By Terry Schrimscher, For the Tribune
TRUSSVILLE – The Hewitt-Trussville Indoor Percussion ensemble earned first place at the Winter Odyssey competition held March 11 at Hoover High School. The percussion group was established in 2022.
Photo courtesy of the Hewitt-Trussville High School band program
The ensemble performs under the direction of A.J. Adair, Director of Percussion and Associate Director of Bands at Hewitt-Trussville High School. Adair is assisted by Associate Director of Bands Shannon Moore, and instructors Christopher “Fleck” Sherman, Jennie Tanner and Eddie Capps.
“We started this group to give our students the opportunity to continue developing their musicianship and love for the marching arts year-round,” Adair said. “The staff and I are so fortunate to have the privilege to watch these students perform and make music together every day.”
The Winter Odyssey event in Hoover featured more than 50 percussion and color guard teams from around the southeast region. The annual competition began as a fundraiser for the Hoover band but has grown into a large regional event for drum and color guard units.
Only in its second year, the ensemble has already earned a number of accolades. The students compete in Winter Guard International (WGI) and Southeastern Color Guard Circuit (SCGC) competitions.
In 2022, the group won the Alabama SCGC state championship in the Scholastic A class. The ensemble also won a SCGC bronze medal in 2022 and has won several first-place finishes around the region for SCGC.
Already this year, the ensemble has placed as WGI Atlanta Regional Finalist in Scholastic A Class in addition to the Odyssey event in Hoover.
“Competing in SCGC and WGI also gives students the ability to travel and be exposed to high-level performers from around the world and receive feedback from judges who are some of the most esteemed leaders in the percussion world,” Adair said.
Competition is not the most important part of the experience for the students according to Adair.
“The kids absolutely love it,” he said. “You can see it on their faces when they perform.”
The ensemble consists of 27 students from the Hewitt-Trussville band program. Performers are divided into two sections, the battery and the pit. The battery is a marching percussion section consisting of snare drums, bass drums, tenor drums, and cymbals. The pit is an ensemble in front of the marching team made up of various keyboard, auxiliary percussion, and electronic instruments.
Adair described the performance as part percussion and part theatre. The group learns the routine in early spring and quickly moves into performance mode at SCGC and WGI competitions around the country.
The 2023 production is called “The Second Act.” The creative theme features the performers made up to be the ghosts of percussionists from long ago who gather together after hours in a theatre to perform one last time.
For more information about the Hewitt-Trussville High School band, including the indoor percussion team, visit www.hewittband.com.
