Marching Band Success

This has been a “banner” year for our high school marching bands! I truly believe that all of our high school bands are performing to higher musical and visual standards than ever before. The artistic concepts of drill design, use of auxiliaries, body visuals, and the sophistication of the music arrangements are at the highest levels. And all five of our groups have received outstanding audience response at both football games and competition performances.

Cedar Ridge Raider Band:
This is our newest high school, with freshmen and sophomores only. The show “The Game Within” is visually and musically complex, and the students have exceeded all expectations in terms of quality of execution. Cedar Ridge entered UIL Marching Contest in AAAA Non-Varsity, and received first division ratings from all judges. Band directors are Mark Calima, Ryan Brittain, and Rick Rodriguez

Stony Point Tiger Band and Tiger Dancers:
The Tiger Band’s show was called “Wonderland,” and used classical and jazz music to visually and musically depict the story line from “Alice in Wonderland.” Music themes were from works by Beethoven, Prokofiev, Cole Porter, Elgar, and Mussorgsky. The Tiger Dancers added a special touch in playing roles and enhancing the entire presentation. This group won Outstanding Band, Outstanding Percussion, and Outstanding Auxiliary at the Central Texas Marching Showcase, and earned first division awards from all judges at the UIL Region 26 contest. This qualified them for the Area D UIL Contest at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio. The performance at this event was outstanding. The directors are Brian Sedatole, Matt Greene, and Cathy Benford. The director of the Tiger Dancer unit is Abbe Goertz.

McNeil Maverick Band:
The Maverick Band’s show is “If I Only Had,” with visual and musical pageantry depicting the story line of “The Wizard of Oz.” McNeil was a finalist at the Capital City Marching Festival and at the Bands of America Contest in Houston. At the Region 26 UIL Contest, the band earned all first division ratings from the judges, qualifying then for the Area Contest in San Antonio. At the Area Contest, the Mav Band was a finalist, coming very close to qualifying for the State Marching Contest. The directors are Travis Ancelet, Jason Dimiceli, and Ian Smith.

Westwood Warrior Band:
Westwood’s show is entitled, “The Force of Destiny.” The show explores the age old question of Fate vs. Destiny, through the powerful music of Verdi, Orff, Tchaikovsky, and Shostakovich. The Warrior Band scored high at the Capital City Marching Festival and also placed in the Finals at the Westlake Marching Festival. By earning all first divisions at the UIL Region Marching Contest, the Westwood Band earned the right to compete at the Area UIL Contest in San Antonio. At Area, the band qualified to compete in Finals, and came very close to qualifying for the State Marching Contest. Directors are Jack Green, David Jennison, Thomas Turpin, and Sarah Santa Cruz.


Round Rock Dragon Band:
The Dragon Band’s show is called “The Dragon.” The music includes “The Future of Fire” by Zhou Long and “The Way of Life” by Hans Zimmer. This show earned the band first place awards at both the Capital City Music Festival and the Westlake Marching Festival. The color guard and drumline also earned first place at these events. At the Region 26 UIL Contest, the band received first division awards from all judges, qualifying then for Area. At the Area D contest in San Antonio, the Dragon Band earned the right to compete in Finals. Round Rock was one of the top six bands in Finals, qualifying to advance to the State Marching Contest at the Alamodome on November 2.