Winter Ensembles

Several extracurricular opportunities are offered during the spring semester.

Winter Guard

Winter guard is the indoor sport of color guard. Modern color guard combines the use of flags, sabers, mock rifles, and other equipment with dance and interpretive movement. Our guard will compete locally within the Atlantic Indoor Association (AIA) circuit as well as in Regionally/Nationally in the Winter Guard International (WGI) circuit. Competitions begin in late January or early February each year and run through April.

Being chosen as a member of this ensemble is an honor, and performing as part of this group is a privilege. The group rehearses from November through late March or early April and performs in four to five competitions starting in late January or early February.

Auditions for winter guard will be held in November. Candidates must have participated in the previous season color guard or marching band.

Indoor Percussion Ensemble (IPE)

Indoor Percussion Ensemble rehearses from November through March. While it primarily consists of marching band percussionists, auditions are open to any student enrolled in band at FGHS, including non-percussionists who wish to continue advancing their musicianship on their primary instrument. The instrumentation varies each year but typically includes non-marching percussion in a stationary setup, with responsibilities and difficulty levels tailored to each player. IPE will compete locally within the Atlantic Indoor Association (AIA) circuit. Competitions begin in early February each year and run through March.

Auditions for IPE will be held in November.

Jazz Band

All band students are welcome to join the FGHS Jazz Band during the spring semester. Practices will be held after school, usually 1-2 times a week.

Apex High School (and Other WCPSS High Schools)

Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) has a unique arrangement for extracurricular activities: if a student’s current high school does not offer an extracurricular activity, the student may be invited to participate with a group from another high school. Because of this, several Apex High School students joined our Winter Guard and IPE groups in 2026!