On Saturday, January 25, the percussion ensemble held their indoor parent preview in the Ayala High School gym at 7 p.m. for anyone who wanted to attend for the low price of $5. This preview showcased the ensemble’s competition style performance to prepare for competition season.
This show was meant to be a preview for parents and anyone interested in watching the performance before competition season starts. This gives percussion members the chance to practice their show in front of a live audience for the first time to help take away pre-performance jitters when the percussion season really begins.
“[This preview] is important because it pushes us all to make sure we are ready on time, so we can prepare for future competitions, and also to show any locals or anyone who wants to come watch what we are performing this year,” Percussion Ensemble member James Durazo (9) said.
The theme for the 2024-2025 season is the “Beholder of the Eyes” which is meant to be a critique to the drumline world. With that, the show is about responding to criticisms and trying to keep those criticisms in mind while performing. This theme goes off of the well-known saying that “beauty is the eye of the beholder,” meaning that everyone sees things differently and each different perspective is beautiful, which was shown through the multiple performances going on in the showcase.
“The show itself is a reflection right of what’s something that we’ve done in the past, which is a show that asked the judges to take a critical look at how we adjudicate art,” Percussion Leader Mr. Robert Ly said. “So in this show you’re forced, as an audience member, to choose which show you’re going to watch and that also makes the show important because it’s a message to how we adjudicate.”
The preview started with practice from the front ensemble, demonstrating their melodic notes leaving the audience with an exciting start to their night. After this, the battery section showed off their skills with their booming harmony, vibrating the whole room.
The percussion section then showed what their performance was going to look like for the next season before showing off their Scholastic World preview performance. In this, the visual ensemble, the battery section, and percussion ensemble all worked together in playing beautiful notes and dancing tied together with enormous props, each section fighting to capture the audience’s attention. This performance at the preview shows how much the percussion ensemble improves in just one season through meticulous practice and dedication.
“When I watch other groups, I really like to see how their show changes and grows over the course of a season,” Percussion Ensemble member Hannah Luu (10) said. “Having this parent preview to show where we started and then going all the way up until when we have our Dayton send-off show, it’s really inspiring to see that growth.”
This preview gives just a small glimpse into what the ensemble performance will look like in the upcoming season, giving the audience an amazing performance while simultaneously helping performers practice their show for the upcoming season. This specially crafted performance kept the outstanding abilities of the performers in mind as the percussion season approaches.
“Every show that we have here at Ayala is custom made for our students and with our members in mind,” Ly said. “Something that one of our head coaches said themselves [is that] he wanted to feature our strong performers because he’s felt every year that he’s been here, they’ve been just very strong performers in the ensemble.”
