This was the first time all six LISD high schools qualified for the state competitions, Superintendent Bruce Gearing said at a Nov. 7 board of trustees meeting.
The overview
For the sixth consecutive year, the Cedar Park High School band was named the first place state champion of the 5A high school competition Nov. 4-5. The Rouse High School band received second place followed by the Leander High School band in third place.
The Glenn High School band, which completed its second performance at the state competition, ranked 16th place out of the 38 competing bands.
At the 6A high school contest Nov. 11-12, the Vandegrift High School band walked away as the silver medalist in second place, while the Vista Ridge High School band received fourth place.
Additionally, the Cedar Park High School band placed fifth, and the Leander High School band placed 12th overall at the Bands of America Grand National Championships in Indianapolis on Nov. 14-16.
“The feeling was unlike any other,” LHS band percussionist Justin Kelly said about placing at the state contest. “Because after all the struggles and after all of the pain and sweat that we went through to get there ... we had come so far, and we were all just extremely proud of ourselves.”
The approach
Gearing said he believed the success of LISD’s bands was an outcome of the district’s culture of continuous improvement and strategic plan goals.
“I set a goal that ... every high school band will get the resources, the professional learning, and the support that they need to lean into a culture of continuous improvement and get better every day, and this is the result," Gearing said.
Students in LISD band programs attend band class for 90 minutes each school day, arrive at campus at 7 a.m. to attend master classes, assess their progress on performance goals, and are encouraged to take private lessons outside of school, he said.
To prepare for the season, Kelly said he and his LHS bandmates practice for several hours Monday through Friday from June through August, during which the heat can push students to their limit, he said. During the school year, the band rehearses after the instructional day four days a week, he said.
Being a part of the LHS band has provided Kelly with community as well as a sense of discipline, he said.
"The payoff comes later," Kelly said about being in band. "If you're willing to wait for that payoff, and you're willing to work for that payoff, then it makes it even better."
What they’re saying
At a Nov. 7 meeting, Place 6 board member Francesca Romans discussed how all students must pass their classes to participate in band, per UIL rules.
“For our students to be able to do something like that, especially to that magnitude ... it literally takes every single one of their teachers to help them get there,” Romans said.
The bands’ success was also made possible by hundreds of parents who have volunteered their time and resources to support the program, said Christine Mauer, former Place 3 board member.
“It’s different here, and that’s just a testament to so many people putting in their blood, sweat and tears into this program,” Mauer said.
The bottom line
When reflecting upon the recent success, Kelly said he and his bandmates are fueled by a desire to live up to the decades-long legacy of the LHS band. Now, the band wants to leave a legacy of their own for students to come, he said.
“Thinking about the legacy that we were going to leave behind really pushed us and really helped motivate us to want to be the best that we possibly could be,” Kelly said.
He credited the LHS band’s accomplishments to his band directors who he said are dedicated and understanding while also pushing students to succeed.
Leander ISD denied Community Impact’s request for interviews for this article.
