Winter Guard and Percussion both took first place in the finals
BY MADISON OSBORNE, STAFF WRITER
On March 27, Sanford hosted the Maine Band Directors Association Winter Guard and Percussion Finals. This event brings in winter guard and percussion groups from all around Maine and for the opportunity to perform for the final time this season, as well as be rated and evaluated by some of the top marching arts judges in the country.
Both SHS Ensembles, band and percussion, walked away with a Gold Medal. The last time both groups received a gold medal was in 2018.
“Sanford had the pleasure of hosting all of these groups here in the Partners Bank Competition Gym on Sunday, and the event was a huge success,” shared Hailey Francoeur, SHS Director of Bands.
The music boosters and volunteers worked very hard for the past two months to make the show happen.
“There was a lot of behind-the-scenes work that had to be done to make this happen, and it all paid off,” shared Francoeur.
A total of 15 groups performed in the competition, including nine winter guards and six percussion groups that have all been working on their performances since December 2021. Francoeur shared that band and percussion have been going to competitions once a week since mid-February.
According to Francoeur, the Spartan’s Winter Guard show was titled, “The Death Ship of Harpswell” and was based on the true story of the “Dash” that went missing in the harbor in 1815. Many still say they can see it in the harbor on foggy days, and if you see it, it means bad luck. The show used the music from “Pirates of the Caribbean”.
Francoeur shared the Impact Winter Percussion show was titled “Glitch”, which focused on the concept of electronics glitching. The music was written for the specific concept, and throughout the show there were a lot of “cool metallic textures” as well as glitch sound effects. The performers can be seen “glitching” and repeating motions to simulate when a glitch happens.
“It was a great feeling to bring a gold medal home on our own turf!” said Francoeur.
Congratulations to both Percussion and Winter Guard!
The Spartan Times 