Six years ago, I went to my first Winter Guard International Indoor Percussion Finals. It was a spur of the moment decision to go, and I was fortunate to get a seat right on the center line of the performance floor, way up on the top row. On top of the incredible performances, I was one of thousands of witnesses to one of the more unique moments in the marching arts. I wrote about it the following year, as well as what happened at the wedding (spoiler, it was awesome!).
A little over a year ago, I went to WGI World Class Percussion Finals for the first time. One of the greatest show moments I’ve witnessed in my marching arts life occurred that night when two of the bass drummers got engaged during the show. That’s correct, the guy dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring, which the girl happily accepted, during the final minutes of the show.
Needless to say, the arena went nuts, especially after it was clear that she said yes.
I’ve never met either person, but I’m willing to bet I’d like them as soon as I did. Also, imagine the bass drum chops their kids are going to have.
You can read all about Zac and Alyssa and the backstory of the Mine proposal on the WGI website.
You can listen to an interview with Zac and Alyssa, along with Matrix director Rob Ferguson and Tom Reiner on the Marching Roundtable websiteMarching Roundtable website.