Tina Wong

The drumline wins gold in marching finals for their program “As Above, So Below.” Given their success in the previous preliminaries, the drumline’s clean sweep at the SCPA Championships was anticipated as they reached new heights.

To be crowned a champion, the most revered rank of them all, is a feat achieved by few, yet sought after by many. Ayala’s percussion ensemble is no stranger to winning, and this past Southern California Percussion Alliance (SCPA) Championships exemplifies the excellence and the high achievement that the drumline puts out on the floor at every competition. To qualify for SCPA Championships, Ayala competed in three regular season shows at Chino High School, Monrovia High School, and Temescal Canyon High School. The drumline kicked off the season with the regular season shows and worked their way up to the SCPA Championship preliminary and final rounds. 

Prelims for the Percussion Scholastic World (PSW) and Percussion Scholastic Concert World (PSCW) divisions were held on April 6 in the Coussoulis Arena at California State University, San Bernardino. In PSW, the drumline scored 90.3 which put them in third place behind Vista Murrieta High School, who placed second with a score of 92.825 and Chino Hills High School, who placed first with a score of 94.95. In PSCW, the drumline scored 93.5 which put them in first place. The following week on April 13, the drumline competed in finals. In a turn of events, they won first place in both divisions with scores of 94.175 in PSW and 93.7 in PSCW.

“My most memorable moment was when they announced us as first since it was something we weren’t really expecting, especially since we had gotten third [place] the weekend before,” Cymbals Section Leader Elaina Master (11) said.

Coming into prelims, there were still some kinks that needed to be ironed out, but by the time finals came around, students were able to come together to deliver their best run of the season and secure gold in both divisions. As the 2024 SCPA PSW champions, Ayala has won back to back titles, this year and the last. Overall, these championships mark their fourth PSW title and fourth PSCW title in SCPA.

“The fact that this is the second year we got gold in a row makes me so proud of myself and my friends, because I know we have worked so hard to get to this moment of the season,” Visual Performer Ava Carr (11) said.

In addition to hosting drumline competitions, the SCPA organization offers scholarships to young composers who submit an original 1-2 minute battery composition or a 2-5 minute ensemble composition. There are four winners chosen, two for the battery composition category and two for the ensemble composition category. A total of $4,000 in scholarships is awarded, and each winner receives $1,000. Tenor drummer Garrett Reynaga (12) participated in the battery composition category with his piece “On the Brink of Heaven and Hell,” inspired by Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy.” 

“I meant for it to explore the juxtaposing worlds of eternal paradise and eternal despair in almost of an indirect, but meaningful fashion,” Reynaga said. “The composition starts in ‘Inferno,’ its first movement, which is really in your face and an almost overly intense segment of the music. It then makes its way to the second movement titled ‘Purgatorio,’ featuring samples of a string arrangement alongside the battery that is meant to sound almost sorrowful. The final movement is titled ‘Paradiso,’ and it also features samples alongside the battery to convey emotion toward the audience even though it is via percussion instruments.”

Reynaga was taken by surprise when he was announced as one of the four recipients of the scholarship at the World Class Finals awards ceremony. This was his first time composing music, and he was not expecting anything to come out of it. 

“I never thought that other people would really understand or enjoy the odd concept behind my composition,” Reynaga said. “In the end, I definitely had a really fun time letting my ideas run wild on paper and being able to create something that I was responsible for. After this experience, I definitely plan on composing more battery pieces in the future.”

The 2024 SCPA Championships is one for the history books, and the drumline will strive to continue leaving behind a legacy of success for years to come. Although winning the competition is the desired result, the end goal is really to put on their best show for the audience to enjoy and for themselves to revel in.

“I love indoor drumline so anything about it is super exciting and fun,” Carr said. “I especially love debuting the show to others. It is fun being able to bring joy and entertainment into other peoples lives when you create a mind blowing show.”