Percussion Section of Band Places Section in Competition

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Media by Andy Cook

The percussions section of the band poses with the second place trophy that they earned at Timberland High School on Sat. August 28. Allison Sanders, freshman, played bass drum and said she liked that they were awarded for their hard work. “It felt really good to get second,” Sanders said.

For the first time ever, the percussion section of the band competed in the Timberland Percussion Competition, earning second place in their division less than a point under first place 

On Sat. August 27, the pit and drumline performed three songs like “Creep” by Radiohead, .

“It was super cool for the kids to have this competition, especially after all the hard work they have put in,” Andy Cook, percussion band director, said.

Cook said a lot of students picked up their instruments this summer to practice. 

And, due to an influx of students joining the percussion section, Cook was able to add a new section of the band: the battery section, which usually includes snare and bass drums as well as tenors. The battery also competed at the competition. 

Allison Sanders, freshman, plays the bass drum in the battery, and she started playing in the summer.

“I was inspired by my dad. He plays the drums, and I’ve always wanted to play the drums,” Sanders said.

I’m very proud of myself and my progress as well as everyone in the percussion ensemble.

— Isabelle Cheung

At the competition Sanders said she enjoyed being able to see other much larger marching bands and how they differed from hers.

“It was cool to see how their sound differs from our sound,” Sanders said.

After playing the piano, Isabelle Cheung, sophomore, started playing bass and was first bass at the competition. 

Cheung is one of the students who learned their instrument recently, only picking up the guitar last May. 

After the performance, Cheung said she was disappointed about how they did because of how critical the judges were, but she felt better after talking to the others in the band.

“Hours later when everyone was talking again, I realized that we did really well and it was a lot better than I initially thought,” Cheung said. 

After the competition, Cheung said she felt proud of their second place, and when she came back to school on Monday, she started to get more competitive for their future competitions. The next competition is for the full band, on Sat. September 10.

“I’m very proud of myself and my progress as well as everyone in the percussion ensemble,” Cheung said.