Drum line drums up success with ‘Forest of Light’

For the past few months, percussionists and a few other band students have been hard at work perfecting their winter percussion show “Forest of Light.”

Our school has never had a winter percussion show especially a show like “Forest of Light.” The show features visual performers that create the artistry and movement the drum line can’t. Also masks, costumes, and very large props help create the visuals that tell the story.

The battery, the marching drums, along with front ensemble make up all the percussionists. The students and directors have come together to create the show and on April 6th, the drum line competed at Burleson Centennial High School and placed fourth.

“I think it’s creative, and for it being the first indoor show where drum line and visual ensemble match, it’s really impressive,” freshman Caleb Fauber said.

Percussion director Matt Filosa had always wanted to do a fantasy themed winter percussion show complete with fanciful colors and woodland creatures, and he achieved that goal.
It is about light being taken by the dark entities in a forest and the setting of foliage and forestry is represented by the tarp and by the props.

Solos, cool visual effects, and the male visual performers holding snare drums while the battery plays them are just some of the things that make the show unique.
The female visual performers put on makeup and a light costume to make themselves look like figures made completely out of light.

Everyone else wears a costume that looks like a tree, except on the back it features bright yellow eyes to give off an ominous effect and a mask with feathers and antlers.

“It’s not just your basic run-of-the-mill show,” senior Seth Russell said, “its got a whole lot of depth once you look into it on more than just a surface level.”

From the visuals on the tarp and costumes to the music that is performed, Forest Of Light is almost completely homemade.

“Writing it myself, I could tailor it to our needs and really mold it and be hands on to make it fit the idea and the students,” said Filosa, “That really helped as the show evolved, it was exactly right for the kids.”

With the help of other directors Filosa was able to write almost the entire show and with the help of the students, they placed fourth at their championship competition.