Big Country high school bands bound for state

EDITORS’ NOTE: The bands in this article are the only ones confirmed to KTAB/KRBC by UIL officials to be competing at the state level. If there are other big country high school bands that will be headed to state this year, please message the KTAB or KRBC

Sponsored

Facebook page so this article can be updated

BIG COUNTRY (KTAB/KRBC) – 2025 may prove one of the most musical years for Big Country schools, with the Bangs, Cisco, Baird and Cross Plains High schools marching bands having secured their place in the upcoming UIL state competition. KTAB/KRBC spoke with directors of both 2A schools, Tommy Perkins at Bangs and Brett Batchelor at Cisco, for a look inside what it takes to make it to the top.

“The kids have worked so hard this year. It’s our second time in three years, and this group is really excited. They’re ready to go. The whole town, the faculty, administration, everybody has been behind us all year,” Perkins said of his students at Bangs.

Batchelor spoke on a moment he had with his Cisco students before their qualifying performance at the area competition, saying, “When we found out we were going to finals, I told them, ‘This is your choice. We can either take these necessary steps and make the second run better, or we can be sitting at home on Tuesday night, and someone else can be practicing’… they left it all out on the field. Every kid came off the field smiling and excited. They were exhausted, but they put everything into that final performance.”

Cisco’s show is titled ‘Pure Imagination’, a custom arrangement of a popular show at these competitions. Their rendition incorporates vocal performance and narration along with selections from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Greatest Showman in an impactful and powerfully sentimental return to the wonder and possibility of childhood.

“The show is built around, ‘What did you want to be? Who did you want to be? Where did you want to go?’ to get their imaginations going again. The last line of narration in the third movement is ‘We no longer imagine what we want to be, but what our next adventure will be,” said Batchelor.

Bang’s show, “A Crown for a Queen,” combines selections from the bands Abba and Queen with the works of Vivaldi. This playful yet regal performance displays a unique interchange of strong brass and percussion along with the moving and at times jaunty woodwinds. Perkins stated that part of their success is thanks to open communication and understanding of what students enjoy.

“Paige Lauer, my Assistant Director, has been saying for years that we should play a Bohemian Rhapsody show. We finally found an arranger who could really take that music to the next level, and he just nailed it. The kids sing it on the bus they have a great time with it. We’ve found that if you choose music they like, they’ll work even harder at it,” Perkins said.

But more than simply improving on their musical and marching talents, Perkins expressed the ways in which his students have risen to the task at hand, while transforming themselves along the way.

“I’ve seen them grow up this year. In band, there are no sidelines; there is no bench. If there’s 52 out there, they all have to work together. They’re typical kids; they’ll get tired. But they dig deep, and I think that’s preparing them for life,” said Perkins.

The UIL 2A state marching competition preliminary round begins on Tuesday, November 4, at the Alamodome in San Antonio.