Quincey Reese, Editor in Chief

     The indoor percussion ensemble gave their first official performance of the 2018-2019 season at Penn-Trafford High School during the Tournament Indoor Association (TIA) competition.

    With the theme of “space race,” the group earned a score of 83.4 on Feb. 23. They also gave a second performance through the Three Rivers Winter Ensemble Association (TRWEA), but were not given an official score as this was only an exhibition.

    Director of the percussion ensemble, Jason Goyda, said he was pleased with how the band did.

    “They really got into their first performance. You could see they were enjoying it,” Goyda said. “People tend to get a little intimidated on the first show, especially being in front of a home audience. I could tell they were enjoying themselves, and I think that came across in their performance.”

    In the coming weeks, the indoor percussion ensemble will continue to compete at local and out-of-state competitions. These include regional competitions in Kentucky and Indiana, as well as  the WGI Percussion World Championships taking place from April 10 to 13 in Dayton, Ohio to cap off the season. Goyda said the group wants to make it to the finals here and place among the top groups.

    “I think [today’s performance] will be a good building block. I thought we had a decent first run,” he said. “The judges seemed very receptive of it, and the audience seemed to enjoy it, so I think it will be a good place to jump off from going into the rest of the season.”