The Newbury Park High School Panther Drumline won first-place honors in the Southern California Percussion Alliance's (SCPA) regional competition on Feb. 25 at Valencia High School. The team placed first among the 18 Class A high schools that competed.

The Panther Drumline shared the first-place award with another local group from Buena High School, Ventura.

The NPHS Drumline has about 30 student performers. Drumline competitions focus on percussion ensembles only, and give the units the opportunity to perform as independent groups, rather than being a support element of a full marching band.

The competitions are presented indoors in a themed show complete with "elaborate props, colorful costumes, intricate choreography, and rousing percussion." Units are judged and scores are determined based on a combination of general musicality, performance quality, and overall visual effect.

The 2006 NPHS show, "Icarus," is an original composition written and arranged specifically for this year's group by Bill Garcia, NPHS instrumental music department director, with assistance from his staff. The show is based on the Greek myth.

A local SCPA event is scheduled for Sat., April 1 at Westlake High School where the NPHS Drumline will compete along with units from Buena, Moorpark, Westlake and Thousand Oaks high schools.

Drumline staff includes percussion instructors Dawn Garcia, Brian Dinkel and Scott Plambeck. Student drum captains are Britt Dahlgren and Chad Singleton.