AHS is home to multiple performing arts groups—Choir, Colorguard, Orchestra, Band, and Percussion. All five of these groups are highly respected, and have begun practicing diligently for their upcoming concerts, shows, and competitions. Like the rest of the performing arts members, our percussionists have also switched gears after their fall marching season, and have been tapping their way into a new indoor spring season. AHS’s percussion ensembles are composed of three different groups—A Line, O Line, and World Line. All three of these groups have already competed in several Winter Guard International (WGI) and Southern California Percussion Alliance (SCPA) events, but have continued to attend rehearsals multiple times a week to perfect their shows.

For their first SCPA competition on Feb. 10 at Moorpark High School, A and O Line presented their shows, Alloy and Crimson, to a panel of judges for the first time. Both groups did extremely well; A Line came in 2nd place with the score of 71.700, while Open Line came in 1st place with the score of 74.150. Meanwhile, World Line performed at their first SCPA competition on Feb. 17 at Monrovia High School. Although the Apaches put on a spectacular performance of their show, they still ended up being outperformed by their rival, Ruben S. Ayala High School, and came in 2nd with the score of 80.500. On Feb. 24 and 25, Open Line went to Great Oaks High School to attend the WGI Temecula Regional Open Class Championship. Once again, our percussionists performed to the best of their abilities and won the championship prelims and finals with the high score of 83.950.

Open Line member Anthony Hon states that he “really enjoys the overall aggressiveness of their show this year, and the way it is being put together.” More importantly though, he says that he has “had a lot of fun playing the marimba, getting to know new friends who shared both the same talent and interests in school, and watching the team’s technique improve greatly after hours and hours of practice. Over this same time, it was great that all members are beginning  to understand each other better, which allowed the ensemble to collaborate more easily. In general, the energy and confidence we bring to rehearsals and shows have definitely been rising since the beginning of our season.”

Open and World Line will have several other competitions coming up; their WGI Temecula Competition will occur on Mar. 24 and 25, while their SCPA Prelims and Championships will occur on Apr. 7 and 15. Both of these events will help the percussionists determine their rank and prepare for the highly anticipated annual WGI Championships at Dayton, Ohio during the week of Apr. 17. The WGI Championship will be the final competitive event for the percussionists of Open and World Line, but all three ensembles will be performing their full shows at the Annual Spring Show at AHS on May 5. Our percussionists have all been working extremely hard for their competitions, so make sure you go and support them at one of their upcoming shows!