For the first time since COVID, Permian High School Band Director Jeff Whitaker says his group is getting back up to normal size levels.
The first day of summer band drew 364 students — the highest first-day enrollment they have ever had, Whitaker said.
“And it’s just gone up from there. We have a huge band this year. We’re very excited about that. We’ve got a massive color guard that joins us on the field, too, that’s taught by our dance department,” Whitaker added.
The staff has returned this year and the middle schools did an “incredible job” preparing the students. Whitaker said there are 100 freshmen in this year’s band.
He added that it wasn’t unusual to have that many freshmen pre-COVID.
“It seems like we’ve shaken off all those pandemic-era problems off and we’re back to normal,” Whitaker said.
He added that it tells him that a few years from now, the band is going to be even larger.
Asked if they could handle 400 students, Whitaker said most of the 6A programs like San Angelo or Frienship have more staff, so it creates some logistical issues for a program like Permian.
“Our biggest issue right now is we’ve got a whole lot of students working toward competing for spots,” but Whitaker said you have to have more staff to cover those spots on the field.
Even so, morale is high, students are engaged and they seem to be enjoying being part of band, Whitaker said.
“Summer band can be brutal because they’re doing eight hours a day minimum most days,” Whitaker said.
The theme for this year’s show is “Honey, I Shrunk the Band,” a play on the movie “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.”
Students on the football field already look small at Ratliff Stadium, so the props are going to be oversized — like pencils that are 10 yards long.
All the music for the competition show is things that refer to that like All the Small Things by Blink 182 and Elton John’s Tiny Dancer.
“It’s a pretty creative, brilliant show that our design team put together for us,” Whitaker said.
He added that he wanted to give a shout outs to the school district and the middle school band directors.
To the district for helping the band put the products together because otherwise they would have to be paid out of band fees, which they still need to cover costs.
“But fortunately, the school has been very supportive of the band program,” Whitaker said.
On the middle school band directors, the freshmen fit right in because the directors did such a good job preparing them.
Additionally, the student leadership team has developed a positive culture. He wants to make sure that when they leave or the day they look forward to coming back the next day.
“They’re our new teammates, so they have to feel like a part of a team from the first day. I really think our leadership team accomplished that. They’ve even set up several team days. They give out awards and prizes and just make it seem less like work and more like a fun camp …,” Whitaker said.
Because of all that, he said, rehearsals have been very productive.
Parent support has been amazing this year, as well, so Whitaker said they have support from all directions — administration, parents and student leadership.
Larissa Garcia, a 17-year-old senior drum major, Tony Jimenez, a 17-year-old senior drum captain, and Sapna Yadalla, a 17-year-old senior drum major, all have a good feeling about this year’s band.
“I know that we’re going to do really good at competitions,” Jimenez said.
Garcia said she thinks the show is going to be something everyone can connect to.
Garcia said the practices have been a struggle because of the heat, but with hard work they can all get through it.
Yadalla said it’s a much larger group than they are accustomed to, but it feels like this is the first year it’s gotten back to normal.
Because of the band discipline, Garcia, Jimenez, and Yadalla said it helps academically. But it’s also a physical and mental challenge.
Garcia and Jimenez have family members who were in band. Yadalla, who plays the saxophone, said she thought it was so cool to join a group like Permian band.
“It will take a toll on you if you don’t come in with a happy mindset,” Yadalla said.
Band goes from July to October and every week there’s something going on. “If you handle that really well, you can be amazing in marching band,” Yadalla said.
She added that band is such a rewarding experience, even though the days and hours are long.
“It’s such a beautiful experience that you won’t really get any other time in your life …,” Yadalla said.
