

The 2018 competition season is from January to April. Rehearsals will be every other Saturday starting in December. The Kanawha Knights will be competing in the Ohio Indoor Percussion Association (OIPA), TriState Marching Association (TMA) and at two WGI (Winter Guard International) Regional events in the Independent A Class. It didn’t matter which school your kid went to, your kids could get an equal amount of education,” he said. You have eight high schools in the area, within the county itself, and then a lot of the surrounding counties are very interested in drum corps experiences, so I wanted each of the schools to have a level playing field.

“The Kanawha Valley has a lot of performing opportunities. Kerns said there’s already a lot of local talent in the area. I’m hoping that we can give a similar experience at Kanawha Knights with that.” The change that they went through is amazing. “From my experience last year, I worked with an indoor percussion group and I saw those kids develop within a matter of five months. “I hope that kids learn a lot about themselves,” Kerns said.

Students will not only learn how to play music, but they will also learn teamwork, perseverance and dedication. Kerns said it was important to get West Virginia’s kids involved with the marching arts. West Virginia has had very few independent marching units in the past. The activity is very popular in neighboring states, like Ohio, where hundreds of groups compete every weekend. Indoor percussion combines elements of music performance, marching and theater. The group consists of the marching percussion and front ensemble sections of a marching band or drum corps. “Charleston really represents us as a state and so I really wanted Kanawha Knights to be able to represent us as a state as well.” “I really didn’t want it to be affiliated with WVU directly or Marshall directly,” Kerns said. He formed the group in the Capital City to bring all middle school, high school and college marching band students together. at John Adams Middle School.Ĭody Kerns, the executive director of the Kanawha Knights, is a student at West Virginia University.

The Kanawha Knights Independent Percussion, based out of Charleston, is looking for drummers and dancers to join the group for its inaugural season.Īnyone ages 13-22 is welcome to attend Experience Camps on Nov. A new indoor percussion group is coming to the Kanawha Valley.
