The band took on the Bands of America Regional competition to perform this season’s show, ¨Fury Road.¨ The event was held at the Kelly Reeves Stadium in Round Rock on Saturday and marks the band’s first competition of the season.

A couple of hours after its midday preliminary performance, the band received the judges’ verdict. The band fell just short of qualifying for the finals. The top 12 teams after preliminary scoring secured their spot in the finals. The Mac band was the highest scoring band not to advance, placing 13th of 15 bands, just 0.2 points behind 12th place Hutto.

Bands of America is one of the toughest competitions the band will face all year. With nine of the schools being 6A, Mac competed against larger bands outside of their division, bands they won’t face in future 5A UIL competitions

For the past three years, the Mac band has not made it past BOA prelims. The band’s primary purpose at BOA is to gain insight on what they need to work on in order to improve. After their run at BOA, the band now has less than a week to prepare for its next judged performance: the USBands Competition on Saturday at the Bob Shelton Stadium in Kyle.

COLOR GUARD CARRIES THE VISUALS: Towards the beginning of the band’s “Fury Road” show, color guard member, junior Lark Thompson, is lifted into the air by other members of the guard. Despite not advancing to the finals, Thompson said that she was proud of the color guard’s performance and is looking forward to the rest of the season.

¨It was one of our stronger performances of the season so far,” she said. “Even though we got some new choreography this week, from what I saw and heard from others,we were able to handle it pretty well.”

Thomas said that compared to earlier shows, this season’s show affords the color guard many more moments for members to elevate visual aspects of the show. One such moment occurs when Thompson is lifted into the air towards the beginning of the performance.

“Those moments together give more visual appeal and interest for the judges and also makes the show more interesting for the members,” she said. “This year’s performance for guard is definitely a lot better and more put together than last year.”

With BOA being the band and guard’s first competition, they have many more opportunities to “redeem” themselves by making it to the finals in the future. In order to achieve this outcome, Thompson noted a few improvements she is hoping the color guard should focus on, starting with next week’s USBands Competition on Saturday.

“We can definitely work on making sure we are all counting and staying together to make our choreography cleaner,” she said. “As a guard, we have a specific judge next weekend, so if we can make our work look a lot more put together we can hopefully score more points for all of us to make finals.”

Caption and photo by Lillian Gray.

MAC BAND’S NO. 1 FAN: Immediately following the band’s preliminary performance at the Bands of America Regional competition, senior Zalie Mann jumps to her feet. According to Mann, her attendance at band events like this one is somewhat of a tradition, one that has turned into a passion.

“My family and I have been going to see Mac band compete for years even before I went to McCallum,” she said. “I think that I´m their No. 1 fan. I watch the YouTube version of ‘Mirage’ all the time.”

While a large portion of the crowd at band events is composed of band members’ parents, Mann is pleased to be among the hearty few students who go out of their way to attend competitions like BOA. She said that the community should show out for bands events especially if they are in the Fine Arts Academy.

“I definitely also have friends in the band, so I love to support them,” she said, “but in general as a fine arts major, I feel like it’s important to support the rest of the arts at Mac, not just your own.”

As for the prelims performance, Mann said that she loved it.

“The band performed wonderfully,” she said. “I might be a little biased though, but I especially loved the entrance of the drum line; it was so tough. I love Mac Band, and I’m their biggest fan!”

Caption and photo by Lillian Gray.

CALM BEFORE THE FURY: Drum major junior Rachel Tun stands on top of the drum major podium prior to the band’s prelims performance on Saturday. Tun is one of the four drum majors and has helped create and execute the show “Fury Road.”

Tun reiterated the same perspective expressed by other members of the band: that their preliminary performance Saturday will set the stage for a strong season ahead.

“We did pretty good,” she said. “There are always things we can improve, but I think it was one of our best runs.”

Going forward, Tun hopes to continue to work with the rest of the band members to improve to a level that will help them achieve their season goals.

“At the end of the day our goal is to make it to Area finals and hopefully State,” she said. “It’s what we build up to all season but also great performances to show the work we have put in to get where we are.”

Caption and photo by Lillian Gray.

EYES ON THE STARS: Towards the end of movement one, after one final crescendo, the trumpet section reaches for the sky to strike a quick pose before descending into movement two. Throughout Bands of America and the rehearsals beforehand, this section stuck beside each other like family. Their determination remained strong even after not making it to finals.

Trumpet player freshman Juan Galvan, front row in the center, has already begun anticipating the upcoming US Bands competition this upcoming Saturday.

“I felt like we were excited for BOA, and we played well with a few bumps along the way,¨ he said. “To prepare for next week, I will definitely work on my choreography and marching technique. As for the trumpet section as a whole, I think it’s all music-wise that we need to improve upon.”

This will be Galvan’s fourth year playing trumpet, and he said that he is enjoying becoming part of the Mac Band community, an involvement that began with section rehearsals throughout summer as well as the fall marching season.

“It’s been an experience with all the people in the band,” he said. “[I love] how we can all get along and have a good time playing together.”

Another freshman and close friend of Galvan’s, saxophonist Isaac Elbel, not visible in the photo, said he was both proud and disappointing of Saturday’s BOA outcome.

“I think the band had a pretty solid run,” Elbel said. “I’m pretty disappointed that we didn’t advance, but there’s always next year.”

Like Galvan, Elbel began his acclimation to the band community at summer band camp and has enjoyed becoming a part of the saxophone family. He’s grateful for all the help he’s received to navigate the challenges he has faced so far.

“It’s a little jarring at first, even with summer band and everything,” Elbel said. “You’re kinda just thrown into a lot of stuff. Thankfully my section and section leaders have been very nice and help us in any way they can. It’s all-around an amazing experience and worth the work in my opinion.”

Elbel has high hopes for next Saturday’s US Bands competition. Until then, however, he plans to focus on some specific things that he wants to improve upon before then.

“I think the thing we need to work on most is leg shape, including myself,¨ he said. “It’s the thing that stands out the most. Getting in the right place for formations also needs work.”

According to Elbel, the pressure of the marching band season is not for the faint of heart, but he aspires to help push the band to achieve its goals and set a foundation for the rest of his high school career.

“I want to make the seniors proud, seeing as this is their last year,” he said. “When they were freshmen, they won everything. They deserve to have an awesome marching season.”

Caption and photo by Wren Vanderford.

STRIKE A CHORD: Although they don’t march, Mac Band’s front ensemble members find ways to bring a little fun to their performance. Throughout the Bands of America competition on Saturday, freshman guitarist Parker Linden and sophomore bassist Riley Poole, shown in this picture with color guard junior Lark Thompson, share how this weekend’s performance went for them.

Linden believes that it was a good run despite people being tired from the football game the night before.

“It was definitely a lot,” Linden said. “It was my first full band competition, and we were all tired because of the football game, but I think everyone showed up and did their best. From what I heard, it was a good run for most people. Since we were one of the smaller schools competing, it was definitely going to be tough [competition] no matter what.”

Linden said that exposure to the rigors of high school band competitions has been an adjustment but in the end worth it.

“It’s been a lot for sure but it’s been really fun,” Linden said. “I’m learning a lot as the season continues, and I’m getting used to how much time it takes up with all the games and competitions, but the show is cool and a lot of fun to play so far.”

Standing alongside her is the band’s bassist, sophomore Riley Poole. Poole has been playing with the band for two years. As a mainstay of the front ensemble, Poole is also part of the electronics unit, which brings its own flavor to “Fury Road.”

“We have a fun thing as an electronics section where we come up with voice lines and movements throughout the show that help keep us on time and together,” he said. “For example, we say something in sync to keep time before a big part of the show, or the part of the show where we jump up together. The bond we have also helps us to feel less stressed or anxious about a performance.”

Poole and Linden not only have similar instruments but a similar path to joining the Mac Band and a similar outlook since joining it.

“I met Riley when I was in middle school because we did a music club together at our school, but we became friends really after I joined band at McCallum,” Linden said. “Performing with him is always really fun. We’ve gotten the chance to come up with fun little choreography things that we do throughout the show to make it more fun, and even without that, it’s really just a lot of fun no matter what.”

Having a year in band under his belt, Poole noticed the potential Linden has especially with the work she’s put in so far as a freshman.

“If she stays in band she could get really good,” he said. “It’s nice having another person in our electronics section who knows how to use our equipment and add to our unique sound as a front ensemble. The electronics have a really good bond, and I’m happy they’re who I get to spend a lot of time with.”

Caption and photo by Wren Vanderford.

ALL ABOUT ALTOS: In the midst of the prelims performance of “Fury Road,” movement captain and alto section leader junior Liliana Escamilla, makes her way through the music and choreography with other members of the alto section by her side. This being her third year as a member of the band, Escamilla has played in the Bands of America Regional competition before and knew what to expect.

“It went pretty well and most people were pretty proud of how they performed,” she said. “The competition has always been an extremely hard one as most of the bands are 6A, so we do it as more of an experience to improve, but I feel like it definitely benefited us to see what we can do better for the next competition next Saturday.”

Throughout the season so far, the band has been focusing on welcoming and supporting new members, as well as continuously building on its show every practice. As of now, it has completed three of the four movements and according to Escamilla the show and new members are moving along smoothly.

“This season has been very busy and we’ve gotten a lot done during practices,” she said. “It is a little bit harder this year with the band having so many freshmen and new marchers in it, but we are learning pretty efficiently and eager to finish out our show this and next week and prepare for Saturday’s contest.”

As the band took on some tough competition, Escamilla said she and other band members were not shocked about not narrowly missing advancing to the finals.

“The scores came out and we were only 0.2 points away from going to finals so as a band, we’re pretty proud,” she said.

Caption and photo by Lillian Gray.

BRASS AT BOA: The trombone section of “Fury Road” took on Bands of America, alongside the rest of the brass in McCallum Band. The trombones have a significant role in this season’s show. Junior and trombone section leader, Mateo Rodriguez, left, shared how BOA sets the band up for a successful season and upcoming competitions.

“I felt like our performance today was very promising for what the season can hold,” he said. “We are a very young band this year, and this was many people’s first competition experience. I think that the experience we had today will help calm our nerves for USBands next weekend as it won’t be our very first time performing in front of judges for placements.”

Rodriguez said the band has adjusted its focus to the competitions during his three years in Mac Band.

“This year we’ve adjusted to more of a contest-driven show,” he said. “Our passion has only grown this season where the experience is based around us all wanting to get better every day and succeed as much as we can.”

With USBands coming up shortly, they have the rest of this week to prepare, and Rodriguez shared how the brass and the band as a whole aim to improve.

“Due to us being such a young band this year, I know that one of our main goals of improvement is to play a lot louder, that comes from overall confidence,” he said.

BOA was the band’s first competition of the year, and according to Rodriguez, created a strong foundation for the competitions ahead.

“We now have that experience in our minds that we can carry to our rehearsals and really focus on how we can grow and make our next performance better,” he said. “I hope that we learn a lot from all our competitions to fuel our UIL run and even set up the base for a great year next year.”

Caption and photo by Wren Vanderford.

THREE’S COMPANY: Clarinet section leader, Senior Isa Perez-Marty (left) performs a clarinet trio with Susan Welch (center) and Ana Robinson (right) during the show “Fury Road” at the Bands of America Regional competition in Round Rock. Leading up to the trio’s performance, Perez-Marty and the others had to switch pace from marching, which according to Perez-Marty, requires a lot of concentration.

“I’m focused on watching the drum majors’ hands to make sure we stay on time,” she said. “I’m also focused on my breathing and when I can take a count to breathe because we are all pretty out of breath since we run across the whole field before we play the trio.”

Despite some of the difficulties leading up towards the trio performance, Perez-Marty said that she is prepared for it especially due to prior experience.

“It’s not too nerve-racking for me because I know I’m not the only one playing, and I had a duet in last year’s marching show, so that was good practice for playing into a microphone,” she said. “The three of us prepare by practicing during band class and in rehearsals to make sure we all come in together and make sure our different parts are balancing well together.”

As Perez-Marty and the rest of the band focus their attention on next weekend’s USBands competition in Kyle, there are aspects of the show that she hopes they will work on to be ready for Saturday.

“I’m hoping to improve it by making sure everyone is accurate with their marching and making sure we all have good technique at all times,” she said. “I also wanna try to keep people positive and energized in rehearsals, so that we can be extra productive because it’ll help get more reps in and help us clean up some parts that aren’t as good as others.”

Caption and photo by Lillian Gray.

GOOD VIBRATIONS: A vital part of any marching show is the front ensemble, the vibraphones and marimbas support the melodies throughout “Fury Road.” Freshman Genvieve Holmes, right, who mainly plays vibraphone but also switches between toms, finger cymbals, brake drum and suspended cymbals, believes that the Bands of America competition was a success for the band.

“I think we performed really well at BOA,” she said. “The experience was really nice and organized. Everyone put their all into the whole performance.”

According to Holmes, the Mac band family has accepted her with open arms and is a welcoming community especially for underclassmen like her.

“I’m very grateful to be a part of the Mac band,” she said. “Everyone is so accepting and sweet. I’ve made so many friends, and I love all of the directors. I can’t wait for the years to come. I’ve never felt more accepted in band before Mac. The community is so dedicated and hardworking, which is so refreshing to see.”

Another front ensemble member, freshman Levon Roeder, center, switches between playing the marimba, impact drums, and the doumbek, another type of drum. He said he was surprised that the band did not advance to finals.

“I thought we did pretty good,” he said. “The band sounded great, and it definitely was one of our better runs. It was kind of a shock to me that we didn’t make finals this year, but there’s always next time.”

Before next Saturday’s USBands competition, Roeder hopes to work on errors that he notices after listening to recordings.

“I would say that we could all agree to work on improving our tempo and marching,” he said. “Even though I do not march on the field this year, the recordings can show little mistakes that the band can make regarding marching and placement. Other than that, I think we’re sounding pretty good.”

Along with Holmes, Roeder is new to the front ensemble, and said that he has a newfound appreciation for band and all that comes along with it.

“It’s been a real eye-opener into the music world,” he said. “It’s been super fun playing all this music and meeting new people. It’s been hard work, but totally worth it I would say. If anyone is ever serious about getting into music, then band is definitely a good place to start.”

Roeder hopes to aim high this season, and alongside the rest of the band, anticipates making it to finals in future competitions.

“We’ve put in so much hard work and dedication into this show that I’m sure we’ll do just that,” he said. “We always have other competitions to go to, and we’ll be better than ever.”

Caption and photo by Wren Vanderford.

SAFFER’S “MAJOR” SOLO: Drum major senior Bea Saffer played a clarinet solo during the performance of this year’s show “Fury Road” at the Bands of America regional competition on Saturday. This being the band’s first competition of the season, the stakes were higher for Saffer, but according to her, the solo was one of her strongest so far.

“I was proud of how I played,” she said. “I think it was the best I’ve sounded playing for an audience. I got a lot of compliments after, which I was very appreciative of.”

Along with Saffer’s performance, she highlighted the rest of the band’s ability to improve on many aspects of the performance, which led to a strong showing on Saturday despite falling short of qualifying for the finals.

“I think our performance at prelims was one of the best musical runs we’ve had,” she said. “We worked really hard this past week to correct some of the mistakes we made at Band Jamboree. For our next competition we need to focus more on marching technique and smaller details in the music.”

Since practice started in the summer, the band has been working on putting together a show with four movements. So far, it has completed three, with the third one being finished for last week’s Band Jamboree showcase. As of now the fourth movement is a work in progress, but Saffer shared that she is proud of the progress and positive momentum she has seen with the group so far.

“I’m really impressed with how fast we put together the third movement of the show,” she said. “Part two took us quite a while to learn, and while part three isn’t as long or as difficult, we were able to put it on the field in about a week. I’m glad it was in such a good place for the competition on Saturday. Personally, it’s my favorite movement because the music is so powerful.”

Caption and photo by Lillian Gray.

LONG TONES IN THE SUN: The Mac Band warmed up in the morning heat for their Bands of America performance under the direction of assistant band director Dillon Junkin. Junkin, alongside head band director Carol Nelson, have spent the last few months working to craft the show that became “Fury Road.”  After the prelims announcements, Junkin expressed why he believes they fell short at BOA and what they can improve on leading up to next weekend’s competition.

“This is the most challenging competition we’ll go to all year, and features lots of 6A band finishers,” he said. “There are a lot of things that we can clean up. The thing I would like to improve on the most is making sure that everybody is doing the same thing all the time. I want to get more consistent across the ensemble in terms of our visual execution and musical execution.”

According to Junkin, this was a successful run of the show despite not making it to the finals.

“I think that they handled the heat fairly well,” he said. “We’re not really used to rehearsing in the sun since we rehearse in the mornings. Their professionalism really showed on the field, so I’m very proud of them. I think we had great moments in our show too, but at a contest as competitive as BOA the little things matter.”

The band has many competitions ahead of it. After the BOA competition Junkin is hopeful that the season will go well.

“It is not a predictor of how we will finish the year,” he said. “We come to this contest so we can get comments from judges both on the field and in the box, some of the best judges in the country. Not making finals should not be an indicator of how the kids did today and should not determine how our season will go.”

Caption and photo by Wren Vanderford.

This story was originally published on The Shield Online on September 22, 2024.