So, consider Willis senior Tony Silverio the Tom Brady of the Wildkats’ marching band. Band is in Silverio’s blood. His sister was a drum major, and that got him hooked.
“She’d always tell me how the drum majors are the best at what they do,” said Silverio, who plays the trumpet. “As I started my band career, I knew it was something I loved doing. I went and pursued it and did all I could to be the best out there.”
As a leader, band members gravitate toward Silverio because of his positivity and personable nature. No Willis band member is more important than anyone else.
From the veteran seniors to the wide-eyed freshmen, everyone is on equal footing in Silverio’s eyes.
“I try to be the nicest person I can be to everyone,” he said. “I don’t like to judge people based on what they’ve done. I don’t like to listen (to what a person has done) until I’ve met that person and I can see who they really are. A lot of people have different stuff going on in their lives, so I always try to be nice and be a helping hand to everybody and gain their confidence that way.”
Silverio is headed to Sam Houston State next fall to continue his career in music. He plans to pursue a major in music education with a minor in performance. He also intends to perform with the marching band.
Ten years from now, Silverio said he sees himself as head band director at a high school while doing some performances as side gigs.
“Just doing what I love,” he said, “which is music.”
For now, however, he’s ready to enjoy his last year in the purple and white, leading the next generation of Willis band greats.
“Our culture consists of putting in effort,” Silverio said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re not as good as your neighbor when you’re marching out there. It’s a standard of as much effort as you can, all day and every day.
“We have this thing, ‘above or below the line,’ and we try and maintain ourselves above the line, which is high effort. Even if it’s only one percent improvement everyday, we’re just trying to get better.”
