The Thundering Herd Brahma Band has been working hard since mid summer. The band has been staying late after school or waking up early to practice. Everyone was working hard intending to advance to the state marching competition.
The Thundering Herd has seen a lot of improvement this year. At the first competition of the year the band placed 18 out of 20 bands. In addition, three weeks later they got all Division One ratings, the highest rating they have received since 2015.
“The band has been working hard this year,” Head Band Director Henry Drietner said. “The past few weeks have been the hardest rehearsals since I’ve worked here.”
Dreitner isn’t the only one who feels that the rehearsals have been intense. Almost everyone in the band has felt the strain and stress, although that doesn’t stop or discourage them. Everybody understands what they need to work on to get to where they want to be.
“We are very efficient,” Drum Major Alayna Vawters stated. “We know what we want to do and accomplish, and that has gotten us this far.”
Band isn’t always an easy task. Focus has to be put into a lot of different things. It’s not just music and marching the band has to worry about. The small, yet important details don’t seem like much, but they can cost a band greatly. Things such as toe height, foot placement, and shoulder position are all crucial. Oftentimes, judges will watch individual people, analyzing and criticizing every step they make. Even so, the band has hope that they will advance.
“We have a shot to do pretty well. We are more prepared than last year,” adds Dreitner.
However, the band hasn’t always been successful. This year alone they’ve struggled with a lot of things. Perfecting the small things that make a band more uniform have taken a toll on the band.
“(I’m) trying to get everyone in the mindset that we are one band and not just a group of people,” explained Dreitner.
Troubles don’t only affect the band as a whole. Every member has struggles that are specific to their position. As this year’s drum major, Vawters feels the weight of this more so than others.
“People expect a lot out of you,” Vawters states. “Everyone expects you to know the answer when you don’t always know the answer yourself. You try to help them but you don’t know how. You can’t be the perfect person all the time.”
Being a drum major comes with benefits as well. Vawters mentions some of her favorites.
“Whenever we are practicing I can see everybody, not just the people around me. I can see how we look as a whole and I can also see our improvement with the practices,” Vawters said. “Also at the band competitions, we get to go down and do the salute and represent the school.”
Last weekend the Brahma Band competed in the area marching competition. Sadly, despite the success of the regional competition, the band did not advance to area finals. They ranked 23 out of 27 bands. Being a smaller band, it’s more difficult to advance. Judges can focus on little mistakes more and larger schools often have larger budgets for better equipment. However, the band refuses to let the failure get them down. They are determined to pick themselves up and work even harder next year.
This does not mark the end of the year for the band. They still have the entire concert season in front of them including UIL events like all-region and solo and ensemble tryouts. The band will continue to work hard in supporting the football team with stand tunes and high-spirited music until the end of the season and then continue to prepare for their concert season.
