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Central's drumline snares honor
Musicians best some 'super huge' programs
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Forsyth County News

Forsyth Central High School's director of percussion studies is pleased his students drummed up a sizable achievement last weekend.

More than 150 drumlines took part in the Winter Guard International World Championships in Dayton, Ohio, April 18-20, which split high school percussion groups into three different classes for judging.

Among 17 high schools in the top-tiered skill level, or world-class groups, Central's drumline placed ninth.

"We're proud of our students," said Tom Tucker, who is also assistant band director at Central. "It's a really big undertaking for us to go up and compete in this thing.

It's just a lot of work for the kids to learn the show and to get everything just right."

While the school's drummers have attended the event for several years, only recently were they elevated to the top event classification, which is determined by skill level.

Central's drumline worked its way up to world class in 2006, where it has remained.

Tucker said he's happy with the band's performance in the face of competition, which included schools from California, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan.

"We beat some programs that are super huge," he said. "The quality of that [world] class has gotten so good. It's an honor to even be in that category."

Tucker said he's especially pleased with Central's score, which was 90.675 out of 100 points.

Judges tally points based on mastery of the music itself, how well each band marches and an overall scoring of performance.

According to Winter Guard International's Web site, the organization strives to "bring music to life through performance in a competitive format."