Thousands of University of Massachusetts Amherst students have learned from percussion instructor Thom Hannum, whose 40-year career at the college included a tenure as the assistant director, then associate director, of the Minuteman Marching Band before his retirement in 2020. Earlier this month, the Percussive Arts Society, an international society of percussion musicians, gave him its biggest honor: being inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame.

With this recognition, Hannum is now the second UMass Amherst professor to be in the Hall of Fame; the other is the late bandleader, composer, drummer, and activist Max Roach, who taught at UMass for decades and helped found its “Jazz in July” program. To be named “in the same breath” as Roach, Hannum said, is “pretty incredible.” (Other percussionists who’ve been inducted into the Percussive Arts Society’s Hall of Fame include Ringo Starr and Tito Puente.)

Outside of his UMass career, Hannum was also involved in the creation of a drum corps stage show, “Blast!,” which billed itself as an American counterpart to “Riverdance” and “Stomp.” It premiered in London in 1999, then moved to Boston in 2000. In 2001, it opened on Broadway and won both a Tony Award and an Emmy Award.

“I never ever got bored of watching and listening to that show,” Hannum said. “It always delivered the emotional impact and the sheer entertainment every time. It was fascinating.”

Hannum even said that he had students at UMass who got into drum corps after seeing “Blast!,” which “got into the band rooms, and, in some cases, the living rooms” of people who wouldn’t have learned about drum corps otherwise.

In 2013, Hannum returned to New York City, this time with the Minuteman Marching Band, for another big opportunity: the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which the band performed in the same year that they celebrated their 150th anniversary. Hannum called it “a major thrill” and “something that you’ll never forget.” (In fact, the group will perform in the parade again today.)

In 40 years, Hannum has seen drum corps itself change “radically” from simple formations with military-esque marches into a competitive activity with fast music and more visually complex formations that can integrate digital sound effects and a wider range of instruments. In doing so, he said, drum corps has allowed a broader range of students to participate.

In an era where it’s possible to enjoy all varieties of entertainment on YouTube 24/7, another benefit of drum corps is that it can be a gateway into seeing more live shows and music.

“Live performance – I can’t say it enough. I know we live in a day and age where things are accessible online, and that’s great, and it opens up our mind and our eyes,” Hannum said. “But there’s nothing like being there present for one of these performances, and it’s beyond thrilling. The energy is contagious.”

Beyond that, he said, being in a drum corps or marching band also helps students build collaboration skills in a practical way.

“One of the great things about being in a band is you’re around your friends five, six days a week. Everybody’s sacrificing for the betterment of the whole,” he said. “You don’t learn that in the classroom, necessarily. You can talk about it, but being in this percussion program is an actual daily application of what it’s like to trust the other people, to develop teamwork, and to really prepare, so that the people that you’re around, you all can achieve what your potential is.”

As Hannum reflects on this honor, he’s thankful for his students, whom he credits for the accolade because “they trusted and believed in what I was trying to do,” which “goes a long way”; for music companies like Pearl Drums and Zildjian supporting him doing clinics; and for UMass itself: “They gave me a start. They gave me a chance.”

Though Hannum retired a few years ago, he said that this past fall, he was busier than ever. He’s still traveling for work, teaching clinics and writing music for high school and college bands.

In other words: the beat goes on.

Carolyn Brown can be reached at cbrown@gazettenet.com.