After a year and a half that has seen COVID uncertainty and no state band competition last year, Permian High School Band sets off for San Antonio today.
The University Interscholastic League marching band competition is Monday with finals on Tuesday at the Alamodome.
The trip will include two semi trucks, a travel trailer, 294 students and a lot of snacks and meals.
Director of Bands Jeff Whitaker said being able to have band at all this year is a wonderful feeling.
“When the year started, we weren’t sure if we were even going to be able to have a complete season and it was very touch and go for our community, as we all remember, in September and late August. We actually started at the end of July, but in August, things started getting really bleak (in) the hospitals and emergency rooms. What we noticed was we weren’t really having an issue with our kids, which made us feel better about what we were doing and that we could do it safely without causing an issue for our students or our families,” Whitaker said.
“But … you just showed up every day, took another step forward to see what you could get done. There was a lot of energy from the students, from the staff and I’ll add parents to that list because everybody seemed to be real willing and ready to get started and to make something happen,” he added.
Whitaker said it’s been a long journey.
“We started July 26 meeting together. And while we all knew it was a state year for us, no one really knew what that was going to look like. The show that we had planned was actually from the COVID year and that was a different set of students. A lot of them which are here now, but the students that we had planned that show for back in 2018, many had graduated. And so we lost that senior class including some of our students that we wanted to feature. The good news is (that) there were some really quality, superstar young people that were ready to step up and take their place. We were able to adapt the show to fit the needs of our group that we have now,” Whitaker said.
He added that he could tell from the area competition last week that the band had a “really good shot” at making state.
“… I try to not get in the headspace of watching our competition. I try to not let that interfere because you can only control what you do and what you’re doing and how while you’re doing it. And so we tried to stay focused on that mission,” he said.
He added that he’s not saying they didn’t watch videos, or keep an eye out for other bands.
“… We had an earlier Bands of America competition where we scored the highest we’d ever done, so I felt a momentum with our program at that time, but you never take it for granted. So when it came to the area contest, was I confident? I was confident that our kids could put on a great performance,” Whitaker said.
They decided not to focus on the win-loss scenario because that can produce a lot of anxiety.
They decided to focus on the little things, do all the little things and try to do the best they could.
“… We knew if we could give a great performance that regardless of the results, we’d be proud of it,” he said.
The area competition was held at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, which was an unfamiliar stadium for Permian. Typically, the area contest is held in Odessa because it’s centrally located.
“… They did great with the traveling and they had a focus about them that they knew that they were there to do their job as best they could,” Whitaker said.
He added that there were some issues with their computer system that made the performance a learning experience.
“It’s just a fluke thing. It’s never happened before and it hasn’t happened since. The computer that runs our electronics just wouldn’t open up. That’s just something you prepare for. We did have our show designed in a way that hey, what if the electricity goes out? Can you still perform, and so we were sure to have backup plans. I think the last thing I told them before we took the field, and I know some of our other staff members were saying it as well, is if you don’t hear the sound effects do not let that bother you. Just keep going. You may not hear sound today. No big deal. Just perform at your best, and sure enough, there was no sound from the electronics. That was something that I was also proud of. Our kids … in that moment when things didn’t go our way they still did their utmost to perform at the highest level possible. And fortunately for the judges, it still was good enough. I take that as encouragement about what this team is made of, how resilient these young people are, and that in a very competitive moment that they did focus on the little things. There wasn’t one thing they could have done about it in that moment. All they could do is what they could do, what they were trained to do, and do it at their best and they certainly did. That’s what put us there.”
“After the performance, no one was sure. We didn’t get to see anyone else. We were the last ones to go, so we didn’t get to even watch our competition. That may be good or bad. Because that can psych you up or psych you out if you watch a lot of performances prior to, so we just had to focus on what we could do. And they really stepped up to the plate and the young people probably just as impressive, or maybe more so, was the folks that were the young students that run the electronics they didn’t give up for the entire show.”
“They tried for the entire seven and a half minutes to get that working and they performed as (well) as they could have. They were working. They were doing all the visuals, and at the end, they fought; did their best. It was a professional moment for a young person in a scary situation,” he added.
The theme this year is Desert Fire Dance so there is desert scenery produced in house.
The show will be 7 minutes and 45 seconds. The University Interscholastic League requires between five and eight minutes. Whitaker said you don’t want to go over that because it means instant disqualification, Whitaker said.
There are 38 bands in the state competition and there were 13 in area with the top two going to state.
The band will find out Monday night whether they will advance to finals.
“The preliminary competition is Monday. It starts early in the morning and runs all day. About 8:30 at night, they will begin the drum major retreat and do the announcements and the top 12 bands out of that 38 will advance to a finals competition, which takes place on Tuesday,” Whitaker said.
The band’s planned return is Tuesday.
Samuel Ramirez-Mar, a 17-year-old senior clarinetist, Madelyn Dupre, a 17-year-old senior color guard member, Colton Leadingham, a 17-year-old senior percussionist, and Connor Haislip, a 17-year-old senior baritone player, were all pleased about going to state after the year of COVID.
“Only the top 30 bands in Texas get to go. It’s a big state, so it’s kind of a big honor at the same time,” Leadingham said.
He added that there are nerves and excitement about going to state.
“I just think it’s a great opportunity getting to experience it,” Haislip said.
Haislip said he is very enthusiastic going into the competition and feels the band will do very well.
“Basically, all the hard work and all the time spent in the mornings just practicing,” is what gives him that feeling, Haislip added.
