At its first competition of the season,  Lincoln Percussion Ensemble, coached by Jeff Bush, took second in its division Feb. 7 at Liberty High School.

The 12- hour competition resulted in Century taking first, Lincoln in second, and Beaverton taking third in the Class A Division. The performance piece, “Unconditional,” is about growing up. “The way we have been able to create a show together full of emotion and pride really is something binding and truly unconditional,” junior Katie Handick, bass drum player, said.

Handick and senior Shayan Christi are bass 3 and 4. There are five basses total with 1 being the smallest and 5 being the biggest. “Girls are never put below basses 1 and 2, the smallest ones, if they’re in a drum line at all,” Handick said. “It’s just another thing that makes Lincoln Percussion Ensemble unique.”

There is also a girl on cymbal line, freshman Eryn Laetsch. “Cymbals take a lot of arm muscle, so it’s cool to have girls on that too,” Handick said.

“The best part about LPE isn’t the music, or the food, but the people that you meet and all the little things that happen in between the competitions, rehearsals, loading the truck, and wondering what the heck is wrong with the sound system,” sophomore Cara Smit, piano and sampler player, said. “There’s a saying in band that you don’t really know a person until the end of a long competition day. And it’s true.”

LPE will compete three more times on Feb. 7 (at Southridge), March 7 and 21 (both at Northwest Association of Performing Arts), before the championships on March 28 (also at NWAPA). “And as a veteran of this ensemble,” Smit said. “I know that its going to be great.”