Percussion Ensembles to Perform in Tiger Den Saturday
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Percussion enthusiasts will get an opportunity Saturday to hear 27 ensembles perform in the Warsaw Community High School Tiger Den. The eighth-annual Warsaw Winter Percussion Invitational starts at 2 p.m., with the final performance slated for 7:01 p.m. Awards will be announced at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are set by the Indiana Percussion Association. Admission is $6 general admission, $5 for senior citizens and college students with student ID, $3 for grades kindergarten to 12th grade, and free for children 6 and under. “The Indiana Percussion Association is our state organization. It’s kind of like the IHSAA for sports or the ISMAA for most other band competitions,” explained WCHS Band Director Mickey Ratliff. “The IPA organizes the state circuit for indoor percussion competitions. There are different classifications ensembles can compete in. Some are indoor drumlines involving extravagant movements, costumes and theatrics. Some are just for concert groups, which is what we do – stationary like in a concert setting.” In both of the categories, there are different classes based on ability level. Ratliff said there are contests for beginner schools, and there are Open and World classes, which are the more advanced classes. Warsaw, who won a state championship in 2012 and 2013, will compete in the Open class. “So you can really compete at the level best suited for you,” he said. Programs just starting out can avoid competing against schools like Avon and Center Grove, which have been competing for decades and are some of the best in the country, Ratliff continued. Warsaw’s percussion ensemble will be competing in a class with six other bands. “This year is our eighth year hosting. We’re really the only contest like this in the northern part of the state. The only other one was in Muncie. It’s kind of unfortunate the competitions are centrally located and so are most of the schools competing. Us hosting gives northern schools an opportunity to compete without all the driving long distances,” Ratliff said. Manchester will be coming to the Warsaw Invitational for the first time. They will compete in the Festival class, which is for developing programs. They will get a rating, but no score or placement. “It gives them an opportunity to get their program started,” Ratliff said. Some of the other northern schools scheduled to perform Saturday include Bishop Dwenger, Plymouth, Columbia City, Elkhart and Fairfield. The school furthest away is from Minook, Ill. “They’re close to Chicago. We usually get one or two from Illinois,” Ratliff said. “They can compete in Indiana, but they can’t qualify for state. It gives them an opportunity to perform and get judges’ comments because they don’t have a circuit in Illinois.” Performance times depend on the ensemble’s class. Beginning groups have shorter time spans than advanced bands, Ratliff said. On average, bands have 10 minutes to set up, perform and tear down. Show lengths can last 4 to 7 minutes for each ensemble. “It’s kind of an event you don’t have to stay for the whole thing,” Ratliff indicated. “People can come and go between performances – not during them. If you can’t get there at 2 p.m., you can come see the later performances. You don’t have to stay the whole time.” The Warsaw Percussion Ensemble performs at 5:20 p.m. First performance in Warsaw’s class will be Elkhart Memorial at 4:30 p.m., with the last performance starting at 5:30 p.m. The full lineup and more information is available online at IndianaPercussion.com or IndianaPercussion.org Ratliff said, “I think it’s a great event, not just because it’s our home show and we get to perform here, but people also get to see other teams perform. There will be some great performances. The drum lines are pretty extravagant in their movements and costuming. I know Goshen and Lake Central will be very good, so it will be a really neat event for anyone who has never seen anything like this before to check out.” He also noted, “I think the Tiger Den is one of the best gyms to perform in, in all the gyms we’ve performed at. The acoustics are the best, and I’m not just saying this because it’s our gym. “It’s fun to play for your home crowd, too. You have a lot of people cheering for you whereas when you play away, you only have the people you take with you.”
