became one of the leaders, but I kept hearing from inside the band that she’s really a good person and leads really well. So then when she tried out for drum major, great. All for it, and the students had a strong response for her, which is great.

REDFIELD: Gangopadhyay says having that spotlight on that big stage is what keeps her going.

GANGOPADHYAY: I think representation really matters, which is another reason I push myself, like, to do better. Obviously, it’s a lot of time, work, and effort and stuff. So I just thought it was important cause every time you see a drum major, you see someone up there.

REDFIELD: Reporting from Syracuse, Trey Redfield, NCC News.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — The drum major is the most important role in a marching band. Someone who has earned this role is Mita Gangopadhyay, a senior at Syracuse University.

Gangopadhyay became a drum major as a non-binary Indian American, using the pronouns she/they. Gangopadhyay came out as non-binary in college, but she doesn’t let the chance of being treated differently get to her.

“Nor does it really define me in any way,” Gangopadhyay said. “It’s a part of me, but it doesn’t define my personality or whatever. I feel like if you talked to my friends, they’d be like ‘Oh, that’s just Mita.'”

Gangopadhyay’s journey began on the other side of the world in India. She and her family immigrated to the United States in 2001. Gangopadhyay’s family has always been into music.

“My family cares about music; it is something that my dad is really passionate about,” Gangopadhyay said. “I’m the only wind instrument player in my family, but that’s my one thing being the different instrument person in my family, so they were definitely supportive of that.”

Gangopadhyay began playing the flute from fourth grade until eighth grade. Then, she picked up the flute again when she came to college. Her performance as a flutist helped her become a flute leader in the marching band at SU. When the COVID-19 pandemic rolled into last fall, it helped Gangopadhyay realize she had enough experience as a flute leader to become a drum major.

“I realized I do have the stuff to back it up,” Gangopadhyay said. “I was, like, very confident in myself and very confident that I knew with my help, I can help run the band smoothly.”

Philip Galati,  a freshman at SU who was also selected as a drum major this year, was glad to see Gangopadhyay take advantage of the opportunity.

“She saw that opportunity for new leadership and took it,” Galati said. “I totally commend her for that, because I think she’s an awesome person for the job.”

Realizing she had enough to become a drum major was not the only thing she understood in college. She also learned coming out as non-binary in college was the right thing to do.

“Ultimately, I think it was okay,” Gangopadhyay said. “What I was afraid of never really happened, And honestly, if someone wants to treat me differently for that, I definitely have the strength to be able to … not just to advocate for myself.”

Gangopadhyay thinks the impact that it has will spread across campus lines.

“It’s like seeing a role in a powerful movie, being a minority,” Gangopadhyay said. “It’s akin to that kind of representation. Because it is like, ‘Oh, that is attainable. There have been people who have done it before me, so I don’t have to be the first.'”

Band director Timothy Diem did not know Gangopadhyay well until last year when she became a flute leader but knows Gangopadhyay has the marching band’s approval.

“I kept hearing from inside the band that she’s a really good person and leads really well,” Diem said. “So then she tried out for drum major, great. All for it. And the students had a strong response for her, which is great.”

Gangopadhyay said she thinks what she represents as a non-binary Indian American makes her ready for the opportunity.

“I think representation really matters,” Gangopadhyay said. “Which is another reason I push myself to do better.”

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