Winter Percussion and Winter Guard performed at James Logan High School on Saturday, with percussion nabbing first place and Winter Guard earning fifth place.

The win is the second in a row for the percussion ensemble. Their show, “Gravity,” is centered around exploring outer space. Donned in bold white and blue-shaded makeup, each member represents a star or particle, with a prop filling in as a black hole. The show also featured a drumset introduction from senior Ethan Kim and call-and-response rhythms between vibraphone and marimba players.

Members were pushed by the instructors to learn the music and choreography show in a short amount of time, allowing for more time for polishing.For sophomore and bass drum player Aon Huang says playing comes with ease when nerves hit.

“In the beginning of a performance, I feel very nervous but after a minute or so muscle memory takes over,” said Huang.

The Winter Guard won fifth place out of the eight schools awarded for their show, “A Million Reasons,” based on the song by Lady Gaga.
The members faced similar obstacles with learning their full show over one weekend, but are now familiar with the show’s concept of finding love.

Sophomore co-captain Alexis Tea’s favorite part of performing is embodying the show concept and portraying it to the audience.

“I really like smiling and showing emotion to the audience,” she said. “You just forget everything else in the world.”

With a few rifle drops, Tea said that Saturday’s performance wasn’t her best. However, she takes pride in the Guard overall and believes they will win first in the future.

“Our guard is hardworking,” Tea said. “We care a lot about each other and we pour a lot of our time and effort into this, and I think that we can achieve whatever we put our mind into.”