Whether you’re a participant or a spectator, the TIA Atlantic Coast Championships offer a one-of-a-kind experience that celebrates the power and beauty of music and dance.

This year’s ACC championships were especially historic for the Tyrone Color Guard and Indoor Percussion Team. This was the first trip to ACCs for the Tyrone Color Guard in many years, and the Indoor Percussion won their very first ACC championship.

Both groups traveled to Wildwood, New Jersey on May 3rd, 2023 for five days of performances, showcases, practice, and fun.

The TIA Atlantic Coast Championships is one of the largest competitive band events on the East Coast, attracting thousands of musicians, twirlers, dancers, and color guard performers from across the United States.

Hosted in the seaside town of Wildwood, New Jersey, the annual competition showcases the best indoor marching arts performances and gives participants the chance to shine in front of a highly engaged audience.

During the preliminary round on Thursday, May 4th, the percussion performed early, at 9:30 am.

Starting practice at 8 am helped get the students energized and awake for the exciting day.

The percussion team earned a score of 92.3 in the prelims, which was one-third of a point less than their Regional Competition performance at IUP two weeks earlier.

“The students did pretty well at prelims, though the students didn’t feel it was their best performance,” said Tyrone Band Director David Hock, “That just shows that they had high expectations for themselves and their performance and they knew what they needed to do in order to make it better.”

The Color Guard had a later show performance at 5:30 pm. Though they did not make it to the finals, the guard put on an amazing and heartwarming performance that will always be remembered.

“It was so amazing,” said junior Kaleigh Brodzina. “The environment around me was so welcoming and fun. It wasn’t too bad balancing the two, our instructor for guard was very flexible with my busy schedule.”

The guard is excited to work in the offseason and come back better next year.

“Color guard is already planning on how to improve next year,” said Hock.”These kids actually performed much better than we expected them to perform for their first year and being new to the techniques and equipment.”

In their downtime, both teams were able to visit the boardwalk vendors and rides and took a trip to the Cape May Zoo.

The downtime was necessary for the students to rest, reflect, and not burn out during such a busy and intense week.

On Saturday, May 5th, the percussion was finally ready to perform their final performance of the year. The students were filled with excitement and confidence that their final show, would bring them to the top.

Tyrone Indoor Percussion placed first against five different groups in the Scholastic Stationary Percussion with a score of 94.80. Everyone was so congratulative and supportive for the teams victory.

“Even though I messed up on a few parts, we were still able to perform our best and still make it out on top,” said senior Xena Sieminski.

The 2023 Scholastic Stationary Percussion banner is now on display in the TAHS lobby for everyone to see.

“I felt very accomplished that we were the first in Tyrone’s band to win first place in quite a long time,” said Junior Landon Geissinger.

“For me though it’s not just about the win or the banner,” said Hock.”It’s about seeing the students put in so much hard work throughout the entire season, it’s about watching them learn and grow and be inspired by the music, it’s watching the students finish their finals performance with such excitement, emotion, and pride in themselves and knowing they played their absolute best.”

The Eagle Eye would like to congratulate both teams, especially seniors Laci Daniel, Abigail Kaspick, and Xena Sieminski.

Gallery • 19 Photos

Paula Brodzina

Tyrone Percussion group photo with the banner.