The Longmont Daily Times has put the Longmont Drumline on the Front page of today's (March 13, 20009) paper.

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LONGMONT — Indoor percussion teams from 30 high schools across the Front Range will descend on the city this weekend.

The Winterline Competition will take place in the Longmont High School gymnasium from 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Indoor percussion combines elements of live music, coordinated marching and theatrical performance.

A percussion team consists of a battery, or marching drums; and a pit, composed of stationary instruments such as xylophones, marimbas and keyboards.

Every team provides its own “floor,” a canvas no larger than 60 feet by 90 feet. Teams can mark their floors to guide the batteries as they march.

Teams have nine minutes to lay out their floors, set up props, perform their songs, and remove their props and floors.

A panel of judges rates the teams on three criteria: how well they play the music, how well they march, and a broader judgment of what the show depicts and its overall quality.

Silver Creek High School’s Winter Drum Line will explore various types of regular and irregular rhythms in a show called “The Anatomy of a Heartbeat,” based on the “Interstellar Suite” by Amin Bhatia. Its performance is scheduled for 3:38 p.m.

At 4:18 p.m., the Skyline High School Winter Percussion Ensemble will perform an interpretation of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake based on “Symphony No. 1” by Steven Reineke.

Coldwell Banker
Longmont High School Winter Percussion’s performance, called “Speakeasy,” is scheduled for 5:18 p.m. The group’s members will don flapper dresses and zoot suits and perform adaptations of 1920s jazz standards “That’s A Plenty” and “Bumble Boogie.”

Frederick High School will perform at 2:18 p.m. in the novice division.

According to Longmont High School drum line director Michele Gonzales, teams perform at different events almost every week from Feb. 14 until the winter percussion season culminates at the Winter Guard International World Championships in Dayton, Ohio, from April 16 to 18.

Teams use the judges’ critiques from these competitions to fine tune their routines throughout the season.

Gonzales noted that one of the biggest challenges can be for members of the battery to stay upright as they twist, turn and cross paths. They must keep their heads elevated as they march or risk having points deducted from their score.

“Everybody has taken a fall at one time or another,” Gonzales said. “You catch a little ripple or roll in that floor, and you are history.”

Tickets for the event are $10 for adults, $5 for students or seniors, and free for children younger than 8. Barbecue, burgers and other refreshments will be available.