“Bandtober”, the nickname for the band’s most important month, begins. Fridays have football games, and Saturdays have band competitions. To start the season off strong, Texas High hosted their own marching contest for local schools in the area and surrounding districts.
On Saturday, Oct. 7, the Tiger Band hosted the annual Four States Marching Contest in Tiger Stadium at Grim park. Since Texas High hosted, the band did not compete; however, they performed an exhibition of their show “Liquid Gold”. A total of 12 bands competed. The People’s Choice award went to Benton High School, Benton came in third, Redwater came in second, and Pleasant Grove came in first with their show “Ascension,” led under the field direction of Deanna Dyer and Owen Braza.
“I’ve judged here before,” Strike Middle School director Jeff Mathews said. “It’s a great contest and I had a great experience today.”
Judges traveled from several places for the competition. Multiple performances meant they got to see the bands multiple times.
“We’ve seen the shows once and you know, sometimes bands leave you wanting some more, and so we get to see them again tonight,” Mathews said. “So that’ll be a great experience and fun.”
The Tiger Band performed once at 11:30 a.m. for family and Band Booster volunteers, then again at 3:45 p.m. for everyone else in the stands. Aside from performing, the band helped with the contest by pushing the front ensembles out on the field, pushing props and offering hydration. Students from Texas High bonded with other bands as they helped them.
“My favorite part of the contest was getting to perform the show in our full uniforms and all of our props,” senior percussionist Max Henry said.
The stands were full of proud fans and families. The band returned the support to other schools band’s and stayed to watch.
“I enjoyed Benton [High School’s] band the most,” senior percussionist Jessie Garren said. “We had the same uniform and it was really cool to see what their band decided to do with the same uniforms as us.”
This competition helped prepare the Tiger Band for the Royse City Marching Classic competition. Percussion got 2nd in the 5A division, and 4th overall. The band placed 7th overall in the 5A division, in the semi-finals.
