The NHS Winter Percussion and Winter Guard teams are pulling together to make the best of the 2021 season.

In 2019, the Newtown Winter Percussion team traveled to Dayton, Ohio, to compete for the first time in the WGI World Championships. That year in the preliminary round, the team placed fourth out of more than 50 teams and made it to the semifinals. COVID-19 interrupted plans to repeat that trip in 2020, and the season ended abruptly in March of that year, when the team had just won WGI Open Class New England Regionals. The Newtown Winter Guard team had such a successful year in 2019, and kept that momentum up in early 2020, that it, too, planned to make the trip to Dayton last April to compete in the WGI Worlds.

Fast forward to January 2021, when the restrictions in place associated with the pandemic continued to affect both programs. With support of Newtown public schools administration, the Reed Intermediate and Newtown High School principals, and the NHS music department, the teams found practice space and kicked off their 2021 seasons earlier this month.

Although the NHS Winter Guard team’s season started almost two months late, the team is very enthusiastic about returning to the practice floor.

Winter Guard senior Kate Farrington said, “After eight years of being a part of this program, I never thought I would end it like this. I had no hope that we were going to have a season this winter because of all of the precautions that our school district has been taking, but when I found out that we were able to have practice with virtual competitions, I was so excited. I’m extremely grateful to have the opportunity to end my time in this program with my coaches and the girls on my team.”

A dedicated group of instructors — led by Grace McKinley and supported by Conor Kovatch, Allyson Klubek, and Becca Tobin — is excited about getting back to coaching and working with the girls to develop skills and learn a new a show, according to release from the NHS Band Parent group. The NHS Winter Guard team will perform via virtual competitions starting in March. Its show theme, a throwback with a ’70s vibe, includes an artistic combination of athleticism, dance, and spinning with flags.

McKinley shared with the girls, “From the beginning of the school year the color guard staff and myself have been [thinking] about the winter color guard season. Even though it will be shortened, the performance that this amazing team puts on will still show off the skills of the members and give the online audience a fantastic show to watch.”

Due to the challenges brought on by the pandemic, the NHS Winter Percussion team also had to reimagine its season. While all involved were disappointed to miss a traditional competitive season, the team is thankful to program leads Tyler Campbell and Bryson Teel, with support from NHS Director of Bands Kurt Eckhardt and the percussion staff, for developing a creative and fun approach to keep everyone connected and continue to build the program. In February, the team launched the NHS Winter Percussion Workshop. Through rehearsals between February and May, the group hopes to continue building a foundation for the future of percussion in Newtown.

Over the last weekend in February, the NHS Winter Percussion team, along with winter percussion groups from area high schools, took part in a Virtual Percussion Master Class led by nationally recognized percussion instructor Veronica Wicks. Wicks is a percussion educator in Southern California with an additional background of study in psychology and social work. She has instructed at many schools throughout her career and is dedicated to educating young adults through music and mentorship. She has been an instructor with the Blue Knights of Denver, a world class competitive junior drum and bugle corps, as well as the that group’s Percussion Caption Head from 2017 to 2019. The February Percussion Master Class included a full lesson on the fundamentals of battery percussion, live personalized feedback from Wicks, as well as a question and answer period to go over any closing thoughts from the students.

To learn more about the NHS band and guard programs, visit newtownbandandguard.weebly.com or contact the NHS Band Parent group at info@nhsbandguard.com.