The North Forney High School Indoor Percussion Ensemble will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
A 5A school, North Forney High School opened in 2009 with only freshman and sophomore students. Jim Gist, the school’s percussion director, began the program, which has experienced much growth and earned the reputation as a premier percussion program in the North Texas area.
In addition to the group’s performance at SFA, the ensemble’s 2018 spring tour includes a performance at Tyler Junior College and culminates with the WGI Houston Regional competition at Klein Oak High School in Spring.
The group is competing in the 2018 season with show “End of Days,” which reflects on the tumultuous events surrounding the end times as told in the Book of Revelations.
“The number seven is significant in the program, as it is in Revelations, including the pulse of much of the program being in seven and the seventh seal being broken as heard in a subtle bass drum roll,” Gist explains. “The armies marching into the Battle of Armageddon, victorious scenes of redemption, and the final judgment as described in Revelations can all be heard and felt through the musical imagery.”
The program begins with Modest Mussorgsky’s mysterious “Night on Bald Mountain” and transitions to Jacob Remington’s “Prelude to Paradise.” The final victory is portrayed by Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 Movement 5, also known as “The Resurrection Symphony.”
Admission to the concert is free.
The North Forney Indoor Percussion Ensemble competed in the North Texas Colorguard Association circuit during the spring 2017 season. During its first year of competition, the North Forney Ensemble was promoted twice to a higher classification and earned first place at every contest the group entered. At the finals championship, North Forney earned the highest percussion score in NTCA history with a 93.5.
For more information, contact Dr. Brad Meyer, director of percussion studies for the SFA School of Music, at meyerbe@sfasu.edu.
