On April 13, Glenn Indoor Percussion earned the title of State Champions for their second year in a row by placing first at the Texas Color Guard Circuit competition as an open class group, with their production of “Zarkana.”
This achievement has concluded their back-to-back undefeated seasons, marking the second time in school history indoor percussion has gone to state. After having placed first at their area competition, the cut-throat contest granted them the opportunity to qualify and advance into the next phase for a chance at the state champion title.
“After area, I wanted the rehearsals to continue to be as consistent as possible,” percussion director Jacob Gall said. “I think the students did a great job with priding themselves with rehearsal etiquette, and making sure what they wanted to happen in uniform during the performance, actually was occurring behind the scenes when no one was watching during their practice.”
Their show “Zarkana,” follows the story of a magician who has lost their inspiration, and is led into a new world as they attempt to regain their powers once more. The performance was inspired by a Cirque du Soleil production by the same name.
“The run for me felt almost perfect and it was done in an instant. Especially taking into account those around me, like the basses,” senior Luke Hammond said. “As I was marching and just feeling everything with the tempo, our bass feature that we did as well as hitting sets and choreography, personally for me it felt good. Not just because of how I did, but because of how everyone around me did.”
The TCGC contest was held at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas, which is the most competitive high school contest amongst student percussionists in the state. The Glenn Indoor Drumline earned a total score of 93.950/100 that swept all categories.
“I think having such a large audience at the state arena was inspiring for them, and I think that it fueled their passion to take the floor,” Gall said. “This made them deliver the show with a lot of energy and a lot of precision.”
This season, they entered a whole new level of creativity by adding in a cymbal line, which played a factor in elevating the overall feel of the show. This direction differed greatly from their first performance in 2023, titled “Captive” that showcased a more industrial-style performance.
“I loved being in the cymbal line this year. It was definitely a new experience for me as a wind player,” junior Max Ribar said. “Especially with not having prior knowledge of percussion technique, and having to build and refine those skills from the ground up as I progressed through the season.”
Glenn High School Indoor Percussion had won the 2023 TCGC State Championship during their debut season in Scholastic A Class and was then moved up into Scholastic Open Class in 2024, allowing them to compete against some of the biggest schools in the state.
“The end goal was always just to be first and make state, but honestly, the main thing that we tried to keep in mind was to have the best run that we possibly could,” Hammond said. “Gall always told us that we just needed to focus on having our best run, and the results would show for themselves.”