Band named finalist, takes sixth at BOA St. Louis Super-Regional

Coppell+High+School+Band+members+perform+at+the+first+home+football+game+of+the+season+against+L.D.+Bell+on+Sept.+6.+The+CHS+Band+placed+sixth+at+the+Bands+of+America+Super-Regional+competition+in+St.+Louis+on+Oct.+18-19.+Photo+by+Samantha+Freeman.+

Samantha Freeman

Coppell High School Band members perform at the first home football game of the season against L.D. Bell on Sept. 6. The CHS Band placed sixth at the Bands of America Super-Regional competition in St. Louis on Oct. 18-19. Photo by Samantha Freeman.

Meer Mahfuz, Staff Writer

On Oct. 18, the Coppell Marching Band traveled to St. Louis to take part in a Bands of America Super-Regional competition. Out of the 69 bands that competed in the preliminary competition, Coppell was named a finalist and moved on to compete in the final round, which it eventually placed sixth. 

Coppell achieved a final score of 87.95 for its performance. 

This achievement marks the first time in program history that Coppell has been named a finalist in a super-regional competition. 

Even though competitions such as BOA are scored on points and focus on placement, Coppell High School Band director Gerry Miller tries to focus on improving, rather than outperforming the competition.

“I don’t think we are driving towards [beating] the competition as much as we try to compete with our former selves,” Miller said.

Coppell Band, as a program, has never achieved a score of 90. Currently, Coppell’s highest score ever was an 88.8, which it achieved at the 2018 BOA San Antonio Super-Regionals.

“Our thought has been about building the [performance] as strong as it can be so that the judges can award it appropriately,” Miller said. “If the reward is an 89.8 then so be it, and if it is a 90.2 then that’s awesome.”

Competitions such as the BOA Super-Regionals also provide kids with many life skills such as communication and time management that are difficult to gain without actually experiencing them.

“It can be difficult to manage the pressure that band puts on us with the different rehearsals and competitions in addition to homework and personal life, but the band forced me to really learn how to use my time wisely,” CHS sophomore Catherine Alford said. “I also learned how to better communicate with new people, and it has caused me to get to know some of the most amazing people in band.”

Not only did the trip to St. Louis secure the 2019-2020 band a name in program history, but it also provided an outlet for Coppell Band members to interact with band members from across the nation.

“It was really fun getting to meet the other drum majors from different states,” CHS senior drum major Catherine Yang said. “They were all super cool people, and it was really nice getting to hear about their program as well.”

Coppell looks to make one last performance of this marching season at BOA San Antonio Super-Regionals on Friday at 8 p.m. at the Alamodome.

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