Winter Percussion is set to compete tomorrow at Franklin Central. 

This year’s winter percussion theme will incorporate the Viking lifestyle and include death and war. 

Sophomore Abraam Rodriguez-Navarro, who plays the keyboard, is ecstatic to perform a long-awaited show with the theme of Vikings

“The theme is Vikings. It correlates to death and war,” Rodriguez said. “Vikings who are led into battle as they fight to descend into Valhalla (heaven). I am excited. It is pretty close to last year’s show, and I loved last year’s show, so I am excited.”

Percussion students have their first day of WGI (Winter Guard International) Regionals tomorrow, and potentially finals on Sunday. The percussion group has been perfecting their pieces since late November.

“Winter percussion started at the end of November, and tryouts were a week prior,” Rodriguez said. “Ever since November, we have been practicing.”

Perfecting and preparing their piece is a daring challenge for students due to the time and effort required.

“The ensemble practices three times a week. We have a music-only rehearsal on Fridays, staging rehearsal on Wednesdays, and normal practice and choreography on Mondays,” Mr. Luke Alysworth, band director, said.

Many percussion students have practiced together for four years.

“It is a very veteran group. The core of it has been together for almost four years, and so they are very experienced,” Mr. Alysworth said. “They have worked together a long time, and they are pretty talented.”

Percussion has improved significantly compared to where they started.

“Every year, we just keep getting better and better at correlating everything together. We learn music a lot better,” Rodriguez said. “We have advanced, and that is what makes us a good band”

Sophomore Annie Brinker has been perfecting the bass drum since she was in kindergarten.

“I started in kindergarten with lessons, but I started my eighth-grade year with bass drum and joined percussion my seventh-grade year,” she said. “I am not the best with the instrument, so I am still working on it. I have been practicing a lot, and I have been trying to get in the right mindset.”

Staying focused is a jarring task for musicians.

“My weakness when playing the marimba is probably focus, and my strength is the amount of time I have spent on it,” senior Kolby Gardner said.

Keeping rhythm and time is important to achieving success on an instrument.

“I play the keyboard, and I have played it since sixth grade,” Rodriguez said. “One of my strengths, I wouldn’t say it is keeping time, but I am better at keeping time than playing.”