Schools
Whiz Kids: CHS Indoor Percussion Ensemble
Charger drumline earned top honors at WGI Percussion World Championships in April.
Who: Indoor Percussion Ensemble
School: Chantilly High School
Accomplishment: Despite having to perform through electronic equipment failure in the final round of the competition, the CHS Indoor Percussion Ensemble placed first in the Scholastic A Class at the Winter Guard International (WGI) Percussion World Championships in Dayton, Ohio last month.
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Key to Awesomeness: The 28 student musicians in ’s Indoor Percussion Ensemble knew they formed one of the most talented drumlines in the region after winning the Atlantic Indoor Association Circuit Championships in early April. Just two weeks later, they proved they were one of the best high school drumlines in the world.
After winning its block in the preliminary round and earning the highest overall score in the semifinal round, the CHS indoor drumline went on to win the final round in the Scholastic A Class of the international competition with a score of 94.65 points. Following closely behind Chantilly HS was of Illinois with 94.15 points and New Philadelphia HS of Ohio with 92.463 points.
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“It was honestly a complete surprise,” Associate Director of Bands Gary English said of Chantilly’s win. “We were just hoping to make semifinals.”
The fact that the Indoor Percussion Ensemble experienced difficulties with its electrical equipment during the final round of the competition and continued playing without missing a beat makes its win even more impressive.
“Our mindset going into everything we do is to go out there and perform to the best of our abilities...the kids outdid themselves; they’re proud of what they were able to accomplish,” English said.
Chantilly’s recent world championship win was an exciting end to its undefeated performance season and the drumline hopes to continue its success next year.
“We’ll try our best not to compare next season to this season,” English said. “We do like to win, but it’s about the [musical performance] process more than anything. We don’t judge our success on the outcome of a competition, we look at whether they [the students] are growing as musicians.”
