{"id":1277,"date":"2011-03-14T11:40:37","date_gmt":"2011-03-14T16:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/?p=1277"},"modified":"2014-04-07T07:16:30","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T12:16:30","slug":"plymouth-high-schools-winter-performance-ensemble-are-state-bound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/?p=1277","title":{"rendered":"Plymouth High School’s Winter Performance Ensemble are State Bound"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Casey McDonald<\/em><\/p>\n

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Sophomore Katie Lee and senior Caitlin Jung stand in front of the calendars that show their performance and rehearsal schedule. Photo by: Casey McDonald<\/p><\/div>\n

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On Saturday March 5, the Plymouth High School Winter Performance Ensemble traveled to Mooresville High School for the Color Guard Divisional State Finals competition. Plymouth voluntarily moved up to Class 2A after last winter winning the Class 3A State Championship in IHSCGA competing with larger schools. Plymouth students also were competing with 39 other schools for the title of IHSCGA State Champion.<\/p>\n

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The PHS Winter Guard competed in the IHSCGA Divisional State Finals on Saturday, March 5\u00a0at Mooresville High School. Even with the move up to Class 2A, \u201cthe group did an outstanding job and was one of only 10 schools (out of 40 at finals) to earn the top award of a gold rating,\u201d says director Bryan Ames.<\/p>\n

Although Penn High School won the state championship, \u201cPlymouth was by far the crowd’s favorite group of the day and the gym came alive with applause during our performance,\u201d said Ames. PHS was given a standing ovation by the other schools at the end of the performance and the members were extremely proud of the response that we received from their competitors.<\/p>\n

PHS is the only group in the state that uses live music, as opposed to a CD soundtrack) to perform to. \u201cThis is a HUGE risk on the ensemble’s part but definitely made the group the one-of-a-kind performance that the audience loved and it pushed them to the top once again! I was truly proud of our group and the attention that they received after making such a huge jump into a high class and still coming out at the top of the pack,\u201d said Ames.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, March 12, The Winter Performance Ensemble competed at Avon High School for the IPA State Preliminary. The PHS Drumline (currently ranked fifth out of the 30 schools going in to the state preliminary) competed for their second state finals performance. The group made state finals for the first time last winter in Class 2A. Only 10 schools advanced to the state finals\u00a0with Plymouth seated in the 5th position(performances are given in ranked order) \u201cWhich is a great place to perform in,\u201d says Ames on the spot the group performed.<\/p>\n

This past season, for all the participants, has been a long and tiresome journey. \u201cThe season for the ensemble has been great,\u201d says freshman member Taylor Scott. \u00a0While Freshman Ben Piazza said, \u201cwe started off kind of slow, but we have definitely started a trend in the Color Guard. \u00a0We usually score in the top 5 every week.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Also sophomore Rinda Scott says, \u201cWe have done pretty well in the drumline circuit, but not quite as well for the guard.\u201d \u00a0And senior Caitlin Jung says, “The\u00a0ensemble has done extremely well.”\u00a0\u00a0They have consistently placed in the top 10 or top 5 at our events. (Some competitions had over 20 groups in our class there!)\u201d<\/p>\n

With all the\u00a0excitement of state finals, \u00a0there is a lot of work to be done. When it comes to how they expect to do this year compared to last year, Piazza says \u201chopefully we will score high at pre-lims to make it to state finals. \u00a0Winning seems pretty high but anything is possible!\u201d \u00a0Rinda states, \u201cWe are hoping to do well, but we aren\u2019t expecting to win because we are in a higher class.\u201d \u00a0Jung says that they expect to improve a lot. \u00a0\u201cOur show is much more difficult than last year and we would like to take it to the top in both circuits.\u201d \u00a0Taylor said, \u201cWe planned on winning and doing better [at IHSCGA] than at drumline state finals.\u201d \u00a0Sophomore Anayeli Miranda says that they plan to do the best we can. \u00a0This is a new class so its a little bit different for them. \u00a0Plymouth has placed higher than if they had won in the 3A circuit again this year. \u00a0The class is more advanced and there are tougher groups to beat.<\/p>\n

Just as in any contest, there is a lot of preparation to be done when preparing for state finals, no matter what club, sport, or activity. \u00a0Taylor said, \u201cWe had to practice, practice, practice!\u201d \u00a0Piazza states that the band focuses hard and really gets into character before each show.\u201d \u00a0Jung says, \u201cWe have been rehearsing intensely for weeks now. \u00a0And we have been practicing outside of our rehearsals and logging that time on a Facebook group page to help encourage others to practice, instead of wasting time!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Rinda says, \u201cWe are practicing really hard and we are practicing growling at the audience!\u201d<\/p>\n

Being at State Finals is nerve-racking enough, but to have such high hopes puts a little more load on the shoulders of all participants. \u201cI am really excited and pumped up. \u00a0We are prepared and ready to rock,\u201d exclaims Piazza. Rinda states that she gets excited for the competitions because of all the feedback from the audience. Sophomore Katie Lee states that, \u201cI am excited about the last competition because it is the last one so we will go all out for it!\u201d \u00a0Taylor stated that, \u201cI was so nervous, I’m a freshman!\u201d \u00a0Jung says, \u201cI feel competition is tough this year. \u00a0In the guard circuit we didn\u2019t know what to expect because a lot of people hated us last year! \u00a0Then in the drumline circuit there are 2A groups including us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with stress and tension, there are always those great moments outside the competition. \u201cPlaying Kemps with Kameron Eisenhour, Jared Beabout, and Jacob Pritchard is my favorite memory,\u201d states Taylor. \u00a0\u201cI liked playing the duck game on the bus! \u00a0It is funny and entertaining on the long rides,\u201d states Piazza as he tells us his favorite moment when he\u2019s not in a performance. \u00a0While Rinda says that her favorite part is, \u201cWhen Mr. Ames took everyone\u2019s pillow pets and held them hostage!\u201d \u00a0And along with Jung who said, \u201cOne Saturday, the bass drum [members] came in for a sectional. \u00a0After the sectional we watched some guard members practice and then they showed us some work. \u00a0And believe it or not four bass drummers successfully did a cross exchange!\u201d \u00a0All of these students have their own thing that they do with their free time, but these two students do something together. \u00a0Lee and Miranda loved to go get cookies together in their free time. \u00a0Lee says, \u201cOutside of the competitions, my favorite part has been finding places that have the best cookies!\u201d \u00a0While Miranda also enjoys it a lot saying that, \u201cAlso eating donuts in the morning, and mostly because it has become like our [Lee and Miranda] own little thing!\u201d<\/p>\n

With favorite memories outside the action of performing, there are those great memories that will last a lifetime when\u00a0one is performing and receiving awards. Taylor says his favorite moment was, \u201cWhen I accepted the awards for drumline.\u201d \u00a0Jung states that her favorite moment was at guard finals and performing. \u00a0\u201cWhen we performed the crowd reaction was amazing. As soon as drums clicked off and guard went out it was almost non-stop cheering. \u00a0Most of that cheering came from our peers in other guards who competed against us. \u00a0Overall that feeling at the end when they gave you a standing ovation was indescribable!\u201d \u00a0Piazza says that his favorite moment during competitions and also during awards ceremonies are, \u201cTaking those awesome awards a couple of weeks ago. \u00a0To stand in the gym with everyone cheering is amazing!\u201d \u00a0Rinda says hers would half to be, \u201cWhen we got 3rd place at drumline because nobody expected it.\u201d Lee states that her favorite memory when competing is, \u201cDuring the competition, it was being able to spin rifle and to wear my feather headband.\u201d \u00a0Like everyone who has talked, everyone has their own opinion about their favorite moments. \u00a0Miranda states her favorite moment is also at the awards ceremony. \u00a0\u201cMine would have to be talking to other people. \u00a0Hearing what other people have to say about us and jst talking to them in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

All of the Winter Performance Ensemble members have done very well these past few months of competitions and all of their directors are very pleased with their work. Great Job to the members of WPE, and we hope that your journey throughout this years experience was amazing and exciting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Casey McDonald On Saturday March 5, the Plymouth High School Winter Performance Ensemble traveled to Mooresville High School for the Color Guard Divisional State Finals competition. Plymouth voluntarily moved up to Class 2A after last winter winning the Class … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-school-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1277"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1277"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8882,"href":"https:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1277\/revisions\/8882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}