BV Winter Percussion Wins 2026 NCPA Championships
Updated: Apr 17
BV Newsroom
By Mark Yadchuk
Fair Oaks, CA - April 17th, 2026
After about 4 months of hard work and long rehearsals on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on top of multiple Saturday competitions, the Bella Vista Winter Percussion was rewarded with the title of NCPA Scholastic A Champions on Saturday, April 11th, 2026. The NCPA (Northern California Percussion Alliance) held their end-of-season championships on that date at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton, featuring various winter percussion and indoor wind ensembles competing in their final performance of their seasons, while a furious thunderstorm roared outside. Out of 16 ensembles competing in their division, our very own BV Winter Percussion took home a gold medal with a score of 86.95!
For those who might not be familiar with what winter percussion is, it has the same essence as marching band- performing a themed show with multiple songs or “movements” while moving around and creating visual effects. But there are key distinctions between the two activities: this one is indoors as opposed to on a football field in a stadium, and this one only features percussion instruments (instruments you can hit and get a sound). This includes snare drums, tenor drums, bass drums, cymbals, synthesizers, guitars, instruments from the xylophone family, and rack instruments- but not the typical wind instruments that define a marching band, like saxophones, trumpets, or trombones. For more information on this activity, you can see our previous article on Winter Percussion, issued on Feb. 5, titled “Winter Percussion Preseason Interview With Hayden Clark.”
At championships and throughout the season, the group performed their show, “The Five Pillars.” It conveyed what it feels to go through a breakup, starting with heartbreak, moving to anger, and ending with acceptance. The pillars themselves represent the “five pillars of a healthy relationship”- communication, respect, trust, intimacy, and commitment- each of which end up falling throughout the show, to symbolize the breakup. The premise of the show clearly ended up resonating with the judges at championships, reflecting the 4 months of hard work that members of the team put in.
One of those members was senior Iris Davis, who has spent 4 years as a member of the marching band as an alto saxophone player and captain and 4 years in winter percussion playing the bass drum. This weekend, she did not only enjoy the championship win, but also a 1,000 dollar scholarship from the NCPA- a satisfying end of an era for her. To talk about her experiences in the band program and her future in music, we conducted the following, completely unedited interview:
Q: What have you learned from doing Winter Percussion these past 4 years? How has doing it helped you become a stronger musician in general?
A: My 4 seasons in winter percussion have definitely taught me how to keep showing up and trying my best no matter what. Some rehearsals (and seasons) were harder than others for a lot of us, but I learned to show up and just take things one rep at a time and give it my all. As a musician in general, I’ve gotten a lot better at reading rhythms and projecting energy to an audience, both of which carry over to the other ensembles I’m in.
Q: What is better- Winter Percussion or Marching Band? Why?
A: As a wind player in the marching band, I really can’t decide which one I think is better. I really love how much more you can do visually in winter percussion to add to a performance without it affecting your playing ability, but I feel like there’s a lot more hype around marching band and we have much more support from the rest of the school and community.
Q: How much does it mean to you, a senior, to win the championship in your final season?
A: To me, winning championships really felt like I was rounding out my high school experience. We won championships in a lower division during my freshman year, and we’ve been fighting our way to the top in a higher division these past three seasons. I think a lot of the seniors can agree that it’s really special to see all of our hard work pay off, and it feels like we helped build a really strong program out of a program that had been the same for several years prior.
Q: In addition to enjoying the 1st place win, you also were awarded a 1,000 dollar scholarship from the NCPA! How much does that mean to you and how will you spend the money?
A: Winning that scholarship meant a lot to me, I believe there were about 30 people across all of Northern California that applied and it was crazy that I was one of 5 people who stood out to the panel. I will either use that money for general college expenses (tuition, books, etc.) or I will use it to pay my fees for my next winter percussion season at Sac State.
Q: What is next for your music journey after high school?
A: After high school, I’m planning to attend Sac State and get my degree in music education. I am hoping to make it into Sac State’s winter percussion program to continue marching next season, and I might audition for a world class group down the road. I also hope to bring a winter percussion ensemble of my own to competition in the future once I start teaching.
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