Trumbull High School Band

Fighting to keep our stance is what we have been trying to do since we first won first place. This week our competition was at Newtown High School. There were ten other guards competing in our group fighting for that first place trophy. With our heads held high we didn’t let those 10 guards scare us. Once we warmed up and were in line for the show was when the butterflies kicked in. I don’t know why but every time we go to a show I still get butterflies in my stomach even though I have done the show so many times before. As Trumbull filed into the gym and I placed my flags on the mat I felt that sense of “can do” rush over me. The music started and my nerves began to calm down as I when through the show just like I do during practice. But all of a sudden, the music just stopped… We all kept on counting and tried to relax but the judges flagged us to stop. Due to an audio error we had to start our show all over again. Total déjà vu in the beginning of the show, doing it over again. When the show had finished the judges had smiles on their faces and were nodding. I was happy with my performance and felt like we had all done a great job.
Later that evening while sitting in the stands of THS watching my brother perform at the Percussion WGI regional show I receive the most wonderful text message….. We had won FIRST PLACE. I was so happy. Tonight Trumbull’s AA guard had won first place for the third time in a row. It was not be chance or by luck, it was because of the way we performed. To make the night complete, World Guard and my brother’s percussion ensemble won first place too. What a fantastic evening!

~Rachael, AA Guard

Over this past weekend all of Trumbull’s band competitors won 1st place in their competition. I’ll admit that practice for the Guard was a tough and hard, but after seeing the look on everyone’s faces was worth it in the end.
We arrived at New Milford High School just as the Percussion was packing up. We started getting ready for warm-ups and headed down to the warm-up area. We began doing basic block and reviewing work. No one said anything during the time, tensions were high knowing that not only was family in the stands, but some of the world guard instructors.
We walked down to a waiting space before our performance. While waiting for Masuk to finish the cheers and screams for their shows were overpowering and nerve racking. Some of us started to question if we would be just as good or worry if we would mess up. The director overheard us talking and reassured us that we had been doing great all morning and this would be no different.
They called us out and we headed out to perform. It’s hard to really explain how it feels to do a show. Its five minutes that’s all about your team and what you can do, but during that five minutes your trying to focus on the changes, the counts, pointing feet, and smiling at the same time. The last nine counts of our show is tiring, but it’s the one we are most proud of.
Back in the classroom we start to relax and talk about how we think we did, most of the time it’s a mixed reaction, but nobody had dropped in our show making us excited for the upcoming awards.
When they started calling out awards we all were hand in hand, right over left just like the past years. They called 5th then 4th and 3rd, but they hadn’t called Trumbull. It was us vs. Masuk. We gripped each others hands and were quiet. The judge announced that 2nd place goes to Masuk. We all smiled, they called Trumbull for 1st place.
We were thrilled and excited about taking first place. I was actually very proud because it had been abut a year and a half from the last time we won first place. On the ride back to Trumbull the bus was a singing all songs from Replay to “Don’t Stop Believing”, it was a great ending to a great story.

Amber, Freshman, THS AA Guard

Thirty winter color guard units from across the Northeast will compete at Trumbull High School this Saturday as part of a regional competition sponsored by the national organization Winter Guard International (WGI). Trumbull has had the privilege of hosting this important competition for the past three years. Participation in regional events allows the winter guard units to receive feedback from WGI judges before the culmination of the season at the WGI national championships in April.

Trumbull High School’s own World Guard team, which competes at the highest level of scholastic competition, will perform its program titled “In Darkness”. The ambitious program, performed on a black and green floor adorned with images of soldiers, battlefields, and patriotic symbolism, portrays the tribulations of military battle. The group’s performance is accompanied by singer Sinéad O’Connor’s haunting rendition of “Silent Night”.

Trumbull’s World Guard is made up of 27 girls, including freshmen through seniors. The unit captured 11th place in the WGI national championships in Dayton, Ohio last year and hopes to build on its success at the 2010 championships this April. In its review of the Scholastic World finals last year, the WGI described Trumbull’s ensemble, saying “Exuding strength, confidence and glee in everything they do, don’t be surprised if Trumbull moves to the top of the pack in the Scholastic World class in years to come.”

In color guard, or its indoor version known as winter guard, dance movements are combined with the spinning and tossing of flags, sabers, and mock rifles. Performances are evaluated rigorously on a number of criteria including equipment, movement, general effect, and ensemble.

Saturday’s program begins at noon and guard units will be performing throughout the afternoon and evening. Ticket prices are $13 for the preliminary competition, $15 for finals, or $25 for both.

My name is Rachael and I am freshman at Trumbull high school. This is my second year in Winter Guard, AA division. To many people the color purple represents calm and relaxation, but to AA guard this year, it represents pride and a new season. Our show is called “On the Starting Line”. For the past couple of months we worked hard learned drills, new flag spins, and made new friendships.

This past Saturday, January 23rd, we had our first competition in Shelton. All morning long we worked on perfecting the hard parts of the show, but we also taught the new girls how to perform. We teach that not by speaking but by actions. The tension and nerves grew as the day drew closer to the competition. Around 3pm we began rushing to put make-up on, hair spray and change into our purple and silver costumes. With butterflies in our stomach and excitement in the air we got ready. This is my favorite part of the day.

Once we arrived in Shelton we warmed up, listened to speeches from our instructors, and tried hard to stay calm. My mind wandered as I ran through the show a couple of times in my head. The new girls became shaky with nerves and I tried to calm them by saying it is just another run through. During the show everything just clicked, our muddy parts became clean as we ended with large smiles on our faces. We were all pleased with our first performance. After we ate dinner, we sat in the stands and waited for the announcement of awards. When it came to “AA” guard we held hands as my heart pump really fast. As a result of our great work we scored a 60.0 which put us in 4th place out of seven guards in our class. Not too bad for our first show.

That night we established our ground for the season, by showing the judges our style. I left Shelton High that night with a smile because a little bit of purple, black, and gold was left behind showing the Trumbull was ready for the season!

~Rachael

“Trumbull High School, is your guard ready?” No words bring greater anticipation to a winter color guard parent than these. The crowded gymnasium, which had just roared to life to welcome our daughters, is suddenly hushed. The girls are in their places, and soon we hear the opening bars of the song that forms the basis of their 2010 show. “Silent night, broken night..” echoes through the gym as we wait for the first movements of what we fervently hope will be a smooth performance. Shortly after the girls begin their opening dance moves, the thrills begin. First one rifle, then another, and another, and another are tossed high into the air, caught by what seems to be an endless series of girls. The whoosh of the rifles mimics the sound effects of a helicopter in their music. Before we know it, the floor is awash with 27 girls—some waving and tossing flags in rapid-fire motion, others are throwing sabers and still others catching rifles from seemingly impossible heights. So many girls moving in so many different directions, yet working as one to make a dramatic statement with their athleticism and their grace.
It is a measure of the girls’ devotion to their craft that they plunged enthusiastically into winter color guard immediately upon finishing a highly demanding fall marching band season. These girls have set a high goal for themselves. They aim to continue to be ranked among the top performers in the entire country in the highest class of scholastic competition for winter color guard. Last year, at the national championships in Dayton, Ohio, the Trumbull World Guard moved into 11th place with “Aurora”, a beautiful program set to a Puccini aria. This year’s very dramatic program titled “In Darkness” draws on their versatility to show them in a very different, and very moving, light.
As a parent, those few minutes of performance seem to last forever, as we sit and watch through eyes filled with tears of pride, holding our breath, praying that all goes well. Yet the performances also seem to go by in a flash, as we crave another chance to see all the things we missed the first time around. There is always next week…another show, another chance to see the result of the endless hours of practice, the bumps, and bruises our girls endure to reach their high level of performance. It will all culminate in that championship performance in Dayton this spring. As the mother of a senior, I will cherish that moment when I sit in the Dayton Arena, surrounded by thousands of cheering winter guard aficionados, and hear those words… Yes, I have no doubt. Our guard WILL be ready!

Elena – Guard Mom