HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — Music echoes through the halls at Hudsonville High School almost every single Thursday.
The noise comes from inside the music room, where students are slamming on drums and cymbals.
It's loud, but that's what they want.
“They like to play loud, not quiet," said Craig VanderWall, Director of Bands at Hudsonville High School. "So as long as I let them play loud, they stay pretty relaxed.”
The 16 students VanderWall refers to make up the Eagle Claw Percussion Ensemble. Each of them marches to the beat of their own drum, literally.
“It's one of the happiest places that everybody can go and just themselves," said Forrest Eldred, a junior at the school.
All 16 students in the class were born with different abilities. However, they have collectively found a similar passion, through music.
“It's about bringing people joy and happiness," said sophomore Brandon Laduke. "Joy comes from inside the heart.”
The school organized the ensemble in the fall, so it's less than a year old.
It was inspired by one of the current students in the class — Laduke — during a basketball tournament last year.
“Brandon did something I've never seen before," VanderWall said. "He ran off the bench as a player and went and conducted the band, and was just really excited and was doing an awesome job. Just having a blast.”
Laduke added, “I was amazed. I was really teared up at the moment....I just went up there and conducted."
According to VanderWall, that “kicked off a chain of events, like 'We can do better' and 'We can do more, we can include more kids and let's find a way to make that happen.'”
That's exactly what they did, blossoming into a full-blown production.
They've gone from learning a simple rhythm, to performing in front of the school and becoming a viral sensation.
The clip above, which is from mid-February, has racked up more than 220,000 views on Facebook.
“I can't believe it," VanderWall said. "The first thing I had to do is look up what it meant to go viral, because I had absolutely no idea how many views that got. It's like, every few days, it just keeps growing and growing and growing.”
Growing every day, just like the students' respect for their teacher.
“I just feel that he inspires me," Laduke said, referring to VanderWall. "Well, sometimes he can yell at students, but hey, I enjoyed that," he joked.
Mr. VanderWall, feels inspired right back.
“I think we all need to realize that there's more there with everyone," he said. "Every person you meet, there's more there than what you might think.”