02/06/2025
Troy Indoor Percussion Working to Compete at World Championships
By Theron Rogers, Troy High School Mass Communications 1
THS- Troy Indoor Percussion is getting sleepy this year.
“Our show is called Reverie,” said the group director, Mr. Layer. “Our take on the meaning of this word is lucid dreaming, so it’s like a lucid dream that gets weirder and weirder as it goes."
This show features a solo for an Aerophone performed by Juniper Howard, and a Vibraphone solo performed by Sophie Love.
“I think it’s unique compared to any solo Troy has done both in marching band and indoor percussion,” Howard said. “It sets a weird vibe, overall it’s extremely enjoyable to play!”
The ensemble practices diligently for 10 hours a week to clean up the challenging music and drill for the next competition. “I’m very excited about upcoming contests,” said Battery Director Kyle Miller. “With the group we have this year and the time we are putting in this year, we have the potential to do very well.”
On February 2, they competed in Northmont High School and got a score of 66.1 which put them in third place out of the seven ensembles that competed in their class.
This year the Troy Indoor Percussion ensemble performs in the WGI World Championships for the first time, meaning they’re competing against groups all across the US. This contest will have the group traveling to Kentucky in the hopes of placing in the top 25.
The visual coordinator, Brooke Stockslager said “I think it's really exciting, I hope everyone else has the same energy, I think we’ll make it pretty far and I hope we get there.”
There are only two more opportunities to see the group in the Dayton area. There's a competition on February 23 in Trent Arena and a competition in the 5/3 Arena on March 8. Then, Troy’s Indoor Percussion travels to the WGI Mid-East Power Regional on the 15th, the MEPA Championships on the 29th, and finally, the WGI World Championships on April 10th.
“It is a very unique experience to be able to compete at the World Championships this year! It’s a bit sad that this is the only chance that I get to, but it’s still a great privilege,” said senior percussionist Justin Vaughn. “I think upcoming contests should go better than previous years because we have mostly veterans in the group and are used to the venues.”