Members of the Carroll marching band have spent two and a half hours a day, three times a week for months practicing, no matter the blistering heat or pounding rain, to create a competition-worthy show. After a full season of competitions, their dedication and hard work on their show “Aquarium” finally took them all the way to the UIL State Marching Competition, placing them in the top 40 6-A bands in the state.
“I think it’s one of the best shows in the history of the Carroll Dragon band,” junior squad leader Elian Alkhoury said. “It’s been a long process because of the high-end procedure that the band uses, but it still went by so fast.”
With the undeniable work the band put into the performance, many members were confident in their ability to qualify for State this season.
“As a squad leader, I’ve made sure all the members of my section got to the point that they weren’t doing things like goofing off or talking during practice,” Alkhoury said. “We have all worked really hard up to this point, so I definitely feel like we deserved to make State.”
Only 40 bands of the 247 that made it to Area were selected for State, so qualifying was a major accomplishment for the marching band.
“Everyone feels like their hard work has gone towards something,” Alkhoury said. “When we first found out we made State, no one could stop screaming and I felt like it was one of the core moments of this year’s season.”
It was important that the band channeled their enthusiasm towards their performance to make it the elaborate show that it was.
“This year’s theme is ‘Aquarium’ and it uses a lot of special techniques to portray that kind of underwater theme,” Alkhoury said. “There’s a lot going on at different parts of the field throughout the show. We use bubbles in the show so that the audience really feels like they’re in an aquarium.”
For many students, State is a completely new experience.
“As a junior, the last time we made state was when I wasn’t in high school,” Alkhoury said. “So this is the first time I’ve made State.”
For seniors like band president and clarinet section leader Mayli Heistein, though, State is not unfamiliar.
“The last time we went to State, in 2021, was the first time our program has gone in 20 years and we made it to finals and came in 12th place in the state,” Heistein said. “This year’s competition was harder compared to in 2021. There were more well-known and extremely competitive bands from all over Texas present.”
Though it felt more difficult, Heistein had a positive outlook on her involvement in state this year.
“The overall experience at state this year was a lot better,” Heistein said. “Especially going as a senior and understanding the depth of our achievement, I felt a lot more gratitude and appreciation for getting to perform. We had a blast getting to perform in the Alamodome, and there was just this strong sense of unity between everyone throughout the entire competition.”
Competition is nothing new for the band, as they already made their way through several competitions this year.
“Before State, we went to the BOA [Bands of America] Bedford and Prosper regional competitions, the Duncanville marching invitational, the US Bands Southwestern World Class Championships, the BOA San Antonio Super Regional Competition and the UIL region/area competitions,” Heistein said. “All of these were very competitive, and a lot of the bands that we saw there were also at State.”
These competitions allowed the band to make significant progress before heading to State.
“These other competitions helped us prepare for state, as each performance we were given judged feedback,” Heistein said. “It definitely helped that we could hear what the judges thought since, each week, we were able to improve parts of the show during practice.”
Many band members, like junior drum major Mayli Reinke, are leaving State with an appreciative outlook.
“Apart from the seniors who went to state their freshman year, this was everyone’s first time going to State,” Reinke said. “For the past two years, we’ve come extremely close to making it, and this year, we finally did. We put so much effort into our performance in San Antonio, and I know that regardless of how the rankings turned out, everyone is feeling proud of the amazing things we accomplished this season.”
No matter how the band was ranked, performing at state gave them an ultimate opportunity to showcase their show.
“Overall, we were satisfied with our performance,” Reinke said. “As a drum major, it meant so much to see the band have one of our best runs of the show at state, and I know that the band members were proud of the work we’ve been putting into the show since May.”
Going forward, those with leadership roles have big goals for the band.
“Next year, I want to use my position as drum major to encourage people to work hard and stay optimistic,” Reinke said. “This past season, I noticed an incredible work ethic from the band, and if we keep it up next year, I’m positive that we can make state again.”
Though the band has officially wrapped their competition season, there is still much in store for them this year.
“For the marching band, we’ll be performing LIDS at halftime for football games until their season ends,” Reinke said. “The rest of the year will be focused on concert band performances.”
