Students in the Spotlight: Emma Sutton

By: Julia Kelly

Most people would not envision a blonde girl of 5’ 2” playing the drums for an indie-rock band; however, Emma Sutton has cultivated a passion for music at a young age. She designates her time to drumming for a local rock band. Ultimately embracing percussion as a lifelong art, Emma recognizes the lack of influence females have had in drumming.

“Traditionally girls and boys are kind of trained from a young age to view certain things as feminine or masculine,” Sutton said. “This idea applied musically means boys are likely to be taught drums, girls are likely to be taught something a little gentler like the violin. Though I’ve never really faced any problems or ridicule being a drummer…I don’t believe your gender should influence what you are passionate about.”

Presently, Sutton performs with a local garage band, Delphino. She credits the band for giving her drumming career its startup. “ When we first began to meet up, there was definitely a barrier of not really knowing each other and trying to find our footing, but that disappeared pretty quickly,” Sutton said.

Sam Dwyer plays the keyboard and guitar for Delphino and stoutly supports Emma’s presence in the band. “We wouldn’t trade Emma for the world,” Dwyer said. When asked if Emma’s gender had any impact on the band Dwyer said, “I think Emma’s charm is not in her physical gender so much as it is in her physical ability to play.”

Emma made it clear that her gender does not define her skillset. She has been taking lessons for six years and has learned several different types of drumming including jazz and latin rhythms. While she believes these elements have greatly influenced her sound, Emma attributes her confidence in her abilities to her success. Her tenacity keeps her aligned with the rhythms and beats in each musical piece. Sutton speaks openly about how music is incendiary and should be embraced with passion. “The most important thing is to be confident. Whenever you play, you are the leader, so you just have to keep pushing forward and do what comes naturally,” said Emma.

Emma, Sam, and the other members of Delphino can be heard at their Soundcloud.

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