A Big Win at Carroll

After having a week off from competition last weekend, Woodlan Indoor Percussion was ready to compete this weekend in the Carroll IPA Indoor Percussion Invitational. The kids have been hard at work finishing the show, and Cody and Derick have been busy adding lights, lights, and MORE LIGHTS! The show IS titled “Out of the Darkness”, after all! The light effects added so much to the show, and everyone was excited to perform for “the home crowd” (this was our only local competition this season).

For being the only local competition, the schedule for Saturday was one of the longest the kids have had yet this season. The morning began at 7:45 with practice, which ran until lunch time. The group worked hard during practice and ran the drill many times. Everyone was pleased to find that the weather outside was beautiful when they took their instruments out to the trailer to be loaded. It was a gorgeous warm, sunny day that got up to 72 degrees! After loading the trailers, the students had lunch provided by parents, which included a taco bar, chips, salsa, apples and peanut butter/cream cheese/caramel dip (amazing!!), drinks, and desserts. Next, they loaded the bus for a short ride to Carroll High School.

After unloading the bus and trailers, the students spent time getting their instruments out of cases and ready for competition from our “lane” in the cafeteria. They changed into uniforms and then headed to the warm up area to practice their music.

The students were excited and prepared to perform their show to the huge crowd that awaited them. There is a great deal of set up that needs to be done, so after a few chaotic minutes of getting everything in place, Woodlan Indoor Percussion was ready to compete! They did an amazing job and felt really great about their performance. There were some technical difficulties with lights, mics, and cables, but they had a fantastic show despite the difficulties. The group was given a penalty for going over the time limit, so no one was quite sure what to expect during the awards ceremony.

Brendan Maska, trombone soloist

Bella Harber (behind the curtain, in the darkness), vocal soloist

Michael Crilly, marimba soloist

After their performance, the students and crew loaded the equipment into the trailers, changed out of uniforms, and headed to the stands to watch some amazing performances throughout the evening. They were wowed by several of the larger groups that competed later on. They spent time with their friends in the stands, and several of our students became fast friends with a group of students from Eastside High School. It’s amazing how all the students come together as a family in band. Later, during the awards ceremony, a moment of silence was held to honor the memory of Ashley “Ash” Moore. Ashley was a senior marimba player for Plainfield Indoor Percussion and tragically died this past week. It was an amazing feeling to know that bands all over the state were dedicating their shows to her and supporting their band family across the state, #playforash.

During the awards ceremony, many of the students, staff, and parents were nervous to hear the placements. During practices this week, Cody had told the kids that they had the opportunity to place first or last, depending on what they put into their performances. As the placements were read, we all became more and more excited as we didn’t hear our name called… until they reached First Place! This was such an exciting moment for the kids to know that their hard work had paid off! Now that the show has been completed, they will return to practice this week to continue to polish off areas and work on parts that need improvement. Hard work will be required, but this was a great way for the group to realize their potential this season. Great things are ahead!

Here are the placements in our class, PSB:

1. Woodlan Indoor Percussion

2. Eastside Indoor

3. Norwell Winter Percussion

4. Fairfield Indoor Percussion

5. East Noble Winter Knights

6. Monroe Central Golden Bear Percussion Ensemble

Making friends with people from Eastside

Looking at next week, Woodlan Indoor Percussion will be heading to Pendleton Heights High School for PSB Prelims on Saturday, March 12th. There are 16 groups scheduled to perform in our class, which will begin at 12:00pm and end with awards at 3:00pm. Woodlan will perform at 1:04pm. It would be so appreciated by these students if you can come out to offer your support and cheers for them. They are working so hard and have an amazing show! We hope to see you there!