Willow Marching Band Travels to Texas for Winter

by: Patricia Guebara and Sierra Jimenez

Willow Canyon marching band ended this season with numerous awards. Last year they took fourth in state. This year the band received first place in Music Performance Caption, Percussion and Auxiliary Caption at the Mesquite Band Festival. They also finished second at the Goldwater Band Festival and third in Auxiliary Caption at the ASU Band Day.

The Willow Canyon Band Council leads their ensemble
as the band prepares to go to Texas.

Their final performance was at the Arizona State Marching Band Competition where they received a rating of Superior with Distinction in Music Performance Caption, Visual Performance Caption, Percussion and Auxiliary Caption, finishing seventh overall at the state competition. This year, they will be traveling to San Antonio, Texas, over winter break.

There the band will be playing in a con­cert band festival, a jazz band festival and a field show competition as part of the Alamo Bowl festivities on December 27. These competitions will be held in Alamo Stadium and at the Alamo Heights.

“This trip to Texas will benefit the stu­dents in many ways, the students will get to play halftime shows in the Alamo Dome, they will get to join a band with 1,000 other students and learn from college band direc­tors. There will be other festivals that are taking place, and they will be judged by other music directors,” said band directors Ms. Julie Trent.

To earn money to travel to Texas, Ms. Trent said, “We sold cookie dough, had three car washes, restaurant nights and we sold Diamondback tickets. It’s going to be an exciting year; we’re playing music that comes from movies that people have seen. We also have very exciting pieces of music to go with a very fun show.”

Band Council president senior Amber Schubert said, “Marching band is a great ex­perience, and I have learned a lot of leader­ship skills and knowledge to help younger and new members. Plus, band gets the com­munity involved by going to the local ele­mentary schools. We try to get the older and the younger community involved too. We have parades and always invite family and friends to come to these events.”

Drum major Michael Hurt said, “The band this year is going well; we’ve made a lot of progress by adding extra stuff to our show. Originally my involvement in band was because of my friends, but along the way, I learned something new and different, and I had the urge to succeed. I’m working pretty hard, but I underestimated the work it takes to be a drum major.”