Drumline season might have come to an end, but the LSE drummers are continuing their passion with a Percussion Ensemble. After sending in an audition piece from last year’s performance, this group was chosen to perform Thursday, Nov. 15 at the Nebraska Music Educators Association Conference.

Isaac Pham (12) along with the other members, began practicing right after marching band season came to an end. They practiced the first two periods of the day, as well as occasional evenings.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” Pham said.

During most performances, an instructor stands up front to direct the group. This unique performance however is split into two pieces; the first being without a director.

“(It’s) a challenge because it’s purely relying on those playing the piece,” Pham said. “Not only do we need to know our parts through and through, we need to know everybody else’s parts. We need to be able to communicate with one another, and really be musicians and not just performers.”

It’s a fun and exciting part for the drummers to test how well they can communicate with each other on a musical level instead of watching someone tell them what to do. Playing solely as a group requires lots of determination and you have to trust that everyone will nail their piece, as well as recover if a mistake is made.

The second part of their program incorporates many instruments. It should be an engaging piece for the audience as they are able to enjoy both musical and visual aspects of the performance. Many unique sounds are presented to add more characteristic to the pieces.

The Percussion Ensemble spent Tuesday, Nov. 13, touring around four middle schools to perform for a younger generation and promote the music program. They are always looking to add new members, and fun performances are the perfect ways to accomplish this.

“Getting to go see this really unique music is something that I would be psyched for,” Pham said in response to audience members looking forward to this performance.

You can go and watch this performance for yourself on Nov. 15 at Kimball Recital Hall from 4-4:50pm. This is a free event and opened to the public. Along with percussion, you can watch the All-State groups and Pham performing with Ars Nova.