The George Mason University Winter Guard has the most watched video!

Lindell Palmer (herein, “Palmer”), the Director of George Mason University’s Winter Guard, wanted to give his students an opportunity to perform despite the pandemic. And that’s exactly what he did!

Inspired by the “ghost light” that is ever present on the stages at the Hylton Performing Arts Center and the Center for the Arts, Palmer went to work. He felt the idea of the light was so beautiful and signified that the light is still on even though the group could not be together in person. Building on that concept, Palmer used the light as the basis for the performance and the result is a visually stunning display of talent and beauty. The members rehearsed over Zoom with only two in-person rehearsals prior to the recording. That’s a true testament to the talent of both the instructors and the performers.

Like the GMUID, the Winter Guard submitted their video to Winter Guard International (WGI) for the virtual showcase. One WGI judge was so inspired by the performance that he sent his audio tape to Palmer, asking him to share it with the rest of the staff. In the recording, the judge can be heard exclaiming with delight and proclaiming the performance “stunning” and “beautiful”. The videos were made available to subscribers through FloMarching, a streaming service for marching events. On Monday, the list of the top ten submissions with the most views was published, and the George Mason University Winter Guard was number one! Lindell Palmer and his staff of choreographers and instructors did an amazing job along with the student performers. We are hoping to release the video for public viewing soon!

As for next year, Palmer is optimistic the group can be together once again. He has already begun the planning and is looking forward to better times.