Bob Jones Indoor Winds claim third place at world championships

MADISON – Rigorous training and on-campus rehearsals led to local and regional competitions. Eventually, it all came down to this . . . the 2025 Winter Guard International or WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio, where the Indoor Winds ensemble from Bob Jones High School won third place.

Bob Jones Indoor Winds competed against the best of the best in the Winds Scholastic Open or WSO class at the WGI World Championships at the University of Dayton Arena on April 12-13.

The Madison musicians earned of score of 89.6 (out of 100) to claim the third-place win. In the WSO class, nine groups advanced to the finals from schools in California, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas (two schools).

“Our 2025 show was called ‘Decomposers.’ It played off long-dead classical composers like Beethoven, Mozart, Rossini and others,” Leigh Thomas, Director of Bands at Bob Jones, said.

“We had gravestones, a casket and also used makeup and hair products to make the students appear like they were ‘decomposing.’ The music was also ‘de-composed’ in a way because many of the classical selections were played in a weird or strange way,” Thomas said.

These students performed in the 2025 Bob Jones Indoor Winds:

• Piccolo – Katee Dalton.

• Flute – Tatiyana Clay, Nehemiah Dolman and Abigayle Fay.

• Clarinet – Ansley Rigby and Sheimi Rosado-Davila.

• Alto saxophone – Logan Barrow and Camarious White.

• Tenor saxophone – Scott Peckham and Jacob Shropshire.

• Baritone saxophone – Shai Lee.

• Trumpet – Caroline Brown, McCartney Campbell, Thomas Emmons, Lily Gruen, Camille Hartwig, Blake Huffman, Cody Mason and Javin White.

• Mellophone – Lily Harvey, Micah Hendricks, Margot Porter, Afton Reese and Miracle Thompson.

• Baritone – Kristin Adams, Jacob Andrzejewski, Diego Gallardo-Curiel, Kashton Hansen, Alex Fedoseyev, Jules Mixer, Ethan Smith and Silas Tucker.

• Contra – Will Mott, Noah Orwat and Owen Peckham.

• Techs – Mackenzie Butler, Emlyn Harvey and Valkyrie Stephens.

WGI Championships are conducted each year in Dayton, Ohio. Ensembles from all over the country compete over the course of several days, each round narrowing the field to select finalists, Thomas said.

“This year, Bob Jones had three ensemble compete: Winter Guard, Indoor Drumline and Indoor Winds. All three had their best performances of the year in Dayton!” Thomas said.

“The Indoor Winds were competing in a higher class than the last time we competed at world championships,” Thomas said. “We earned a bronze medal in Winds Scholastic Open class. We are very proud of the students, parents and staff for their hard work.”

WGI is the world’s premier organization that produce indoor color guard, percussion and winds competitions (as opposed to outdoor field contests).

The official Finalist Review from WGI posted this summary for Bob Jones’ program: “Bob Jones High School took the floor with faces of white and tombstones of Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, Rossini, Verdi and Chopin. While playing the works of these classical composers, the performers were playing the role of spirits in a graveyard. Their 2025 show ‘Decomposers’ was a chilling and exciting program that the audience loved.”

For more information, visit wgi.org.