On Saturday, April 18, Western Washington University’s music department will host the 2026 Western Washington Percussion Festival. The percussion festival was founded in 2011 and hosts over 200 high school percussion students from across Washington.
The event allows high school students to perform in a real concert hall and see what college music programs are like.
“The intention or the hope is that students leave the festival, they go back to their high schools, and they're motivated to want to work harder, and to play well and to strive for excellence,” said Patrick Roulet, the percussion area coordinator at Western, who has a doctorate in musical arts.
The motivation is spurred by the excitement of hearing other groups perform different music pieces they may not have heard before.
“Overall, I believe that excitement does remind my students that they enjoy this activity,” said Bradley Hendry, the band teacher at Sedro-Woolley High School, in an email. “That is important as we are 75% of the way through our school year, and some students may be getting bored with our routines. This event provides that spark to reengage a student who might otherwise be thinking of moving on to other activities.”
Western’s percussion festival is one of the only festivals that doesn't have a competitive aspect, which fully allows students to enjoy the pieces that other schools perform.
“There aren’t many opportunities for high school students to see what music there is in other high schools,” said Elias Gardner, a third-year history student in Western’s Percussion Ensemble. “Sometimes watching other programs and seeing how they do things can give you ideas and let you reflect on what you want to put into your own music.”
While the main goal of the percussion festival is to showcase other music programs to high school students, it also serves Western music students and high school directors.
“This event at WWU is integral to me as a band teacher,” Hendry said. “Without it, I would have far less knowledge in the area of percussion, and I would be less equipped to teach and inspire my current and future percussion students.”
This year, the percussion students will be breaking up into different groups and Western music education students will be hosting them.
“These workshops (are) kind of an opportunity for them to be able to pass on the knowledge that they accumulated before (they) do actual student teaching or landing a job,” Gardner said. “It gives them a taste of what to expect.”
Western’s percussion festival also allows participants to get a feel for the campus and music program before making their college enrollment decisions.
“I remember when I came to Western for the band festivals, I got to meet some of the percussionists that were on at the time and introduced myself,” Gardner said. “And then I remember I came back to Western and they remembered my name, and it was really impactful for me as a student.”
Isobel Diprima (she/her) is a campus life reporter. She is a second-year visual journalism pre-major and is thrilled for her first quarter writing for The Front. When she’s not writing, Isobel can be found curled up in bed with her cat, Twilight, reading a good book or taking photos for The Rage Magazine or of her friends. You can reach Isobel at isobeldiprima.thefront@gmail.com.
