By Traci Chapman, Managing Editor
In its first full year – and first time to ever perform in competition – Okarche’s winter guard program has gotten off to a flying start, winning its division in the two opening tournaments of the season.
That start seems somehow appropriate given the team’s 2022 program – “Flying,” with music by Cody Fry.
“The song is full of musical phrases that are used to symbolize and illustrate different aspects of flying – flutes symbolize birds fluttering through the air, sweeping orchestral segments contain notes that soar above the rest of the music as if you were soaring above the clouds in the sky, etc.,” Okarche band and winter guard director Russell Harris said Tuesday. “The music is in a major key, which makes it sound very happy and cheerful.
“There is a bit of irony in it though because the composer recently commented on how the song is really about someone who jumps off of a mountain because he thinks he can fly,” he said.
Although the first contest of the year – Winter Guard and Percussion of Oklahoma’s Feb. 6 Yukon competition – was sidelined due to weather, teams did have the option to submit virtual performances. That was something most elected to do, WGPO contest director Kyle Myers said; Okarche’s did so and its presentation garnered a first in Scholastic Regional B competition.
In fact, the team virtual effort earned 73.470 points – far above Muskogee’s Hilldale Crimson Vanguard, which scored 70.430. Okarche’s achievement also placed it ahead of several long-time competitors known for their expertise in winter and color guard, including Jenks High School junior varsity and Mustang Cadets.
Harris and his eight-member team repeated that virtual accomplishment in person last weekend, taking first in Scholastic Regional A competition during the Feb. 19 WGPO Choctaw tournament.
There, Okarche’s winter guard scored 69.100, leading a field of nine teams in that class, many with significantly more competitive experience.
Those are heady accomplishments for a program that this season is in its first full year of having any winter guard at all, not to mention Yukon and Choctaw were the first time Okarche winter guard members ever competed – but Harris is not complacent about the competition and what it might hold moving forward.
“Our competitors are growing stronger each week though, so we have to continue to work hard, make some changes and work on cleaning up our routine to make sure everything is completely in sync,” he said.
While Okarche this season has eight winter guard members, Harris said the team hopes to attract more in the coming months in preparation for next season.
“We are planning on having a couple of days later in the spring for prospective members to come learn some skills and audition for their spot on in the guard for next year,” he said.
Winter guard’s emergence in Okarche is part of something bigger – and is, like many programs, tied at least in part to the district’s band program. Many high school winter guard participants also are part of color guard, an integral part of marching band. While Okarche does not currently have a marching band, it is something the district would like to work towards in the relatively near future.
“We are still in the process of building our band program – marching band really requires a certain number of members to make it effective and possible,” Harris said. “It is also a very expensive undertaking, so we are working on funding it for the future – we do plan on having a competitive marching band within the next two years.”
Up next for winter guard is WGPO’s Deer Creek competition, set for Feb. 26 at that district’s high school. Okarche then heads to Southmoore for a March 19 tournament and will travel to Jenks High School for the WGPO state championship, scheduled for April 2.
