VANESSA STAUBLIN | Staff Reporter

With drumsticks in hand, senior Eric Sanders marches to the beat of his own drum.

Sanders is preparing for his upcoming senior recital Saturday morning in the Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall.

Sanders said this recital is an accumulation of everything he has learned during the past four years at Butler University.

Sanders said he has many different emotions about his upcoming performance.

“It’s a bit nerve-racking because you only get one shot at everything,” Sanders said. “There’s no going or playing it again.”

Along with preparing for his recital this week, Sanders will perform for the Butler Ballet’s production of “Cinderella” on the same day, along with another concert for the Butler Symphony Orchestra a few days later.

“It’s definitely testing my time management skills, but that’s what I have learned in this program,” Sanders said.

Professor William Grubb, Sanders’ advisor, said Sanders has been working hard for one of his last performances here at Butler.

“It’s evident that Eric works hard at whatever he does,” Grubb said. “I’m excited to see what he has come up with for his senior recital.”

Sanders said he plans to have a few different percussion pieces in his recital.

Some are pieces he has heard previously, and others were recommended by professors.

Percussion instructor Jon Crabiel helped Sanders along the way with making decisions on what to play in his senior recital.

Crabiel gave Sanders a list of different pieces of music to choose from to perform. After listening to each, Sanders narrowed down his selection.

“Professor Crabiel gave me a good direction to look in,” Sanders said. “I wasn’t quite sure where to begin, but professor Crabiel definitely pointed me in the right direction.”

Sanders began his percussion career about 10 years ago. During his junior year of high school, he decided he wanted to pursue a music degree.

“I was taking lessons from a local professional percussionist, and she thought I could have a successful career in percussion if I worked hard at it,” Sanders said.

Sanders said he has not once regretted majoring in percussion performance since being in college.

“There isn’t much else I could see myself doing with my life besides playing percussion,” he said.

Since being at Butler, Sanders has taken many different music classes for his major, including music theory, ear training, piano courses and percussion lessons.

He has also played with ensembles, including the BSO and the Butler Percussion Ensemble.

Sanders said taking so many different music classes has made him an overall better performer.

“Musically, I’m much more mature and a much better player after these four years,” he said.

As Sanders starts to close his music career at Butler, he looks to the future for other opportunities in music.

Sanders said the music program at Butler has made him a better musician. He said he only hopes to grow from here.

“These four years have changed my life drastically,” Sanders said. “It’s crazy to think where I was at when I came in as a freshman and where I am now.”

The recital starts at 11 a.m. and will last approximately an hour.