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duPont Manual Varsity (Long Way Home)

 

There comes a day, for everyone, when they will be compelled to, by internal thirsts for adventure and independence or external pressures from parents and friends, leave the people they have called home and plant themselves in some distant place. This is not merely a new, temporary location, but a new, not yet fully developed home. It will take time, of course, before the things that will build that home—new memories and relationships—are had, and in that intermediary stage, it only makes sense for home to feel far off and untouchable. 

In duPont Manual’s Scholastic A 2 show Long Way Home, this concept is explored with artistic complexity as senior Demetrius stars in the role of a temporary nomad, of sorts, who is on a journey back home. In his own words, “My role in the show represents someone who leaves home and travels far away, but misses home the whole time. The journey feels long and difficult because home is always on my mind, and by the end I return and realize how much it means to me.” 

Demetrius (left) Joselyn (center) Addison (right)

 

As a senior, this is his last show with duPont, personalizing the meaning in a way Addison, another senior with duPont, comments on: “Because it’s my senior year, my show just means family since we’re been friends since freshman year and our show is titled Long Way Home. So it’s like, you know, even though we’re going off to college soon, we’re always going to have memories and each other.” Joselyn, another senior, comments on the memories this show has formed between her and the unit: “I love sharing memories with my friends, even little moments where we interact on the floor. That’s really special to me, [and] I think our show shows that all you need are the people around you.”

In love with the supportive environment of TriState competitions, they are most excited for championships and that final performance where they get to be a part of that friendly competition one last time. As Addison says, “I love the community because, you know, walking the halls everyone’s like ‘You look so pretty!’ ‘You had a good show!’ Obviously we’re competing against each other, but it’s a family no matter what. [So] I’m excited for champs and being able to perform one last time.” We, at Tristate, are excited to watch that final performance and wish duPont Manual a fantastic season!

 

John Hardin HS (The Other Day)

 

Suffering, when it precedes joy, is almost necessary to keep people thankful and never ignorant to the rapidity with which circumstances, people, and things can, and do, change. In John Hardin’s Percussion Scholastic Concert A show, The Other Day, the unchanging, mental resilience needed to bare the change of created, physical things is explored through a story of sunrises and storms told with bright hits like “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles and more aggressive pieces like Plini’s “Electric Sunrise.” As Tyler, a senior xylophonist, simply explains, “The beginning is nice, and maybe you hit some rough parts, but the end is nice again.” Isaiah, a senior drummer, connects this meaning to his personal life: “I think the whole idea of the show is, like, a sunset, a storm, and then a sunset: [the good] after the storm. I feel like that kind of represents my career in music, so far.”

Beyond that, as a senior, he is sad to leave but content to have spent his high school career playing with this ensemble. He shares the sentiment of marimbist Cami, another senior, who says, “Since [us three] are seniors, this ensemble means a lot to me. I take almost every part of our show in an emotional way. It’s my last show ever with this ensemble and this percussion.”

Isaiah (left) Cami (center) Tyler (right)

 

This being their last season together, Tyler is “…excited to see everyone crying at the end.” It’s an exhilarating feeling, for the environment of performers all working just as hard creates a productive, interconnected ambiance that, I bet, reaches its sharpest climax at that final performance and awards reception. Isaiah says, commenting on that environment, “I feel like the work ethic creates a good ambiance of people who are here for the same reason.” Cami just can’t wait to get better as the season progresses: “I’m excited to get better. Even though we’re at a very good point in our show now and our players are very good, we’re still at a point where there’s definitely room to improve.” Tristate Marching Arts can’t wait, either, and hopes to see John Hardin at finals as they continue playing through the storm!

 

Lakota West HS JV (Home)

 

Stella (left) Molly (center) Brianna (right)

 

“Home is a place where I always feel safe and comfortable, and I always feel that way when I’m around my team,” is what Molly, a sophomore on Lakota West’s Scholastic Regional A unit, said their 2026 show Home meant to her. When I watch the smiles on each performers’ faces and see the rhythm with which they perform paired with the show’s warm colors and golden imagery, it is clear that, to them, this is not just another performance but a celebration of friendship and community.

This community, however, encompasses much more than just Lakota West’s particular guard: it encompasses TriState as a whole. As junior Brianna states, “Everybody here is a family.” Such is why, while remaining competitive, Stella, a freshman, can say she is excited to “[Watch] all the other shows.” Of course, they want to win—who doesn’t?—but they want to, keeping in mind the theme of their show, remember what matters most: love and family.

Looking forward, their main desire is to get better and make it to finals. Molly says, “I’m just excited to keep improving and working hard,” while Brianna adds onto this, “I would love to see everybody make it to finals. I feel like everybody puts in good work.” Stella is most excited for the far future: “I can not wait to learn what our new show is going to be and meet new people who want to join.” TriState can not wait to see what Lakota West’s JV can do and hopes to see them at championships this year!

 

by Landon Ashcraft, TMA Media

Landon Ashcraft is a high school senior

from Florence, Kentucky, who loves to

spend his time writing, reading, making

music, and exploring nature.

 

Bullitt East High School Scholastic – Regional A

 

All things we see follow a simple, essential pattern: they have a beginning, a middle, and an end. A romance, for example, begins when two people first love, finds its middle when they work to love, and ends when some external force (death) or internal force (interpersonal conflict) compels them not to love. Love itself as a transcendental property still remains intact, albeit unused between them, like a child’s room is still intact but dust-collecting when they leave for a new life. Bullitt East High School’s Scholastic Regional A 2—now Scholastic Regional A (congratulations!)—unit’s show Pompeii: A Love Set in Stone, beautifully highlights this forced end of a romance as the performers, playing citizens of ancient Pompeii, spend their last minutes together before being brutally preserved in volcanic ash.

 

Molly (left) Caleb (right) Photos by Laynie Pitts, TMA Media

 

Molly, a senior and four year Bullitt East Winter Guard performer, whose star performance alongside Bullitt East junior Caleb acts as a well-oiled engine that makes the whole show run, says it “…show[s] love and the bond between people…. It’s like that want for a last human touch.” Caleb adds, “One moment, everything’s okay and happy; the next moment, you can just be dying. You don’t know who to hold closely. You don’t know… who your last moment will be with, so love everyone around you…. I just think the show in general [teaches to] love everybody around you, ‘cause you don’t know when your last moment is gonna be.”

On a more personal note, Molly and Caleb connect with Pompeii because their unit’s Choice Star Senior personally selected it, the community they built, as a unit, around it, and the support that seems tied to every Tristate performance they bring it. Caleb says, “It’s a show that I’ve been very excited for. We’ve been talking about it for a pretty long time, and last year the Choice Star Senior… [was given the choice of] what show she wanted to do, and she chose this one…. I don’t think I could be more happy with this show, because she’s one of the best performers on this team…. [I just love] being able to go out there and have our duet moments, and just show the audience so much emotion and show them such a serious topic.” Molly shares the same sentiment: “I love just performing with my friends and getting to be out on the floor, and the support from the community around us. Like, all the other teams saying ‘Good luck!’ or telling us we did so good, or [that] we look good, our uniforms are cute. All that stuff. I love that.”

As the season goes on, Molly is excited for Bullitt East as a unit and herself to progress while, as a senior, she is tearful to leave: “I am most excited to get better, and… just perform more with my team, because these are my favorite people ever, and I love them. So… I’m gonna be sad to leave.” Caleb, with a love for performance that goes back years, leaves with the simple phrase “This is my art style” and can not wait to, like Molly, “…make the show better… [and] work with this team and just drill, and drill, and see how far we can go.” Tristate Marching Arts can not wait either and anticipates an exciting, successful, energetic season for Bullitt East High School’s newly promoted Scholastic Regional A unit!

 

Floyd Central High School Varsity – Scholastic A

 

A Russian oil painter wanted to abstract universal unity inside a closed border, so he crafted Circles Within a Circle, each inner circle representing a vital, individual part in the unity of the whole outer circle that represents fixed, natural systems beyond creaturely control and change. His name was Wassily Kandinsky, and it is his piece which holds up the feet of Floyd Central’s Varsity Winter Guard as they perform their show of a similar name, Within the Circle.

Yet, all abstract art is built on personal interpretation as it is, of course, abstract. When I look at this show, I may find it aesthetically pleasing and profound, but I am not tied to it like I am to my own work. On the other hand, when the show’s performers, who have spent years on tarps, look at this show and the exhibit it’s in, they see something much more intimate: a family. As senior Jenna, who is in her sixth year competing, says, “It feels like a big huge family, the whole TMA circuit and everything. We’re all trying to have fun with each other. It’s just one big family. I like the community behind Tristate.” Alexis, another senior, adds, “I love how responsive the Tristate crowd is. In Tristate, we’re all rooting for each other, even if we’re technically competing against each other.” She also highlights another aspect of this show that appeals to her as a visual artist: “It’s really nice to see a bit of the visual arts tied into the performing arts because, a lot of time, visual arts are a little overlooked.”

 

Reagan (left) Jenna (center) Alexis (right) Photos by Laynie Pitts, TMA Media

 

Saying “I just like how happy I feel when I compete for Tristate,” Reagan, another senior, shows she is excited to continue performing this season and see “how far we can go with the show.” Alexis, knowing the connections her directors have made over the years with each member of the guard, feels “like they really know what skills we can improve on to better ourselves as performers and show off what we’ve learned.” Closing, Jenna says she is “excited to be surrounded by the people I love the most. It’s just gonna be a really fun atmosphere. I’m [also] excited to go to championships and do all the fun things and everything that it has to offer.” Tri-State Marching Arts wishes them an amazing season and can not wait to see how much they evolve leading to championships!

 

by Landon Ashcraft, TMA Media

Landon Ashcraft is a high school senior

from Florence, Kentucky, who loves to

spend his time writing, reading, making

music, and exploring nature.

 

Madison Southern High School Concert A 

 

Sometimes it’s good to have a little bit of “off the wall” fun by letting music guide yourself into a strange world of rhythm and dopamine. At least, that’s what John, a senior marimba player from Madison Southern High School’s Scholastic Concert A unit said after their energetic performance this past weekend: “[This show has] time signature changes… throughout all of it,” which are there, as senior electric guitarist Hiram adds, “…to be fun [and show] change and progress,” a theme keeping in line with the show’s name “I Can Change” and chosen song “Game of Nill” by Mexican Slum Rats. 

It only makes sense this would be their show’s concept, as much has changed for the small unit: this is their first time performing together in two years. Kayleen, a vibraphonist and fellow senior who has been performing for seven years, comments, “For, like, two years we haven’t really been around each other… just this group, so it’s fun to play [together again].” Hiram, who has been strumming since he was a sophomore, adds, “It’s just like the last chance I’ll get to perform with a bunch of people. It’s nice to get back out there.” After five years performing, John shares their sentiment: “It’s just fun playing [together]…. It’s been a couple years since I’ve done that.” 

 

Hiram (left) Kayleen (center) John (right) Photos by Bailey Griffin, TMA Media

 

As they look towards the remaining TMA season, in love with the people’s reactions and their show’s nearly open-ended concept, they can not wait to, “In the theme of the show, just [see] the changes… [and] how crazy it can get,” as Hiram says. Kayleen adds that she wants to “See how it goes… [and meet] a bunch of new people,” while John plans to “…progress on the show and… do a lot of things with it.” 

 

Paul Laurence Dunbar HS – JV

 

Crafting a performance—a face—for others to be enthralled by and gawk at is one of the key joys that comes with any performance, but especially Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Junior Varsity show, In Their Natural Hopitat. As junior Amir, who has been performing for two years, says, “It’s the face [performance]… that’s my favorite part.” Sophomore Rachel adds that in all of her 3 years performing, not only has she loved watching other shows, but also experiencing the unchanging atmosphere of support which comes packaged with every competition: “When you walk down a hall, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, you look so good! Good luck!’ and you didn’t even have to do anything.” Another sophomore, Taryn, shares the same thought after two years: “I like the people. The vibe here is very bright.” 

 

Amir (left) Rachel (center) Taryn (right) Photos by Bailey Griffin, TMA Media

 

Dunbar’s show is also very bright and a fun exploration of nature’s quiet intensity that Rachel says, “[Is] very easy to get into character with…, because it’s not terribly hard to figure out what you’re doing: you’re a frog. You put a smile on your face and hop around… it’s really fun.” It has an energy unmatched and a joyfulness that radiates from every performer equally as Taryn adds, “I like the fact that all the energy that comes from every single performer [is felt].” Standing in the audience, she is right: that game-day exhilaration at every rifle toss and flag feature is really felt.

Looking forward, these three view the remaining season as a chance for their show to grow into something even more animated. Amir says that he can not wait to “[try] new things, like more new tosses.” Taryn adds, “[I’m most excited for] getting the whole show out and then just watching everybody be even more excited about it than they already are.” Rachel can not wait to “[get] the rest of the show down,” but also, in a very Tri-State way, is equally excited to “watch the other shows as they progress. That’s one of my favorite parts: to see how much a guard can grow from their first competition to championships,” and we know, at Tri-State, that the growth of PLD’s JV will be exponential and can not wait to enjoy it, too.

 

Madison Central HS – Varsity

 

Dramatic, chaotic, constantly changing, while beautifully engaging are the only adjectives I can give to the home unit’s varsity show, The Piano That Plays. It is a story of music’s enthrallment. Kamryn, a senior who has been performing for four years, loves the narration and its engagement with the crowd: “My favorite part is definitely performing and being able to tell a story. I like impacting people, and I think it’s really fun to get their reactions.” Kaydee, another senior who has been performing alongside Kamryn for four years, is glad to see the support from everyone to new-comers and graduates: “I love meeting all the new people that come through the program and [seeing] all the support from everyone inside the program.” 

Yet, this love is bittersweet, for it is impossible to stay in such a supportive and simultaneously competitive environment for ever. As Kamryn positively recollects, realizing the short time she will have left with Madison Central, “My show means a lot to me because this is my senior year, and I’m very proud of how much work I’ve put into it. I’m very proud of the show I’m ending on.” Kaydee makes a similar comment: “I think that this show that we have this year is a lot different from our past shows. I feel like we’re doing things that we never thought we could do and going places we never thought we could go, and it’s just nice to see all the growth we’ve had throughout the years.” 

Kaydee (left) Kamryn (right) Photos by Bailey Griffin, TMA Media

It seems like the season is ready for Madison Central as they put more time into their show and perfect it slowly. Kamryn says, “I’m really excited to perform our final show and be able to put just an amazing end product out into the world,” and we, at Tri-State Marching Arts, are excited to see it. Keep it up and thank you for hosting!

 

by Landon Ashcraft, TMA Media

Landon Ashcraft is a high school senior

from Florence, Kentucky, who loves to

spend his time writing, reading, making

music, and exploring nature.

 

 

Are you a high school senior or currently-enrolled college/university student participating in this year’s TMA Championships?

Submit a scholarship application!

Applications must be received by March 8, 2026.

For years TriState has provided numerous educational scholarships to the young performers of our activity that pursue academic excellence. All groups who are members of TriState Marching Arts and are participating in the 2026 TMA Championships are invited to have the unit members who are high school seniors or already enrolled in college submit 2026 scholarship application. A committee of three or more individuals representing various parts of the TMA organization review dozens of applications for these scholarships and select students who stand out in qualities of academic, artistic, and personal achievements each year.