After months of preparation, sounds of cheers and screams filled Pennington Field in Bedford on Saturday, with bright smiles and relieved faces shown across the Coppell Band members’ faces.
Several months of hard work and dedication paid off for the fifth straight year.
Coppell Band won first place in the University Interscholastic League Class 6A Area B marching band contest, allowing it to advance into competing at San Antonio for the state competition Monday through Wednesday. This is the fifth consecutive area win for Coppell Band, with 1999 being the most recent year where Coppell band won a state championship.
Band director Kimberly Shuttlesworth credits student leadership, which played a major role in their win in their performance “Trip-Tych.” With the desire of continuing their recognition, it allows for all 262 band members to follow their leadership.
“We can teach them as much as we want,” Shuttlesworth said. “But if they don’t want it, then it doesn’t matter.”
With these vigorous practices, the impact on students can be significant. According to junior flutist Nitya Tyagi, the band has been preparing for the UIL competition since August, and as the contest season comes closer, practices start to get harder.
“With UIL coming up, we have contests every Saturday, if not every other Saturday,” Tyagi said. “We just have to be more balanced when we do things and manage what we are doing.”
Tyagi is ready to see the outcome of their preparation during this final stage of the UIL competition season.
“State is a fun experience overall because it is the one time we get to watch other bands and see the effort they have put in,” Tyagi said. “It is always nice to see how we will do and have our work from the entire season finally pay off.”
According to Shuttlesworth, Texas high school band networks are one of the most competitive, and trying to make finals for the competition is not an easy task. Constantly making improvements allows Coppell Band to strive to be elitist.
“You can be great at a craft, you can be excellent at a craft, but being elite means that you’re in that top one percent situation,” Shuttlesworth said.
Follow @CHScampusnews on X
