Excited for state

In its sixth year, a percussion group will compete in the state championship for the first time.
The Jay County High School Indoor Percussion Ensemble will make its first appearance at the Indiana Percussion Association State Finals on Saturday at the Hulman Center at Indiana State University.
The members of the ensemble and their leaders, like percussion director Mitchell Snyder, noted how exciting it is to go to the state finals after years of missing the chance to compete at that level in previous years.
“Its feels great,” said Snyder. “Over the past five years we’ve almost just made it.”
This time around, the group finished eighth at the Indiana Percussion Association State Preliminiaries on March 19 in Avon. The top 13 out of 19 Class-A division schools qualified and will compete at the state finals.
The students and instructors have made this competition an ode to former member Seth Corwin, the Pennville teen who died Oct. 30 after an alleged drunk driver went off the road in the truck he was driving and crashed into Corwin’s home.
Though section leader Connor Daniels was not close to his former drum line member, he said Corwin’s heart was always in the right place when it came to playing with the ensemble.
“Even though he’s not with us, I know he’s with us in spirit,” he said. “He wanted to see this group grow. I really just want to make him proud out there and I think a lot of us do. It was a big deal for a lot of us.”
To honor him, the ensemble members are wearing armband in John Deere green and orange on their left sleeves with Corwin’s first initial and last name.
Some of the ideas for the show were Corwin’s.
The performance is called “En Fuego,” Spanish for “on fire.”
The routine is tribal-inspired and describes a Mayan civilization living near a volcano and must appease it to live peacefully. Satisfying the volcano requires a worship dance, which appears to be ineffective and the inhabitants resort to human sacrifice. The volcano envelopes the offering in lava and the sacrifice is reborn as a fire warrior.
Daniels said the group had been brainstorming ideas for about a month during the summer.
“It’s a really active show and it’s really energetic,” said Daniels. “It hypes us up and helps us perform better.”
Judging is based on several criteria including best music performance, composition performance, visual composition and overall effects.
Some of the schools JCHS will be up against have competed on the national level, and Snyder said the team is honored to contest in the same division with other seasoned ensembles. But to come out on top, Snyder noted it will require a lot more than theatrics and music.
“To actually win the state final contest — the group who is going to win is going to be very deserving of it (and) a very established group,” he said.
A preview of the show will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday at East Jay Middle School.
Band director Kelly Smeltzer noted JCHS doesn’t put an emphasis on winning, but on excellence. The hard work the students put in and performing at the state level echoes that idea, he added.
“I’m real proud of the students and staff that has worked diligently,” he said. “(We) dedicated the performance to Seth Corwin. Seth is always with us; we take his picture with us everywhere this season.”