![Drumming to the rhythm | From left to right, bass drums sophomore Liz Lee and junior Nathan Chan run through their warm-ups during Winter Percussion rehearsal. “We [usually] play whatever section our [percussion coach] Nate tells us to do and then he’ll give us comments and feedback. He lets us think about our rep and soak in whatever we’ve done,” Chan said.](https://whshoofprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_0014-e1769817581213-1200x740.jpg)
Jingle bells weren’t the only thing that chimed through the air last Christmas. Winter Percussion has been practicing throughout winter camp, honing their skills instrumentally and for stage execution. Their consistent efforts during fall and winter camps have been recognized, as they have successfully advanced to the Open Class, a division higher from their previous division.
Visual Ensemble, a parallel to Color Guard and Marching Band, will perform alongside Winter Percussion to produce a cohesive show this upcoming season. Section leader and center marimba player senior Suki Hsu feels the rise in expectations that comes with the shift into Open Class. Accompanied by new members and more demanding material coming at a faster pace, the team is finally able to showcase the effort they’ve put in all year.
“Open Class is quite a big leap goal-wise. It’s also much harder as well, compared to the previous class we were in, which was A Class,” Hsu said.
Instrumental music director Katie Takahashi sees her students excited about the opportunity to compete in a higher division and pushing themselves to work harder for it. She channels this passion into the winter show, adding Visual Ensemble to not only challenge the players but to also improve their performance and show.
“It adds an element of visual intrigue and can help get more students involved in Visual Ensemble. It helps tell the story. And the idea is to tell a story with what we’re doing, with our music and our drill and our costumes and all of that, to help increase the story aspect of the show,” Takahashi said.
The shift in class rank also affects students, with many students learning how to adapt to this change. Among them is sophomore Miguel Moreno, who plays the vibraphone. He is excited about the more frequent competitions and going against higher groups. Although the class’s pace and the music are becoming more demanding, he believes he can overcome this with more practice and greater confidence.
“Skill-wise, I’ve definitely learned how to play brighter and louder. I’ve learned a bunch of new skills that I could not play a year ago, and my confidence has definitely gone up since. Some [struggles] are that the music is more challenging and it takes longer to learn, especially with the fast pacing, but I’m getting there,” Moreno said.
Along with the increased intricacy of the concert is the hike in donation costs. Students need to reach a goal of around $800 to get enough costumes and equipment required on stage.
“We’re getting there. We still need to do some more fundraisers and hopefully keep raising money so that we can continue to make our show more customized,” Takahashi said. “We always encourage our students to try their best, and in this new class, we just want them to try their best and work as hard as they can.” Ω
