BY SABRINA WONG
Parents, family members and friends could hear music blasting from outside the CCHS gym on April 10 as the first-ever indoor winds group finished up their rehearsal and began preparing for their farewell performance. The members decided to host a Family and Friends Night to display their show, entitled “Introspection,” one last time at home.
While the official show time was scheduled for 8 p.m., the gym bleachers were already occupied by a full crowd by 7:45 p.m.
Performers see their reflection during “Introspection” and use this as a part of their show. This communicates that when they look at themselves, they realize who they truly are.
After rehearsing two days a week for the past five months, the season was soon coming to a close. Indoor winds performed their show at the Flanagan Friends and Family Night on January 25, and also competed in the Orlando regional from February 23 to February 24. They traveled to their last competition, World Championships, the day after their farewell performance.
“Introspection” revolves around the theme that society only sees what they want to see. A voice recording by Alex Ramos is used in their performance, which has lyrics that connect with the self-reflection aspect of the show. Ramos is the sound design technician for indoor winds.
“The voice recording really hits the audience deeply, making people wonder about how they view themselves and the world around them,” sophomore George Valadez said.
There are also seven movable “mirrors” used as props in the show. Although not actual mirrors, the mylar sheets provide the same effect. Mylar is a polyester film that has high tensile strength, chemical and dimensional stability, transparency, reflectivity, gas and aroma barrier properties and electrical insulation. The reflectivity of the material acts as an alternative to using real mirrors.
“We’ve been through so much since it’s our first year performing in World Championships in Ohio, and we have grown so much not only as musicians, but as a family.”
Each of the props is about 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide. They are all supported by a wooden frame and a wooden stand with wheels, which allows the group to move them around throughout the performance.
Performers see their reflection during “Introspection” and use this as a part of their show. This communicates that when they look at themselves, they realize who they truly are.
There are a total of 31 members in indoor winds.
“Performing with this group of amazing [and] hard-working people has really made all the rehearsals in the spring worth it,” Band Captain Juseliz Lefebre-Vidal said. “We’ve been through so much since it’s our first year performing in World Championships in Ohio, and we have grown so much not only as musicians, but as a family.”
“I think that the run brought the group together in a way that has never been felt before. You could really feel the energy between all of us at the end, and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish in Ohio.”
The uniform consists of a custom-designed jacket with one long sleeve and one short sleeve. The center of the uniform has a variety of gray triangles on it, and the long sleeve is fully metallic, gray in color. Black bibbers are also worn, which are almost like overalls that are worn underneath the jackets.
Most indoor groups, whether it’s winter guard, percussion or indoor winds, usually have a floor made of tarp that goes along with the theme of the show. This year, the CCHS indoor winds group had a floor showing the top of a prism. The image displayed was taken looking through a kaleidoscope.
As indoor winds heads to compete internationally in Dayton, Ohio at the final competition of the season, the farewell performance served as a motivational tool for members. After a long season, new faces were able to see the final result of “Introspection.”
“I felt extremely proud of myself for being able to push through and finish strong during the final run at home,” sophomore Paige Manta said. “I think that the run brought the group together in a way that has never been felt before. You could really feel the energy between all of us at the end, and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish in Ohio.”
Photo by Carly Cuoco
