Chosen as one of three high schools globally, the Redhawks percussion ensemble is taking a trip to Indianapolis to attend the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) Wednesday through Saturday and perform a showcase for an audience of 3,000.

“We are excited to perform at the convention and hope to have a great run of the program,” Director of Percussion Johnathan Jadvani said. “I am most excited for our performance and to hear all of the positive talking points from the students post-trip.”

Percussion has sent in numerous submissions over the years, but this is the first time the group has been accepted to perform at PASIC, according to senior Yuktha Perneti.

“I think Mr. Jadvani has put in PASIC entries for, like, the past six, seven years,” Perneti said. “And this is the first time we’ve gotten it, so it shows how large the program has grown.”

Senior Shane Logan acknowledges the uniqueness of the percussion scene in Texas and looks forward to connecting with others who share a passion for percussion.

“What we have in Frisco and the surrounding area is unique; almost nowhere else in Texas, or even the country, has the same amount of instruction, equipment, or funding as we do in North Texas,” Logan said. “Going to PASIC is just a way to inspire educators and students alike through the one thing that connects everyone there: percussion.”

The ensemble has been putting in extra work rehearsing both as a group, and individually. 

“Most mornings, I’m in the percussion room from 7:30 to 10:30, rehearsing our various pieces,” Logan said. “I also go to advisory to practice whenever possible. If there are any particular struggles, I bring my music home and work through it.”

In addition to rehearsals, percussion has been attending clinics and practice performances to review their pieces and prepare themselves to perform on a stage.

“In September, we had a day where we got a professor from UT to come and have a clinic with us,” Perneti said. “We also had our pieces reviewed by Jeff Ausdemore, who is famously known for his clinics. We also had two practice concerts, one at school and one at TMU Commerce, to prepare us for what the feel of being on stage is.” 

According to Perneti, the hours of work put into preparation have allowed her to experiment with different styles of playing that have made her a better player. 

“It has definitely made me a better player because I wouldn’t have gotten these parts otherwise,” Perneti said. “I wouldn’t have been able to play such hard music otherwise.”

With the amount of work percussion has put into preparing for this convention, Jadvani looks forward to showing off their hard work and seeing how the students benefited from the trip.

“We are excited to perform at the convention and hope to have a great run of the program,” Jadvani said. “I am most excited for our performance and to hear all of the positive talking points from the students post-trip. What was the biggest influence? What was their favorite performance? Who did they get to meet that provided new inspiration?”

While the performance is a large part of this trip, Jadvani hopes that attending this convention will be a learning experience for students.

“The students will get an opportunity to view clinics and performances from artists and ensembles from all over the world,” Jadvani said. “This is an extremely enriching experience. All things music and percussion are on the docket. This is a great opportunity for the students to explore all of the areas of percussion, some of which they don’t even know about yet!”

After the performance, students will have the opportunity to explore the convention on their own.

“We found out that we’re the opening act, so we are going on the first day,” Perneti said. “Since we’re the first act, we decided we would see the other stuff that’s going on at the convention as well. We’re also just going to have free time to go around individually around the convention hall and explore Indianapolis.” 

Perneti hopes to apply the lessons she learns at this convention to life outside of music. 

“Even if I don’t do music after high school, this will probably be the biggest stage I’ll ever be on for, like, my entire life,” Perneti said. “The amount of people there is so huge, so I’m hoping to learn how to perform well and also how to enjoy the moment. It’s stressful, but, at the same time, you’re not going to experience anything like it again.”

This story was originally published on Wingspan on November 8, 2023.