LIVERPOOL — Liverpool High School Winterguard and Indoor Percussion are reaching the peak of their season, and they are looking forward to welcoming the competition to their newly renovated home turf at the LHS Athletic Complex.
Due to COVID and renovations at LHS, Winterguard and LIP have not been able to host shows for quite some time. The percussion show is Feb. 19 and the Winterguard show is March 26.
“We’re going to be having our first home show in a long time. We have 29 schools signed up for that day — that’s a lot,” said Lynn Stone, who handles public relations for LHS Winterguard. “The shows that these people put on are like a mini-Cirque du Soleil. There’s dance, there’s props, there’s stories. It’s a lot different from what I knew as guard growing up, where you would just have a rifle or a sword in front of your face.”
Stone praised Winterguard Director Derek Pooley for his efforts in overhauling the program.
“Since he has come on board with us he has really improved the program. The amount of work this man is doing is unbelievable and we’re so thankful to have him,” she said.
While the season began in the fall, winter is when guard competition season heats up.
“So far we’ve had two competitions we have placed first in this season. We’re off to a real strong start,” Pooley said.
This year’s varsity Winterguard squad has a dozen students on the roster, and the junior varsity squad has 13 members — all newcomers.
The varsity show, called “Work It Bee,” interprets the life cycle of the bee and its role in the ecosystem. “Safe and Sound,” the JV show, is centered around “American Idol” winner Phillip Phillips’ 2012 song “Home.”
LHS Winterguard hires a designer to write and choreograph each varsity show, but the students have some input as well. “Work It Bee” features dance trends from the popular video sharing app TikTok, per student suggestions.
“It works for us to invest the kids and also to involve the audience as well,” Pooley said.
Incorporating TikTok trends led to some role reversal for the students and their coaches.
“They also got to teach us to do the TikTok dances — us old instructors,” Pooley said.
Pooley and Winterguard staffer Katie Griffin design the JV show from choreography to costumes.
“It’s a very long process but a very integrative process as far as the directors and designers go,” Pooley said. “It’s really an awesome team that we have here, from the music teachers to the color guard staff.”
Between rehearsals, Pooley likes to focus his students’ attention on community service. Recently, the Winterguard made cards for patients at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital.
“Our Liverpool community supports us so much, from the clapping at the Memorial Day parade to writing messages of support on Facebook or participating in fundraisers. It’s always good to make sure we give back to the community,” Pooley said.
While the Winterguard show is still more than a month away, the guard will be performing at Liverpool Indoor Percussion’s home show this Saturday as well.
“We operate during the same season, but we go to different contests. We’re always rooting for them but we don’t always cross paths during the season,” said Jason Schirripa, director of LIP.
In addition to bass and snare drums, indoor percussion also includes elements such as the marimba, electronic synthesizer and even a string quartet.
“Winter percussion takes the marching percussion of marching band and the pageantry arts of outside and brings it inside,” he said.
This year’s percussion show is called “The Lost Lesson,” which Schirripa said reflected timely themes of media and communication.
“It deals with the misunderstanding and chaos, miscommunication and the density of information coming at us at all times,” he said. “It’s a really cool show that traverses different soundscapes that we wouldn’t normally hear.”
As with Pooley and Winterguard, Schirripa said leading the percussion ensemble is about giving back.
“Having the opportunity to give back to the medium that gave me my start is amazingly rewarding,” he said.
Both teachers said the biggest reward, though, is seeing their students achieve their goals and progress throughout the season.
“Just seeing their faces light up whenever they accomplish something … that’s really what keeps me going, the joy that the students have and the memories they create,” Pooley said.
The Liverpool Indoor Percussion home show, “Sights and Sounds of Winter: Drums in a Gym,” takes place at 12:55 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Liverpool High School Athletic Complex (4338 Wetzel Road). Admission is $8 and the doors open at 12:15 p.m.
LHS Winterguard’s home show will take place March 26. For more information, visit https://sites.google.com/view/liverpool-marching/home/.
