Bellevue Public Schools have enjoyed longstanding success in their music and band programs. The Winter Winds program is a somewhat newer outlet to demonstrate this excellence. Sometimes thought of as ‘Marching Band in a Gym’, Winter Winds showcases team musical performances with more emphasis on dance and theatrics. “Think of it kind of like Cirque du Soleil”, said Bellevue East Winter Winds Director Charles Wright.
With Winter Winds auditions at East & West in December, practice began for both teams in January with upwards of 20 hours each week dedicated to learning each piece of music and the corresponding movements throughout. Last weekend all of the hard work and dedication led the teams to Dayton, Ohio to compete in the WGI Sport of the Arts Winter Winds Worldwide Competition.
“It was phenomenal! One of my favorite things about the entire trip is that we were there with Bellevue West. Two schools from our small city were 3rd and 4th in the country! How cool is that?”
-Bellevue East Sophomore Chelsea Phillips
The competition is organized by Winter Guard International (WGI). “WGI organizes regional competitions throughout the year including ones that were held in Bellevue this March. The culmination is the World Championships in Dayton, Ohio”, said Bellevue West Winter Winds Director Adam Killham. “Both East and West had their color guards compete in their divisions 2 weeks ago and our winds and combined percussion groups competed this week. In the Winds division, there were 37 units from across the country including one from Hawaii. The division is divided into classes based on skill sets. All Bellevue groups currently compete in scholastic A. There are two divisions that are higher, open and world. Each class has more demand as you move up in classification. In scholastic A there were 12 teams, with 9 moving onto finals. Progression into finals is decided by a panel of 6 judges assessing music, visual, and overall effect of the show.”
The Bellevue West team consisted of 31 students this year. Their show was entitled “True Colors” and featured Red Cape Tango by Michael Daugherty, Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, Yellow by Coldplay, and True Colors by Cyndi Lauper. The show starts with everything being black including the performers who are draped in black fabric. As the show progresses large paint brushes and rollers “paint” the floor with their respective colors. As the show theme becomes lighter, more color is exposed on the floor and on the performer.
Bellevue East’s show envisioned “A Million Dreams”, featuring Breakfast Machine by Danny Elfman, Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky, and A Million Dreams by Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, and Ziv Zaifman. Multicolored cloud props outlined their performance tarp, which also featured the stars and clouds of a night sky. The tone of the music switched multiple times in unpredictable ways – similar to many dreams. This year’s team was made up of 25 students.
Both teams delivered fantastic performances on the world stage. West earned a 3rd place finish achieving a final score of 88.500 and East was right with them in 4th place with a final score of 87.000. “We always talk about how you want to peak at the right time”, said Killham. “Our prelims performance was the best run of the year to that point. After earning the ability to perform one more time and were able to top their performance the day before! The students, regardless of placement, could go home proud of what they did. Achieving 3rd place in the class was the reward for months of hard work and training.”
According to Wright, no other city or school district had two teams competing in Dayton, let alone two teams from the same school district that scored so high. “Bellevue Public Schools and the Bellevue community have always been so supportive of our music programs. The level of commitment the Bellevue community and schools invest is like NONE other.”
The future looks bright for both programs, with Killham mentioning planning next year on the ride home from Dayton. “Lots of great ideas to push this group to the next level. The group will for sure look different. There were many students who competed with this group for 4 years who will be missed. They were crucial to helping build a culture of hard work and success that will help continue the growth of the organization.”
Bellevue West Junior Geoffrey Bittner played the tenor saxophone and just completed his first season competing in Winter Winds. He said the whole season, culminating with competing at the World Championship in Dayton, was a fantastic experience. “I thought it would be similar to Bands Of America, but it is so much better. You’re there with thirty of your best friends, to perform a show that you all have worked so hard on. I absolutely plan on participating next year. It was quite possibly the best experience of my life!”
Bellevue East Sophomore Chelsea Phillips played the synthesizer and just completed her first season competing in Winter Winds. She expressed similar sentiments to Bittner in that competing at the World Championship felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. “There were so many amazing musicians there and we got to watch them perform. It was so inspiring being around such talented people”, Phillips said. “It was phenomenal! One of my favorite things about the entire trip is that we were there with Bellevue West. Two schools from our small city were 3rd and 4th in the country! How cool is that?”
Pictures provided by Bellevue East and Bellevue West Bands Boosters
