Over the course of two months and across the entire state, Ocean Lakes Indoor Percussion Ensemble (OLIPE) has competed for the Atlantic Indoor Association title.
Beginning practice in November, the ensemble has worked tirelessly. They practice three days a week, three hours on weekdays and nine hours on Saturdays.
“I really haven’t had a free Saturday since the season started,” sophomore and synthesizer player Ethan McConomy said. “But it’s a blast showing up.”
The ensemble practices both music and choreography for their show, “The Taking.”
“We do a lot of choreography. It’s pretty intense because it really tests your flexibility,” sophomore and bass drum player Cassandra Zuo said.
The show is inspired by nature and the ballets of Igor Stravinsky and Ballets Russes, such as “Rite of Spring.” This is the first year that the ensemble has used original music.
“The instructional staff and I had a visual and storyline plan for this show last season, but we couldn’t find pre-written music that supported it,” OLIPE director Mike Jones said. “We decided to explore the ‘Rite of Spring’ content and branched out to other works by the composer to maintain a similar sound.”
Not only was the music original, but so was the approach.
“This year’s show is a collection of subgroup features tied together to showcase the strengths throughout the ensemble, whereas previous shows have been ‘safer’ full ensemble orchestrations for the majority of the show. This approach has made the show more dynamic and afforded additional opportunities for visual design and interest,” Jones said.
On Feb. 15, 2025, the team took a loss at Landstown High School, placing second to Hickory High School.
“Considering that it was our first competition of the season, I was really happy with everyone,” Ethan said. “There were some moments where flaws needed to be ironed out, but with the snow days we had little time to do so.”
On March 1, 2025, they placed 4th at Midlothian High School, near Richmond, Va. They received a large penalty due to a problem with the program that allows for certain electronic instruments to function. Taking lessons from this experience, they remained optimistic and hoped to overcome this challenge in future competitions, according to Ethan.
A week later at Powhatan High School on March 8, 2025, they earned third place, and on March 22, 2025, they won second at Mount Vernon High School, all while still experiencing some technical difficulties.
Upcoming competitions are at the Hampton Coliseum on March 30, 2025.
“It’s a ton of work, but it’s a labor of love,” Ethan said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to place high in the finals at Hampton.”
