“It might have been on the bus, when we were looking at our medals and it started to kick in,” said Zora Miller, bass one for Fairfield Winter Percussion.
There are different levels of emotion when one achieves a goal. Elation, pride and happiness are often tied to a positive side, perhaps levels of shock, disbelief or an element of momentary sadness on the other side. Defining emotion in the moments that fell upon the Fairfield Indoor Percussion as its championship score was read…it frankly left a few speechless.
Terre Haute North was one Fairfield had worried about. They were a 75.6 at the Indiana Percussion Association Regional A State Finals. A very good score, but third place in the standings. A few Fairfield supporters in the crowd at Avon High School on March 23 looked around, perhaps in a ‘here we go again’ mode given Fairfield finished second at the IPAs a year ago. It was down to Floyd Central and Fairfield, who had put together the best showcases in the Regional A Class. The score of 76.625 was read, and it belonged to Floyd.
“And percussion Regional A Divisional Finals, first place receiving the first place medal with a winning score of 78.75 - 78.750 - congratulations to Fairfield Indoor Percussion!”
A couple audible gasps came from the Fairfield supporters, not necessarily because they won, but the score. A full two points better than Floyd, which is a big deal in the scoring world of indoor percussion performances.
“We didn’t know how we were seeded with the whole group, but we were consistently getting first places in competitions, so we felt like we were among the top,” senior Caden Borntrager said, who is center marimba. “It was crazy once they hit fifth place, then third place, then called second place and it wasn’t us. That was a feeling I’ve never had before.”
The celebration from the members wasn’t anything like the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl, or even when Fairfield Marching Pride finished fourth at ISSMA State last fall. The marching band exceeded their expectations and didn’t care about the number. The winter percussion, by at least the accounts from Miller, Borntrager and the expressions on the faces of several of those when the championship score was announced, mirrored more of a “we worked for this moment.”
“We set a bar, and then the next comp, it’s a higher bar and we always want to reach higher each time,” Miller said, diagraming how the program moves through a seasonal schedule of expectations. “It’s not another score on a sheet, it’s a chance to get better. If we score 74, let’s go after 75 or 76. If we hit 76, let’s go after 77. We look at it as a chance to put on a show people will enjoy, and we enjoy playing it. We put it all out there on the floor, and at Avon, we weren’t going to walk off that floor without putting on our best performance.”
The IPA championship is the first for Fairfield Indoor Percussion, having finished second a year ago as part of Regional A and also second in 2015.
Fairfield performing arts has been on a roll this year, with FMP fourth at state, Fusion and Expressions show choirs both top eight in the state in their respective classes, varsity winter guard third this year - it’s highest-ever finish in a state competition, and now winter indoor percussion’s championship.
Coincidence these outfits are performing so well? Or is there a bigger thing going on?
“Fairfield’s thing for a long time has been to not just do what everyone else is doing, add a little something different that makes us distinct from other schools,” offered Borntrager of the magic sauce. “This show incorporates a lot of different elements that separates us from the rest. We want you to feel what we are playing, leave with the feelings we are trying to convey.”