Winter Percussion During a Pandemic

Winter Percussion is a beloved part of the band program at DHS. Led by Mark Sachetta and Mike Thompson, as well as band director Mr. Wurman, the group trains hard throughout several weeks learning material to submit for competition with The New England Band Association (NESBA). With a pandemic looming, however, they have been forced to adjust their operations this year. They will not be travelling to competitions, but rather recording and submitting a video instead.

Rehearsals take place in-person in preparation for their submission to NESBA in a few weeks. A virtual competition will take place on March 20, where the ensemble will be judged and receive feedback in preparation for virtual finals on April 3. Eight students make up Winter Percussion this year: seniors Will Dwyer and Joe Iantosca, juniors Olivia Hanley and Zak Jurdan, sophomores Alexer Esteban, Lily Hyde, and Sydney Parke, and 7th grader Mannis Esteban.

Each season celebrates a different theme, which brings a variety of music, costumes, and energies to their shows. This year, the theme of the show has a “forestry vibe” according to senior Will Dwyer, who has done the program all four years of high school.

Winter Percussion head Mark Sachetta had this to say about the upcoming season:

"While Dedham Winter Percussion is typically an experience we plan for well in advance, this season really came about at the very last minute, and no one was more shocked than I was! As with everything in 2020, we as instructors expected there would be absolutely no opportunity to get back into familiar winter-time rhythms and routines. But without warning, just before winter break, Mr. Wurman gave us an urgent green light and it wasn't very long before things snapped right back into place with an incredibly smooth return to normalcy. With this group of members, I shouldn't have expected anything less, but it was quite remarkable to see the craziness of the past 10 months fade away almost instantaneously after our first two rehearsals! With the exception of masks and a few safety policies, it feels as if we've just turned the page very quickly to go about our important business in the way we always had before. It's been truly inspiring to see the kind of willingness and passion these DHS students have brought to the table, knowing the music is another notch more challenging, with an insane time-crunch for learning the 2021 program, and the unconventional competitive season we're stuck with this season. I cannot wait to see how this year's final performance will turn out!"

Keep an eye out for Winter Percussion updates on the DHS website!