Everyone thinks of drums when it comes to percussion. Well, for those who attended the first-ever “Day of Percussion” at Southeast Bulloch High School, they heard a lot more than drums. Cymbals, chimes, bells, marimbas, xylophones, triangles, wood blocks and tambourines were all on display.
Bands came from all over to participate in the event — the Teal Sound Drum and Bugle Corps came from Florida, while the Enterprise High School Band came from Alabama. Bulloch County was well represented by the Percussion Ensemble from Georgia Southern University and Southeast Bulloch High School.
The performances were held inside the new auditorium at SEB.
The day’s festivities began with the Drum Line from Florida’s Teal Sound D&B Corps taking the stage and giving those in the audience a sampling of their program, entitled “Voices of the Season.”
According to director Randy Blackburn, Teal Sound’s full complement of 140 players took home the Bronze Medal at the Drum Corps Internationals Finals, held at Disney World in Orlando last year. Teal won both the Spirit of Disney World and the High Music Efficiency Awards.
Then came Georgia Southern’s ensemble. They began by playing John Allen’s “Fanfare for Tambourines.” Led by Dr. Matthew Fallin, they showed that the tambourine is an instrument in its own right. They also played a piece entitled “Whispers” by David Skidmore, which won the Percussion Arts Society’s First Place Award in 2005.
The Enterprise High School Band was led by director Jason Smith. Enterprise High was completely destroyed by a tornado in March 2007, killing eight students when the roof and walls collapsed.
Smith led the group through several numbers, including “Game Over,” and “Steel Hearts,” both of which were big hits. The next piece, however, was a very different act indeed. All of the kids sat in chairs in front of the audience and began clapping and moving their hands in unison in the piece entitled “Fives and Nines.”
The Enterprise Band finished its set with a most unusual piece. All lights were turned off. At first, a very faint bluish light appeared up on stage. Next, orange-reddish beams of light moving up and down were soon recognized as drumsticks playing a hypnotic beat in unison.
As they beat faster and faster, the vague outlines of the drummers began to emerge through the blue and orange haze. When they were done, everything went completely dark once more. The thunderous applause of the audience soon filled the hall and the lights went up.
The last group was the SEB Drum Ensemble. Led by band director Matt Olsen, the group played parts of this year’s program, to the great applause of those in the audience. Bringing his special guest, soprano Saxophone player Dutch Heidler, a local nurse, they played “Sunset Road.”
Bands came from all over to participate in the event — the Teal Sound Drum and Bugle Corps came from Florida, while the Enterprise High School Band came from Alabama. Bulloch County was well represented by the Percussion Ensemble from Georgia Southern University and Southeast Bulloch High School.
The performances were held inside the new auditorium at SEB.
The day’s festivities began with the Drum Line from Florida’s Teal Sound D&B Corps taking the stage and giving those in the audience a sampling of their program, entitled “Voices of the Season.”
According to director Randy Blackburn, Teal Sound’s full complement of 140 players took home the Bronze Medal at the Drum Corps Internationals Finals, held at Disney World in Orlando last year. Teal won both the Spirit of Disney World and the High Music Efficiency Awards.
Then came Georgia Southern’s ensemble. They began by playing John Allen’s “Fanfare for Tambourines.” Led by Dr. Matthew Fallin, they showed that the tambourine is an instrument in its own right. They also played a piece entitled “Whispers” by David Skidmore, which won the Percussion Arts Society’s First Place Award in 2005.
The Enterprise High School Band was led by director Jason Smith. Enterprise High was completely destroyed by a tornado in March 2007, killing eight students when the roof and walls collapsed.
Smith led the group through several numbers, including “Game Over,” and “Steel Hearts,” both of which were big hits. The next piece, however, was a very different act indeed. All of the kids sat in chairs in front of the audience and began clapping and moving their hands in unison in the piece entitled “Fives and Nines.”
The Enterprise Band finished its set with a most unusual piece. All lights were turned off. At first, a very faint bluish light appeared up on stage. Next, orange-reddish beams of light moving up and down were soon recognized as drumsticks playing a hypnotic beat in unison.
As they beat faster and faster, the vague outlines of the drummers began to emerge through the blue and orange haze. When they were done, everything went completely dark once more. The thunderous applause of the audience soon filled the hall and the lights went up.
The last group was the SEB Drum Ensemble. Led by band director Matt Olsen, the group played parts of this year’s program, to the great applause of those in the audience. Bringing his special guest, soprano Saxophone player Dutch Heidler, a local nurse, they played “Sunset Road.”