The winter percussionists gather around their first-place poster with their medals after winning finals.
On Saturday, March 29, the winter guard and percussion performed at Northern Kentucky University for the Tristate Marching Arts finals. The guard and percussion worked tirelessly throughout the span of 3-4 months to be able to perform with absolute perfection during finals.
Eight groups competed against the winter guard, and overall, they placed 6th out of the 8. Percussion, however, brought home the championship after placing 1st out of 9 groups with a score of 86.9, the Highlands program’s personal highest score.
Throughout both the guard and percussion seasons, they performed at many different competitions. Having such a busy schedule before finals created a great deal of stress for many of the performers. But luckily, they had a few off weekends (weekends with no competitions) that helped the groups focus more before finals.
“Well, we had 3 straight weeks with competitions, and then some of us were at NKU select band for the weekend after, so it was a busy couple of weeks coming in, but then we had 3 weeks off before championships. That really helped us prepare, especially mentally,” Brady Smith (10), percussionist at Highlands, said.
The preparation and practices for finals started as soon as the season began, in December.
“Leading up to finals practices definitely got more intense and a little bit longer. Focusing a lot more just so we could do better,” Avery Nieporte (11), guard captain at Highlands, said.
The winter percussion and guard programs had minimal upperclassmen with zero seniors in the guard and one senior, Alex Lancaster, in the percussion. The programs both have bright futures ahead of them, both groups plan to continue their amazing seasons for years to come.
“There were people who had never played percussion in their lives and performed beautifully. So I would say our group and collaboration were the biggest factors,” Smith said.
The improvement throughout both of the group’s seasons can be credited to how hard the students work. In and out of rehearsal, all members would work and practice to ensure their shows were up to standards throughout the season.
“I would definitely say practicing outside of rehearsal helps the most because it really helps hone skills and make people more consistent,” Nieporte said.
Even despite any troubles they have had throughout the season, both groups performed great at every competition. Many of the members enjoyed this season’s shows and are eagerly awaiting more to come. There are strong futures ahead for both programs, and their future seasons are highly anticipated and soon to be in the works.
“My favourite part about this season’s show would be how much our coach Cali let us play into the “city-life” feel. We had little acting parts where we could run around and wave, we all had different hair that she let us choose and different uniforms,” Bailey O’Day (11), a longtime guard member said.
