An indoor percussion ensemble or indoor drumline is a type of marching ensemble consisting of battery and front ensemble instruments. It differs itself from a traditional percussion ensemble by not only on musical performance, but on theatrics and marching. Although most indoor percussion ensembles are affiliated with high schools, there are also many independent groups that draw participants from a large area and are independently funded. Independent groups typically start rehearsing in October, while high school groups typically start after their fall marching band season ends. Because of this, the activity is often called winter percussion or winterline.
Winter Guard International (WGI) is an American governing body that sanctions championship events for three competitive performing arts activities: winter guard, percussion ensembles, and indoor wind ensembles. WGI was founded in 1977 in response to inconsistent adjudication and rules of competition which made it difficult for color guards to compete nationally. Today, WGI publishes and maintains an adjudication handbook, with an accompanying "Rules & Regulations", that has been widely adopted.
Homestead High School is a four-year public high school serving western Sunnyvale, southern Los Altos, and northwestern Cupertino, in Santa Clara County, California. Established in 1962, the school serves 2,405 students in grades 9 to 12 as part of the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD). In 2003 and 2009, the California Department of Education recognized Homestead as a California Distinguished School, and in 2004, the Department of Education recognized Homestead as a Blue Ribbon School.
Senator Ruben S. Ayala Senior High School, often abbreviated as Ayala High School or AHS, is located in Chino Hills, California. It is one of the four comprehensive high schools in the Chino Valley Unified School District. The school was established in 1990 and named after California state senator Ruben S. Ayala. It received the 2011 California Distinguished School award and the 2015 California Gold Ribbon School Award.
West Bloomfield High School is a public high school in West Bloomfield, Michigan. The school is the only public high school in the West Bloomfield School District. The School Enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year is about 1900. West Bloomfield High School was previously located in the Abbott Middle School building, which opened on January 31, 1955 with an enrollment of 406. From fall 1968 through spring 1971, the school was temporarily located at the site of the current West Bloomfield Middle School. The current building was built in 1971. West Bloomfield High School has begun to offer the Advanced Placement International Diploma to the classes of 2011 and beyond. In addition, it established additional Advanced Placement courses starting the 2010-2011 school year.
Color guards or flag corps are teams of performers who perform choreographed dances and routines with various equipment to enhance and interpret the music of a marching band or drum and bugle corps show. Color guard teams can be found in American colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, and independent drum corps. They use various equipment including flags, fake rifles, and sabres, along with other props. Most Color Guard groups are of mixed gender but some may also be single gender.
Winter guard is an indoor color guard sport and performance art derived from military ceremonies. Modern winter guard is a competitive, performance-based activity which incorporates choreographed staging, dance, and manipulation of equipment such as flags, prop rifles, and sabers. Unlike traditional color guard, winter guard performances and contests are held indoors, usually in a gymnasium or an indoor arena. Performances typically last three to seven minutes and are generally accompanied by recorded soundtracks rather than live music. However, the use of live instrumentation and vocalization have grown in popularity. Winter guard is most present in the United States; independent units have also been formed in Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Winter guard ensembles often perform at judged competitions officiated by local and regional associations using criteria developed by Winter Guard International, host of the annual Winter Guard International World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. The World Championships event purportedly attracts in 60,000 visitors to the event annually. Scoring attempts to rank units on the repertoire and achievement of aspects of each performance such as unity, quality, range, precision, skill, design, and effect.
Choctawhatchee High School is a high school in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It is the only school in Okaloosa County to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. It also offers the Advanced Placement Program and honors classes, AFJROTC, a dual-enrollment aviation program offered by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and pre-engineering classes. Its newest innovation is the Information Technology Institute housing the Academy of Web Design as well as the Academy of Digital Design. Choctaw has received Florida's highest rating of A+ for many years.
The San Jose Raiders are a group of winter guard ensembles based in San Jose, California and founded in the 1970s. The Raiders had won six Winter Guard International (WGI) World Titles.
Branham High School is a secondary school in San Jose, California, located in the Cambrian neighborhood within the West San Jose region. It originally opened on September 13, 1967, under the Campbell Union High School District (CUHSD) before closing in 1991. The District leased the campus to Valley Christian Schools in 1991. The school was reopened by CUHSD in 1999 due to increased enrollment within the district. It is named after Isaac Branham, a Californian pioneer who became a successful farmer and lumber mill owner.
The Northwest Association for Performing Arts (NWAPA) is a governing body and competitive circuit of high school marching bands, color guards, and percussion ensembles based in Portland, Oregon. The association was founded in 1997 as the Northwest Marching Band Circuit (NWMBC). A majority of the current member high schools are based in Oregon, with others from Washington, Idaho, and California. The first circuit marching band championship was hosted in 2000.
Clovis West High School (CWHS) is a co-educational, public high school part of the Clovis Unified School District in the well-established suburban community in northeast Fresno, California. It was founded in 1976, and has grades 9–12. Clovis West High School is ranked 206th within California. The student body makeup is 49 percent male and 51 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 67 percent, primarily Hispanic. Clovis West High School is one of five high schools in the Clovis Unified School District. It is a National Blue Ribbon School and a California Distinguished School.
Laguna Creek High School is a public high school located in Elk Grove, California, a suburban community near Sacramento, California established in 1994 as the fourth high school in Elk Grove. Laguna Creek is the only school in the Elk Grove Unified School district that offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme. Other programs that the school contains are Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), Associated Student Body (ASB), Link Crew, Career Technical Education academies (CTE), athletics, and other extracurriculars.
Dartmouth High School is a four-year public high school serving grades 9 to 12, located in the southern half of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States.
Leigh High School is a secondary school located in the West San Jose region of San Jose, California, United States. Opening in September 1962, it was the fifth school established in the Campbell Union High School District. The school has twice been given the California Distinguished School award, in 1999 and 2003. As of 2020, the school's enrollment was 1809 students. The school colors are gold (yellow) and pine green, and its mascot is the Longhorn.
Muscle Shoals High School (MSHS), is the sole public secondary education institution in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The school has been awarded the Blue Ribbon Lighthouse Award for Excellence.
Music City Mystique is an independent indoor drumline based in Nashville, Tennessee. Also known to fans as Mystique or McM, Music City Mystique is a member of the Southeastern Color Guard Circuit and Winter Guard International. Mystique competes in Percussion Independent World Class (PIW) which is for groups that perform music/visual programs of the highest difficulty in both SCGC and WGI. Music City Mystique has been a PIW Finalist every year since 1995 and were WGI World Champions in 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2011, and 2017. Currently, Mystique is the only 8-time Winter Guard International Percussion World Champion.
Irondale High School is a public high school in New Brighton, Minnesota, United States. Part of the Mounds View Public Schools district, the school is in a suburban area ten miles north of downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Irondale made headlines in late 2011 when it introduced its Early College program, which began in the 2012–13 school year. The program, run in conjunction with Anoka-Ramsey Community College, allows students to graduate in four years with both a high school diploma and an associate's degree. This program prompted a visit from US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who praised Minnesota's efforts to further education.
James C. Enochs High School is a high school in Modesto, California. It is a member of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section#Central California Athletic League CCAL and has multiple MMC championship titles from the prior athletic league. The school is locally known for having the highest academic performance index of any high school in Stanislaus County, with an API of 820 in 2011. The school has four "career pathway programs": Cinema and Graphic Arts, Software & Systems Development, Forensic/Biotech Science, and Pre-Vet Science.
Dripping Springs High School is a comprehensive public high school in Dripping Springs, Texas, located in Hays County, Texas. The only high school in the Dripping Springs Independent School District, it contains grades 9, 10, 11, and 12. Its enrollment is approximately 1,800. The principal is Angela Gamez, who was appointed in 2019.
