UTSA INDOOR A COLLABORATIVE WORK OF ART T
he 2019 - 2020 UTSA Indoor winter guard season was off to a promising start for #UTSAMUSIC professors Randi Miles and Benjamin Pyles, the 5-year co-directors of the ensemble. “We were really starting to see the culture and performance level blossom into what we had envisioned when we started working together,” said Pyles. But, the season came to an unexpected end after the ensemble’s first-ever Winter Guard International (WGI) Regional victory in Dallas, TX. After winning the Regional competition with an impressive high score, UTSA Indoor was ranked #1 out of all competing groups in the Open class. “We were extremely excited about that, but the best part was knowing how much time we had left to craft, detail, and perfect the show moving forward,” stated Pyles. The ensemble had all the time in the world to prepare for a big win at the WGI World Championships later in spring 2020… or so they thought. Following the big win at the Regional competition in Dallas, the students and staff were sent on what was supposed to be a normal week-long Spring Break. Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, it was extended for another week, which would ultimately extend through the rest of the semester as the nation entered a quarantine lockdown. The 2019 - 2020 season came to an abrupt halt for the UTSA Indoor ensemble making their Regional victory performance their final time performing or meeting in-person again. Reflective and thankful, Pyles says “The Dayton trip would’ve been great, and we felt like we would be very competitive, but nothing can replace sharing those moments together, competition or not. We pride ourselves on the product and experience over anything, and not being able to
share those moments are far worse than missing out on any potential competitive success that might have been ahead of us.” The previous 2018 - 2019 season set the precedent for success for the year to follow. Professors Pyles and Miles led the UTSA Indoor ensemble to the Winter Guard International World Championships for the first time in the program’s history. This is a yearly event where the best of the best winter guard groups travel to Dayton, Ohio from across the globe to compete in a 3-day championship event. The group performed in the Preliminary competition then advanced to the Semi-Finals and ended the 2018 - 2019 season in the Finals placing in the top half (7th overall) in the program’s first year competing on the national stage--a massive accomplishment and testament to the directors’ and ensemble’s hard work. The 2020 - 2021 UTSA Indoor ensemble will continue to march on but to a very different beat. The group has consciously chosen to not compete or take part in anything that requires
