Group members, who are led by Miamisburg High School band director Steve Aylward, found out they had placed first in the preliminary round about an hour after they performed. On finals day, they learned during an awards ceremony they had placed first in the competition with a score of 95.375 and were announced as the gold medal winners in their class.
“It was a moment that none of us will ever forget,” Aylward said. “There were a lot of smiles and tears down on the floor. It was the culmination of an incredible amount of work that went into creating a special show.”
Aylward, who oversees all aspects of the band program, including its Winds, concert bands, marching band, jazz band, also serves as one of the directors of the Winds ensemble. Kendra Wendeln and Ryan Wintersheimer co-direct the Winds with Aylward.
Miamisburg Winds is comprised of students who are are all members of the Miamisburg band program and generally between 13 and 18 years old with that “pretty evenly divided” across 8th grade through 12th grade, he said.
“In this particular ensemble, students play instruments and move around a gym floor, similar to what you would see in a high school marching band,” Aylward said. “In some ways, Winds is a cross between marching band and activities like dance and winter guard.”
Any group that wishes to compete can, provided they perform in a regional competition earlier in the season, he said. The WGI Championships were the culmination of the season for all of the groups in attendance, Aylward said.
This was Miamisburg’s fifth time attending the WGI World Championships, he said. “Our previous highest placement before this year was fourth place, so this was a big step up for us,” Aylward said.
Students had been working on this show since the end of November, practicing several times a week and participating in several competitions from January and on, he said.
“They worked incredibly hard, and also balanced it with many other responsibilities in their lives,” Aylward said. “Each of those students is also involved with other aspects of our band program, such as concert band. Many of them also work a job and several of them are also involved with athletic teams such as track, baseball, softball, and swimming.”
The group, which is gearing up for marching band season for the fall, will directly thereafter start preparing for its next winter season, he said.
“We set a really high bar this year, so we know we’re going to have to work hard to try to meet it moving forward,” Aylward said.
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