Woodbridge High percussion ensemble sets record with near-perfect score in championship

When we last wrote about Woodbridge High School’s award-winning percussion ensemble, the squad was getting ready for April's WGI Percussion World Championships in Dayton, Ohio.

It’s safe to say it was a successful trip. Not only did the ensemble place first in the Concert World Percussion Class, they set a record for the highest score ever issued in the history of WGI, earning a perfect score of 100 from three of four judges in the final round of competition for an average of 99.6. Co-director Joslynne Blasdel said Woodbridge was then invited back for an encore exhibition in front of a crowd of about 15,000 attendees, who offered up standing ovations before and after the performance. Even before their first drumbeat in Dayton, the Warriors were generating buzz. Here’s a WGI regional review that was written in advance of the April 18-20 competition.

At this juncture, there is not much else that can be said of this ensemble that has not already been mentioned before in the past. Ever since the group first jumped onto the national scene, there has been a constant bounty of talent – along with the unfailing ability of the ensemble to tackle pieces of notorious difficulty. And this season is no different, with the hushed whispers about Woodbridge’s unrivaled intensity spreading throughout as the crowd pours in minutes before they perform, and you can feel the anticipation in the air. What transpires across the next eight minutes is to experience the inherent joy of music itself. Rarely can one experience that sense of discovering something fresh, or new, time and time again. But that’s exactly what Woodbridge provides with “The Bringer of Joy” – an opportunity to experience the exhilarating strands of music laced all throughout, calling upon the healthy assortment of instruments to paint the detailed music broad strokes envisioned by Holst himself. Wide-eyed wonder strikes every person in the midst of the command performance, and even those who are experts in this field cannot help but find a sense of humility. Ensembles of Woodbridge’s caliber rare; especially at such an age, and rest-assured their return to Dayton will be one remembered in the years to come – delivering unabashed joy to all who are fortunate to partake in the invigorating process.