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Saturday, December 1, 2007
Marching On
Fort Worth, TX
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Five area bands advance to the state competition
Five Greater Tarrant County bands advanced to the 2007 state marching band competition held at the Alamodome in San Antonio. This year was class 4A’s turn to strut its stuff, and ensembles from Aledo, Azle, Boswell, Keller Fossil Ridge, and Saginaw represented the area after advancing through regional competitions.
“It’s quite an honor for the kids to march at the state level,” said Aledo band director Joey Paul, “especially when they have to go through the regional level and area level and then finally to the state level.”
Paul’s group was the only of the five local bands to advance beyond the preliminary round and into the finals of the competition.
“For them to actually crack the top ten and come in sixth out of two-hundred and something 4A high schools, I thought that was very impressive on their part,” he added.
Paul knew Aledo had a solid chance of advancing to the finals, based on previous experience, but also recognized that the competition came ready to play.
“The first time we went as a 4A school in 2005, I felt we had a great shot at making the finals,” Paul said. “Then, this year’s band, I really felt was a lot stronger. The whole show, the package, we thought was really great, but the problem was that every other band has stepped up their game, too. So, it was kind of a guessing game whether or not we would make the finals.”
But make the finals they did, ultimately marching to a sixth-place finish. Mesquite’s Poteet High School took first place, with Connally and Dickinson rounding out the top three.
“The kids marched and played their best in that finals round,” Paul said. “I don’t think I could have asked for anything more from the kids or the directors. They performed to the best of their ability and that’s all I could ask.”
The Fossil Ridge Panther Regiment advanced to the state competition for the first time since it was a 5A school in 2002.
“This is the first time this group of kids had the opportunity to go [to the state competition],” said Brian Pollard, Fossil Ridge band director. “I was really impressed. They were really about business the whole time we were down there. The neat thing as an educator was to see the demeanor of the kids. Their work ethic in rehearsal was stellar.
“[Our] performance was really nicely done,” he added. “Nearly 10,000 people were there and we received a lot of cheers and a standing ovation. The judges were very complimentary on their tapes and the scores reflected that, giving us a 12th place ranking overall in the state. So, the kids felt like it was a real successful trip and we were real glad to be there.”
Pollard also noted that just advancing past the area round in the Greater Tarrant County is an impressive accomplishment.
“The Northeast Tarrant County area may have the highest concentration of outstanding bands in the entire country,” he said.
Despite being in only its third year of existence, Saginaw High School has already managed to earn a reputation as one of those outstanding area bands. The Spirit of Saginaw finished the competition in 14th place, one spot behind Azle.
“The kids had a great time,” Saginaw band director John Canfield said. “We would like to stress that we are very proud of our students – especially if you consider this is our first year with a senior class. We probably had the youngest band at the contest.”
Impressively, Saginaw wasn’t the only school from the Eagle Mountain – Saginaw school district to advance to the state competition. The EMSISD was the only district in the state to send two bands, with Boswell also making the trip to the Alamo city.
“I am very proud of these kids and all the band students,” said Boswell band director David Kirkly. “The Boswell band has come a long way in my short time here.
“The best compliment I can remember about this moment was from the [state-winning] Poteet band director, who said, ‘Great show, I really enjoyed it.’”
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