Photo Credit: Damien Short

Let’s talk about Winter Performing Arts. Now Winter percussion is an Audition and shows what you’re capable of playing drums or whichever percussion instrument you pick now the staff and veterans in winter percussion know many won’t be great at the instrument immediately which is why if we see someone making constant improvement we know they will be capable of being in the winter season and go through all the hard work dedicated to the season. 

For example, the Agua Fria High School Indoor Percussion group had a great season these two years ever since the group made its debut in 2021-22. They have been under the coordination of Ethyn Corfield, a man striving to make sure the performers are having fun while performing the show but also suiting them up for upcoming competitions to make sure they are ready. Under the coordination of all the staff together Ethyn Corfield, Erin Blake, Panch Honne, Damien Short, Kyle Marzano, Kiersten Valesquez a dedicated staff full of professionals at what they’re doing to make sure these performers have the best time of their lives. With the debut of the Indoor Percussion last year they ended off strong being 5th in state, a really good start to a beginning indoor percussion with 2021-22 being their first year. 

Ever since Agua Fria’s debut they have caught the eye of professionals. The 2022-23 indoor percussion show I AM ALIVE was also a great start fixing everything they had ever had to work so they had begun to catch the eye of many people with the percussion suddenly appearing with a strong start with their eval show for 2022-23. They got noticed by professional indoor group Vision percussion and soon the home competition to where every school got to experience the show first hand with Agua Fria putting a great performance and many competitions later striving to get first until the Buckeye High school competition with the indoor group breaking a score of 80.025 an outstanding score leaving their mark at the Buckeye competition being 4th out of 12 at Buckeye. 

With Championships around the corner once again the team puts in relentless effort to be prepared and move on to the finals with practices being non stop focus fixing every tiny little mistake and putting new things in. The group is looking forward to championships with each practice being better than the other showing improvement every time to show the effort they are putting into this year. 

Now that that day of championship qualifiers has finally arrived for Agua Fria they spend every second at Millennium High School focused on the show to put on the last possible performance of the 2022-23 season. Now as the Group walks through the doors of the gym both staff and according to the performers they said “they were ready to put on the best performance they’ve put out in any gym”. Now with every second getting closer for the group and now it’s only music that’s in their heads from here on out and till the end of the performance. Now with the group and other indoor percussion rewards has arrived to see if they made it to finals and soon their division arriving every memory of their season goes flashing through their head as one of the performers until they hear their name called for 5th Place.

It was tough what most of the group thought at that moment since they didn’t make it into finals but the 2021-22 year they were in a different division they got upgraded a division this year and placed 5th in a new division. Which is fantastic means that this group still has more to show if they placed that high in a new division. Showing just how dedicated they were to show that they aren’t going down but ready to aim for the top and have one of the best seasons yet Agua Fria has ever had.

Although the season ended every student there was glad to make all the memories they made throughout the journey with both staff and other students. Like doing the first full run of the show or when the group performed their show in an AFHS assembly giving the spectators something to talk about the rest of the day. Also with the groups, bus rides to and back from competitions were always so fun, said a majority of the students. Always blasting music, drumming, and just 

having random conversations and joking around with staff was always amazing for the group and getting hyped up before competitions. But after the season the indoor group couldn’t go to prom because of championships so they held the honor of holding their own prom specifically for the group to make up for the prom that the seniors sadly missed. But many said that this percussion prom was way better than a normal prom, being able to joke with their friends in suits and take photos together was all so great. It was a great way to finish both the 2022-23 season and for the final moment that group will all be together at once in a prom where they danced their hearts out to the music they would be putting on.

Now Winter Percussion isn’t just about being the best, it’s about making those relationships with your friends and all the memories throughout the season pushing each other to be better no matter how bad the season was or a practice. Also just having each other like if a friend moves out of state after the season they know that we will all constantly push each other no matter how far the distance is between each other because we all know if we kept on going someday we will meet again maybe in the same professional group or at a competition always hoping to see each other at every competition all the way until finals or the season ends. 

Then no matter where we are we go visit them for a while and talk about the season seeing what they went through and what yourself went through. As well as the friends you make along the way, having connections going to the same college marching as a big band or indoor percussion for the last time before you age out and then you cheer on your friends until their final year. So as you can see it’s never the competitions there are more important things than 1st place it’s the journey all the way from the beginning to the very end and that’s what every single one of the young performers will aim for.

Now with the 2023 – 2024 Winter Percussion season soon coming up Ethyn Corfield and Jeremy Garcia are looking forward to a majority of new students to come join the winter percussion every year. They are hoping to have more members join because the more they have the better the show will be for that season with multiple props and more instruments out on the gym. There’s a wide variety of instruments so please consider joining the winter percussion club. It’ll be great putting music together and making great memories along the way with new friends.