POP Doesn’t Stop

Eden Stroud, Junior High Staff Writer|March 27, 2023

Seventh grader Vanessa Thacker plays vibraphone during the indoor percussion show.

Performances for members of the Pride of Paoli do not end when marching season is over. The students continued their performances off-field, moving inside to partake in the winter programs.

The Paoli Indoor Percussion and Winter Guard are filled by students in all grades, with 15 percussion members and 10 in the guard.

“We hope to put together another great show this year and maybe even place higher,” said Band Director Christian Karkosky.

Eighth grader Cora Young performs in the color guard. (Olivia McSpadden)

The group is led by Brandon Nunez. Indoor Percussion’s theme is Dante’s Divine Comedy “Abandon All Hope” and features Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”, “Dies Iraes” and “Mors Vera” composed by Nunez and band staff member Sydney Hanlon. This is the second year for the Indoor Percussion program and directors have already seen tremendous growth.

Sophomore Lainee Cox and senior AJ Lopez are standout leaders of the group.

“I hope that everyone who is taking part in it will enjoy themselves and learn more from this. We aren’t really competitive about it since we just started it last year but it’s really fun to learn new music, gain more experience, and see other schools perform,” said Cox.

On February 11, the group traveled to Owen Valley for competition and earned third place.

Junior Carina Gaona waves her flag during the performance. (Olivia McSpadden)

The second contest for the group was at Franklin High School, where the group took home a participation award.

The Winter Guard’s theme is based on the Beatles’ song “Eleanor Rigby.” The group is directed by Steven Satterfield.

So far this season, the group has competed at three competitions.

The first contest was at Henryville, the group earning first place. The second contest was on March 4 at North Harrison and the group earned a third place finish.

On Saturday, March 11 the group traveled to Tates Creek High School in Lexington, Kentucky and placed third.

This Saturday, the group will travel to Larry A. Ryle High School in Union, Kentucky and over Spring Break, they will also travel to George Rogers Clark High School for a contest.

Tonight both the guard and percussion groups will perform at the Orleans Showcase which begins at 5 p.m.