Abby Journay / Staff Writer
The NPHS Audio Theater (Winter Percussion program) won their first competition on Feb. 21. Their show “Numb” was awarded the highest score for this time of the year in a decade, with a numerical value of 77.4. Junior Gavin Hagerty is in his fourth season of winter percussion and he shares some insight on the ensemble’s first competition win.
“We went out and we did our first show and we’re two points away from beating our state finals score from last year,” Hagerty said.
As the ensemble progresses through the season, their hope is to keep the momentum of winning their first competition throughout the progression of the rest of the year.
“I’m nervous because I feel like we’re not gonna win a show this season and then that’s gonna just destroy the mood of the ensemble. Right now, our energy is very high. Our energy is very focused. We’re very excited for future competitions. But I have a feeling that if we lose, that excitement and that joy of looking forward to the rest of the season might get lost,” Hagerty said.
The theme of their show is based on the book The Giver by Lois Lowery. It is a story about a dystopian society where the citizens slowly realize that something is wrong with the uniformity of their world. In the performance the ensemble begins together but slowly they all break off into their own person. They are playing “Numb” by Lincoln Park.
Hagerty believes that the early success of the group is due mainly to the coachability of the ensemble as a whole.
“[Our success is tied to] The ensemble as a whole being teachable, being able to receive a comment like ‘you’re a little off your dot here’, ‘you might be playing too loud here’, and not taking it as a personal attack on you. Being able to apply it the very next rep, and if we do that we’ve learned that we just grow. It really helped with our win on Saturday was just being able to be teachable early in the season. Just coming in and working, even when you don’t want to,” Hagerty said.
“We can’t let off pressure. I think if we do that, we will have a very successful season. I think that State finals will be a very special state experience for the ensemble this year if we keep working like that.”
