Coppell Band wind symphony making school history, qualifies for elite Midwest Clinic
April 6, 2023
Accompanying a loud bang of the confetti cannon, Coppell High School Band members are delighted to hear that they have qualified to compete in the Midwest Clinic in Chicago.
The announcement was made by CHS Band Director Kimberly Shuttlesworth this afternoon.
The announcement was made during seventh period today with CHS Principal Laura Springer, Associate principal Zane Porter and assistant director Riaz Mohammed present for the announcement.
Upon being announced that the band has qualified for the elite clinic, the band’s initial reaction was shock and surprise as they realized that they just made school history.
“We did hope it would happen, but because there are 800 bands that are competing and five are chosen, we were very pleasantly surprised,” junior flutist Lindsey Won said.
This marks the first time that the wind symphony has qualified for the prestigious clinic with only five high schools in the nation getting the chance to compete at Chicago in December.
“Being in Texas, you’re among some of the best groups out there already,” senior tenor saxophone Ethan Horng said “We had no idea where we stood against the other groups that we were competing against outside of Texas. We were not expecting it.
To qualify for the Midwest Clinic, the symphony had to send in two recordings, a modern piece and a march, with a resume. Those recordings get listened to by judges who then narrow it down to the top five schools that are invited for the high school sector.
Shuttlesworth, who has applied with other groups prior to applying with the CHS Band, received the notification letter while she was out of town. Despite the major accomplishment for the band, the moment was still bittersweet.
“I started tearing up a little bit because I wanted to tell my mom,” Shuttlesworth said. “She passed away last February and so it was one of those [moments where] you want to tell the people that you love the most and so I had called my dad and Springer, the people that mean the world to me and who have been there for me.”
For the last couple of years, the band has undergone new directorial leadership with the addition of Shuttlesworth and Mohammed, but they have also made major strides placing eighth at UIL State Marching Band Contest and 11th at Bands of America at San Antonio.
“We want to thank the community, thank the school board for supporting us in applying, thank the [Coppell Education Foundation] for giving us music to help play and the PTO for giving us the resources to help do better,” Shuttlesworth said. “It’s a community success today.”
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