by: Abby Journey/Staff writer
Senior Lilly Buist performs in the 2026 New Palestine Audio Theater show. Photo by Molly Dunn / Avalon
The Indiana Percussion Association gives a large scholarship to a handful of senior percussionists in the state per year, with one going to a senior in A class. The application includes an essay, three letters of recommendation, the applicant’s GPA and other such application criteria. Out of the hundreds of seniors that worked to be chosen for this scholarship, New Palestine Audio Theater’s section leader and the Marching Dragons’ drum major, Lilly Buist, was announced as the winner.
“That essay was one of the hardest things I’ve ever written. I wrote it about a student leader from when I was a sophomore, who did see all of the mental health issues that I was going through. He didn’t even know everything that was going on, but he helped save me from it,” Buist said.
The association announced the recipients at the state competition on March 28.
“They read the first four words and I recognized the sentence,” Buist said. “I was in complete shock. I thought there was no way of me getting that scholarship and I’m really thankful. I greatly appreciate IPA. That was such a vulnerable piece of writing that I submitted to them, and it’s really cool that other people were also able to read how much I was impacted by this program, because it really has been so much.”
Buist has been a leader in the winter percussion setting since her sophomore year, and has played a part in leading the ensemble to huge victories her senior season.
“I knew that I wanted to be a leader in the program because of all of the people who encouraged me,” Buist said.
The memory of NPHS’s placement in the first competition of the season is still fresh in her mind.
“They called us for first, and I literally thought I was gonna pass out because my heart was racing so bad. There’s this video that somebody got from the other side of the stands of the entire section standing up and jumping, they’re all hugging each other, they’re screaming. It’s just the sweetest thing. Once awards were over, me and Sam (DeHoff) darted out of the gym, they all ran down the stairs and we were all so happy. That bus ride home is one of my favorite bus rides I’ve ever been on during my whole time in the program.”
That placement was the first time the ensemble had received better than participation in all the years that Buist was a part of the program, and she knows that the group will only continue to improve in seasons to come, even with the incoming changes in staff next year.
“There are very good student leaders in the program, and I think that if the younger people learn from those leaders, then the whole group will continue to have that drive, regardless of the adults in the program.” Buist said.
With the percussion staff’s departure from the program, their presence will be missed by all of their students.
“Tyler, our front ensemble staff member, was somebody all four years of the program who, if I was having a bad day, I could just talk to him and it would make stuff better,” Buist said.
“Our percussion director, Justin, is somebody who has always been there for me. When I was a sophomore, he didn’t see all of the internal turmoil that I was going through. But he was still super supportive of me every day. I didn’t even always see when he was trying to help me behind the scenes. And I think that is just a personality trait of his, he is gonna do everything he can to support us,” Buist said.
As her senior year comes to an end, Buist will hold the memories from her time in the ensemble fondly. The support she has received and the friends she has made will follow her into her future, and she will watch as her team improves through the coming years. She hopes others will find the community that she has had in this program.
“The program has meant so much to me,” Buist said. “My mindset has always been ‘I want to make this program better for the next group.’ I want to make the current underclassmen feel prepared to be the leaders in the coming years so that they can make it an even better program for the next people that go through it.”
