I’ve been to over 15 competitions across my four years in the Cinco Ranch Band. None will stay in my memories like the 2024 Bands of America Conroe Regional.
My day started with a 4 a.m. alarm, which couldn’t have been less welcome. I called my “alarm buddies”, a system coined by our directors to make sure we all wake up on time for the early days. I did myperfect slick back bun at home, using too much gel and a mesh bun maker, and slowly made my way downstairs to put the finishing touches on my duffel bag. As a driver in the program, the words “Can you give me a ride?” are ingrained in my head, but one of the strangest requests I’ve received was definitely a sophomore asking me to pick her up at 4:30 because her mom couldn’t take her. As we made our way to the school, we talked about who would get section of the week; a weekly announcement that keeps every section working hard and focused during rehearsal.
We entered the band hall and joined the students already there, donning our brand new competition outfits in preparation for the practice ahead.The bright yellow of our marching tops, a nod to this year’s themes of lemons, made me smile with thoughts of how fun our performance would be. The moon was still out as we took to the school’s back parking lot for a short rehearsal, called a run through, in preparation for our (time) show later that day. After a run of the show, we all made our way back to the band hall for uniforms and then to the main commons for breakfast. As a band meal connoisseur, one of my favorite breakfasts is the Taco Cabana breakfast tacos. The variety and additional salsas truly make the meal a 10/10 for me. Along with my first energy drink of the day, an Alani Cherry Slush, I was ready to take on the day.
The trip to competitions is always my favorite part of the day, sitting and gossiping with my best friends in an air conditioned bus. The parent send off always makes me happy, with band families joining together at any hour of the day in order to cheer us on for success. The trip, a quick 1 and ½ hour drive up to Woodforest Stadium, was filled with watching the show on repeat on my Ipad, doing everyone’s hair, and stressing about the stiff competition that awaited us. We got there insanely early, and stayed talking on the bus about what schools we wanted to watch.
Our second warm-up of the day, now in the same place we would perform, focused on working our choreography to work with the weird sensations of our uniforms. Making the trek to the stadium, all my nerves started going off, worrying about all the mistakes I had made two nights before; at the Cinco vs Taylor game. Our head drum major Presley Farace reminded us to take deep breaths, settling my nerves and heart. As always, I snuck a peak to find my mom in the stands, a small ritual I’ve been following since freshman year.
Suddenly, the performance had started. The only thing running through my head were all the corrections I had told myself over and over, while also trying to focus on the notes I had to play throughout the entire show. As the brass played their final note, and I had finished my “dance break” with one of the encore members, it hit me that I just completed my first run at one of my last competitions. A quick visit with one of my friends from Tompkins and a change back into my regular clothes ended the morning for me, with us going to a nearby mall to get out of the sun.
A solid lunch of sandwiches and chips later, my friends and I started exploring around the mall, an unfamiliar place with lots to visit. We were on the way back to the stadium after about an hour at the mall, not before a stop at the Lego store and Starbucks.
Historically, we haven’t done well at Bands of America, so I was not expecting to make finals. Sitting with my friends we started paying attention to all the finalists bands. Tomball Memorial, figures. College Park, always a finalist. Klein Oak, The Woodlands, Friendswood, Fulshear Senior, Dawson, Cy-Fair, Foster, Clearbrook, and Stephen F Austin made up the rest of the finalists. One more name. The announcer started “cinco ran-”. The crowd went wild. The Cinco Ranch Cougar Band had finally made finals at a Bands of America competition. The world stopped and we were the only ones moving. As I started realizing what this meant, the tears started flowing down my face. I had finally made Bands of America finals. I could finally say I was a Bands of America finalist.
After seeing my friends from Jordan, I made my way to dinner, and had a new meal consisting of pasta, veggies, and a roll; a solid 8/10 meal to add to the rotation. Of course, I had to refill my massive water bottle in order to survive the rest of the night.
A relaxing hour of telling my friends and family the exciting news and new performance time, 8:45 p.m. later, we got back into uniforms, redoing our perfect slick back buns; feeling like Clark Kent when he’s Superman. An identical warm-up later, we got back onto the field, now with an even larger crowd. After one of the best runs of the show we’ve ever had, I found my friends and made our way back to the buses to chill out before a full band retreat.
To paint a picture of how chaotic full band retreat is, imagine 2400 kids on a football field standing perfectly still for 30 minutes. But before we even get on the field, all the bands mingle around talking to people we’ve never met before. Completely insane. However, seeing some of my friends from far away bands and making new ones along the wait was how I got through it. Also by taking off my uncomfortable marching shoes and gloves after a while. After a long retreat, we placed 10th in finals, not bad for our first time in the big leagues.
While the day was too long, I’ve genuinely never been prouder of my band program. Even thinking about how far we’ve come from my freshman year makes tears come to my eyes. But we all know we would’ve never come this far without our directors and techs leading us and pushing us completely outside of our comfort zone.
