Bergjord Boarding

November 15, 2025

By: Luke

This is the last day of our percussion convention. What seemed like an impossibly full week has flown by. We end our week on multiple very high notes.

Dani and Nyssa do a great job at not looking like the stereotypical band director. We had conversations about staying away from polos, khakis, and comfy walking shoes. I tend to just acquiesce, but they stay stylish.

I had been looking forward to the first clinic we would see Saturday. It featured the Santa Clara Vanguard percussion section. They are a Drum Corps International group that consistently performs at the very highest levels. We got to hear them play sections of music and then their director broke down those sections in a “behind-the-curtain” glimpse of their creative process.

Right after SCV we had to run to the opposite end of the convention center to catch our next clinic. This was one Nyssa had circled right away as a “can’t miss” and she was 100% correct.

This group was the BAK Middle School from West Palm Beach, Florida. It takes an enormous amount of talent and dedication to be selected to perform at PASIC. Seeing a middle school on the schedule piqued our interests. These tiny humans played at an incredible level. I can’t find a video of their performance so you will just have to take my word. It was hands down my favorite part of the week.

They played a piece from one of my favorite composers Ney Rosauro, and to our surprise he was there in the audience! I have performed many of his works and got to tell him how much I appreciate his writing.

Another memorable performance took place outside. We walked to a park close by and saw this group from Alaska. They travel and perform regularly in Alaska, but this was their first time performing out of state. They played, danced, and sang traditional songs from their culture.

The last performance I saw was the Quey Percussion Duet. They are performers/composers at the very leading edge of contemporary percussion. It was an excellent concert in which they hit a great many things in perfect syncopation in interesting ways.

The only thing left is the night concert. It was the group “Galactic” featuring Jelly Joseph and Stanton Moore. They were a group that mixed New Orleans, fusion funk, jazz, and rock. It was extremely high energy and very good. The only problem is that we were exhausted and looking down the barrel of 15 hour travel days. We eventually slipped out to grab dinner at a Buffalo Wild Wings. And just like that, the whirlwind spit us out.

Nyssa had an early flight and I wanted to started driving early so I ended up dropping her off at the airport. It was even on my way out of town! We couldn’t have planned it better. Dani was riding back with his University group. I think he was due to pick up some driving responsibility.

Hopefully it’s not another 8 years until the next PASIC I attend. I really can’t imagine going without my friends either. Hopefully they don’t mind a perpetual third wheel.