Hamilton Southeastern HS: An Underdog Story
By Caroline Meister 2018—Hamilton Southeastern Indoor Percussion Ensemble competes in WGI Percussion Prelims and ends their season with a score of 79. 2019—Hamilton Southeastern Indoor Percussion Ensemble competes in the WGI Percussion World Championships and advances to Scholastic Marching A Semi-Finals for the first time ever. They end their season with a fourth-place Finals finish […]
Introducing the WGI Fan Club!
CGT: Splitting Tradition
By Annie Hollon Following a successful five years filled with memorable pre-shows, a 2018 WGI Fan Favorite award and an Open Class silver medal, the Color Guard Theatre Performing Ensembles—more commonly known as CGT—will once again be represented by two World Class performing ensembles for the WGI 2020 season. So, what’s new? This time around, […]
Become a Volunteer
Do you want a behind the scenes look at WGI World Championships? Sign up to be a volunteer! Volunteers are essential for providing the experience that members, staff, and fans expect from WGI. The success of each event is only possible with dedicated volunteers, like you! You will have the opportunity to request a job […]
Growing the Local Student: Monarch Independent Percussion
In 2014, Monarch Independent Percussion was a brand new independent marching A group competing in TCGC, the local circuit that encompasses Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. At their first competition, the group was bumped up to Independent Marching Open. In 2015, Monarch made the trek to Dayton, Ohio for their first WGI World Championships. In […]
Symbiotic Success: Cleveland HS Winds
By Caroline Meister “As a band director, my number one goal is to have students appreciate music and performing.” –Jason Heard, Director of Cleveland HS Winds Cleveland HS at WGI World Championships (2019) Cleveland High School Winds isn’t an instantly recognizable name. When said, one probably doesn’t nod their head knowingly and their eyes don’t […]
WGI Adopts Comprehensive Code of Conduct and Reporting Policy
The topic of participant protection in the marching arts has seen a vigorous discourse in recent months. WGI Sport of the Arts is committed to creating a positive, safe, and professional environment for all. With a heightened awareness of our responsibility to the young people WGI serves, the board of directors has instituted new policies […]
WGI Fan Club: The Ultimate Fan Experience
Get the ultimate fan package with the WGI Fan Club. By becoming a member of the “WGI Fan Club,” your tax-deductible donation grants you larger club seating spaces and access to a new private lounge, hosting invitation-only receptions throughout World Championships World Semi Finals, A Finals, Open Finals and World Finals events. Gain access to the […]
Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
By Jenny Lyons Every WGI performer knows that after ascending to the height of their performance career on Finals night, there is one more literal mountain to overcome. After the performers have soaked in the last bit of applause, rolled up the floor, collected their props, and swept up the last handful of glitter; they–already […]
Paramount: The Elusive Horizon
By Jenny Lyons Paramount’s 2019 program lives. It breathes in soft airy breaths. It ebbs and flows like waves to a shore or wind through the trees. Each moment is as fluid and ephemeral as the next. Each event is complex, exponentially textured and layered—scattering in a flurry of performers before it has a chance […]
Consistent Fan Favorites: Dartmouth High School
By Mai Tran The Fan Favorite award has become a beloved part of WGI finals, allowing both spectators and performers to cast votes for their favorite ensembles via text message. Procuring votes through social media and sharing group numbers are all part of the fun, involving viewers even if they can’t make the trip out […]
Vortex Indoor Winds: The Road to Dayton
By Trudy Horsting The Beginnings Vortex Indoor Winds (2019) With WGI Winds in a constant state of growth, the arrival of an independent winds group to the state of New York was inevitable. Championing the inevitable, Keller Shelton, Nieves Villasenor and Dan English introduced Vortex Indoor Winds to the local-circuit scene in 2019. On the […]
Pushed Beyond Expectations
By Kathryn Hardison When Modulation Z was reclassified to Percussion Independent Open near the end of the 2018 season, everyone was shocked. The members and staff were more than a little surprised by the call for the ensemble — which was made entirely of high school students — to compete among many college-aged performers. But […]
Diamante: If It’s Meant to Be
By Jenny Lyons A thread—red, thin and ephemeral, yet constant, steadfast, and unbreakable—ties you to your soulmate. This cord, beautiful in its constancy, may tangle, be pulled violently one way and then another, or stretch to its very limits; but absolutely nothing in this world can break it. This blazing red thread eventually leads you […]
The Little Guard That Could
By Michael Boo Southeast Visual Ensemble is a relatively small Independent Class A color guard from a rural area just south of Jacksonville, Alabama, an area sporting few scholastic color guard programs. Some members typically drive over 100 miles one-way to get to weekend rehearsals. Through grit and determination, the guard has been able to […]
Rebirth and Renewal: Aftermath Percussion
By Caroline Meister Competition colors all activities. The stark pressures of competition and a daunting drive to win can bury the heart of any activity and detract from the raw passion and drive that brought participants to it in the first place. The indoor marching arts are no exception to this phenomenon. When Aftermath announced […]
Like Mother, Like Daughter
By Michael Reed When Suzie Cambron was a clarinetist in the W.A. Berry High School in Hoover, Alabama in the early 1980s, little did she know years later her path would cross again with that of Band Director Steve Simpson, and she would never have imagined one day he would become a valuable influence for […]
WGI and IMG Announce 2020 Event
WGI Sport of the Arts, the world’s leader in producing indoor marching arts events for color guard, percussion ensembles and winds groups, announced today the next step in a continuing strategic partnership with Indoor Music Games (IMG). Both organizations are pleased to announce the return of WGI United Kingdom on Sunday, March 22. The venue […]
A True Underdog Story: Azle High School Winds
By Caroline Meister Azle High School’s motto is: “achieving higher standards.” In their rookie 2018 season, Azle High School Winds won the Scholastic Open class with a score of 94.88, a solid three points ahead of runner-up Mill Creek High School. Needless to say, the group upholds the motto. Azle High School Winds originated in […]
Pride Props: “Another Door Opens”
By Jenny Lyons What is a door? What does it represent? It can embody the door to our future or the portal to the past; it is a symbol of opportunities given, opportunities missed, and opportunities yet to come; it is a representation of home, a safeguard from the outside world; it is the representation […]