Pulse Percussion and Pulse Open/World, also known as POW, are winter percussion ensembles that both participate in the Southern California Percussion Association (SCPA) and Winter Guard International (WGI) circuits. It is a common occurrence that marching arts groups host a community performance before their first competition, and both Pulse and POW are not strangers to this.
Many people in the percussion community were excited for this preview show in particular because Pulse has won WGI’s world-class finals for three consecutive years. After this preview show, it is looking like they could do it again.
Pulse’s show this year is called “The Underground,” featuring music from Woodkid, Fatboy Slim and Flux Pavillion. The book, which is the music written for them, is significantly more challenging than last year, so many are excited to see how it develops.
POW percussion also did an amazing job at the show. Their show is called “Letters to My Younger Self” and the only song given by them was “Getting Older” by Billie Eilish. I listened to their show and it is significantly better written than their previous shows, though it helps that the performers play it extremely well.
Their first show was on Saturday, February 1, 2025 at SCPA Arcadia; Pulse came in first with a score of 86.45 and POW came in second with a score of 81.2.
Throughout the rest of the season both groups will compete in 5 more competitions in both the WGI and SCPA competitions, with all of them leading up to WGI finals in Dayton, Ohio the weekend of April 12th 2025. Both groups are projected to make it through both Preliminary and Semi-final performances and have a shot at winning it all.
