Two years ago, the Winter Percussion World Class group attended the Percussion World Championships in Dayton, Ohio, where they earned ninth place overall. This year, the 39-member group will compete there again, with their sights set on advancing to the top three in the competition that occurs from April 14-19.
To qualify, they must register, attend at least one regional and compete in the open or world-class division.
This year’s show is titled “Those Who Tell Stories.” The show has its roots in a major Indian classical dance called Kathak, which directly translates to the show’s name.
“I was really inspired by the idea of ‘Those Who Tell Stories,’ and just the idea of storytelling,” director Sean Clark said. “So, throughout the show, we will aim to show the audience that those who tell stories shape the world forever and ever.”
The show is divided into five separate movements, each with its own idea and theme. It begins with a scene that acts as the opening of the book and the show. After the opening, the show dives into the three different ways to tell stories: through words, songs and images.
The first of these, titled “Control Your Narrative,” represents the actual changing and crafting of the story through the written and spoken word. The second, “Brings People Together,” goes off the idea of bringing people together through stories with song. Next, the movement “Capture What Fades” explores the idea of a picture being worth a thousand words and capturing the moment. Finally, the show ends with an epilogue, showing the closing of the book.
Additionally, the show will use plenty of musical selections from pop and classical genres, as well as spoken words and instrumentals. Some samples include “Living Room Music” by John Cage, “Settle Down” by Kimbra and “Once Upon A Time” by Frank Sinatra.
The group has been working hard since early December, starting with their camps throughout winter break. These highly intensive rehearsals lasted from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. three days a week.
“We’ve had double as many rehearsals during the winter break as the last two years, which has been a lot,” junior drummer Conrad Adler said. “It’s nice being ahead, but it is a lot of work we have to put in. I do think it’ll really pay off, though, especially so we can get a lot better before finals.”
Additionally, right now, members are spending almost 12 hours a week rehearsing during school weeks.
Under directors Clark and Chavadith Tantavirojn, the group has already completed all the movements of their show. Now, they have begun refining their show in preparation for their upcoming performances.
“This is the farthest along the group’s ever been; they have all of their music, and they’ve been chugging along through that,” Clark said. “The progress of the group has been pretty remarkable. The ensemble has been working really hard, and there’s a lot of care and intention with the group. We’ve been able to push really far, and not even just from the staff side, but from the member side as well.”
Additionally, a second winter percussion group of generally younger students is competing in the A Class division with 37 members. Their 2026 production, “In Living Color”, focuses on how color and music awaken emotions, with movements focused on individual colors and themes, using music samples such as “First Light” by Lindsey Stirling, “Spring Rounds” by Stravinsky, and “One Summer’s Day” by Joe Hisashi.
Coming up, the world-class group will have performances at Fremont High on Feb. 7, West Park High on Feb. 21, American Canyon High on March 7, James Logan High on March 14 and March 28.
The World Class roster includes:
Battery:
- Snares: senior Aiden Jang and sophomores Seungeon Lee and Tan Yu
- Basses: seniors Anthony Luo and Beni Mercurio; juniors Conrad Adler and Anshuman Sen and sophomore Raghav Ramaswamy
- Quads: seniors Rohan Gopal and Jeremy Huang
- Cymbals: senior Matthew Avila; juniors Nathan Chee and Joshua Shows and sophomore Brandon Chen
- Visual Ensemble: senior Clarice; juniors Yitian Xu and Joseph Zhao and freshmen Taylor Lee, Katie Sun and Ella Yang
Front Ensemble:
- Marimba: seniors Oliver Su, Naomi Yang, Kevin Yu and Joanne Zhang and juniors Ethan Aochi and Sarah Kuroda-Ren
- Vibraphone: senior Dahyun Kim; juniors Alicia Huang and Sam Roh; sophomores Michelle Lai and Edwin Wu and freshman Jayden Tang
- Glockenspiel: junior Jordan Lai
- Xylophone: senior Masha Sotoodehniakorani
- Drumset: senior Raymond Zheng
- Auxiliary: senior Marco Rocabado
- Synth: seniors Tiffany Sun and Daniel Yu
- Bass: junior Khamila Pacheco
The A Class roster includes:
Battery:
- Snares: freshman Varshita Palisetti, Aaryan Shah, Anushka Thakur and Ethan Varikkad
- Quads: freshman Jack Li, Dhruv Rao and Alex Wyatt
- Basses: freshman Courtney Lee, Min Madhan, Navya Nandula, Sara Shrivastava and Valentina Warren
- Toms: freshman Nivedhitha Hariharan, Laura Huang, Aanya Iyer and Emily Wang
- Visual Ensemble: freshman Anya Bharadwaj, Sriya Mukund
Front Ensemble:
- Marimba: junior Cyrus Xue and freshman Cadie Chu, Sofia Gonzales, Sihyun Kim, Angela Xu and Georgia Yan
- Vibraphone: freshman Lindsey Lee, Amy Lu, Michelle Pham, Amay Puri, Rahee Ryu and Julie Ye
- Glockenspiel: freshman Allison Sun
- Xylophone: freshman Connor Yi
- Synth: sophomore Vihaan Yadav and freshman Andy Li
- Electric Guitar: junior Nikhil Prabakaran
- Auxiliary: freshman Justin Wang and Lilya Wroblewski
