On Oct. 5, the Highlander Band competed against several other Texas high school marching bands in the Mckinney Marching Invitational, finishing just a couple places beneath the cutoff for finals.
The competition showcased the talent of the marching band, the drumline, as well as tuba, flute, and clarinet soloists. This was the first marching band invitational they attended since being moved back to the 5A division for the Fall UIL cycle.
Band director Daren Jordan thinks that the band was well prepared for the competition.
“They’ve been working extremely hard ever since August 1st, and before that actually. Ever since May they’ve been working really hard so they were absolutely ready for this weekend.” Jordan says.
Aside from getting the chance to showcase their talent, there are other reasons that HP signed up to go to McKinney.
“We know that it was going to be a really competitive contest, so we want to make sure that we’re going to those types of contests so that we can measure where we are up against where a lot of our competition is,” Jordan says.
The competition did not just feature the whole band, but gave soloists the opportunity to show off.
“The show is called Popsitively Garish, so they each take on this sort of garish character as they’re performing their solo,” Jordan said. “Our first soloist was Jack Teter on tuba. Our next soloist was Ian Hyde on clarinet. And then our last soloist was Lucy Zheng on flute.”
Teter also felt that the band was well prepared for the contest.
“I think in general the band felt pretty good about it. We came out of the last competition like the champions for 5A. So we were confident, definitely,” Teter said.
Though confidence does not come out of thin air. The band has spent many early mornings and three-hour Monday practices to perfect their performance.
“I think we were prepared. We rehearse a lot so all that practice seems to be paying off. So yeah, we felt great,” Teter says.
Junior Lila Biffle, a flutist in the band, believes it is not just the band as a whole that shows off at a competition, but the unique soloists as well.
“It really showcases the individual people in our band because a lot of people in our band are amazing players. Like, our tuba soloist is the number one tuba in the state. And the flute soloist participates in all of these orchestras around all of Texas,” Biffle says.
Biffle states that while the soloists gave an impressive performance, the band’s hard work is what made the group shine in the performance.
“I think everyone is really excited since we are now back in 5A because the past two years we were in 6A and that’s really hard for our marching band because we’re so tiny and only have a hundred people compared to Hebron who has, like, 500 people.” Biffle says. “And now that we’re back in 5A we’re competing with more bands our size so it’s really helping our motivation.”
Being in the 6A division was difficult for the Highlander band. But they thought it put them at an advantage for this upcoming competition.
“Whenever we got switched to 6A we didn’t even think it was close to possible so we didn’t even try. So all the other bands really underestimated us. And I think we fed off of that.” Biffle says.
Even though there are individuals who excel individually, Biffle affirms that it is the band working together that brings the competition.
“Band is not even close to an individual sport. Yes there are individual competitions, but marching band and a concert sit-down band you’re performing with the group. So it’s just a really great community.”
