HEB ISD School & Family Magazine December 2016 | Page 8

L.D. Bell High School Band’s
Road To State
Photo courtesy of Kevin Marlow

Inside the Alamodome on November 9, 2016,
the L.D. Bell Blue Raider Band made their
traditional entrance onto the field and waited
for the announcer to say these words: “The
next band in conference 6A is the L.D. Bell
High School Band. Their program, ‘Beyond the
Veil’, includes selections by Borodin, RimskyKorsakov, Prokofiev, and Khachaturian. Drum
Majors Lauren Busocker, Cameron Kostopoulos,
Aaron Sloan, and Jordan Williams, you may begin
your performance for the Finals of the UIL State
Marching Band Championship.”
The performance in San Antonio was the final
stop on the band’s road to the state competition,
and it was the show these 267 students and band
directors had begun working on five months prior
to reach the destination of the 2016 UIL 6A State
Marching Band Contest.
The journey began with two days of band camp in
June. The “band family” began to form as incoming
sophomores were introduced to the returning juniors
and seniors, and each member began preparing for
the road ahead.
At the end of July, the musicians and color guard team
gathered for the first official day of “Summer Band
Camp.” They dedicated the last four weeks of their
summer to rehearsing in the mornings, afternoons,
and evenings Monday through Friday, and two
rehearsals on Saturdays, until school began. During
this time, the vast majority of their lives were spent on
the field or in the Band Hall, rehearsing steps, music,
and movements over and over again in preparation
for upcoming halftime shows, school pep rallies,
community performances, and marching contests.
As school began, the band continued to rehearse in
the early mornings at Pennington Field or Raider Bowl.
The band members, color guard, and band staff would
arrive as the sun rose and were on the field at 7:00
a.m. when the drum major’s whistle blew to begin the
rehearsal. The repetitive motion of each step, learning
the different tempo for each section of the show, playing
music over and over again to perfection, and mastering
6

The L.D. Bell Band makes their way up
Harwood Road during the 2016 March-A-Thon.
Photo courtesy of Mark Chandler

The band rehearsing their Spirit Show formation.

the movements were key components of these early
morning two-hour rehearsal blocks.
October marked the start of contest marching season
and the first competition approached quickly. The Blue
Raider Band took their first step on the road to state at
the UIL Region 31 Marching Band Contest where they
received a Division 1 rating during the Region Contest
and advanced to the Area Contest. The Area Contest
was held at Pennington Field in late October and was
the qualifying event for the State Marching Contest.
The Bell Band competed against 25 bands in the
preliminary contest and was one of 10 bands to
advance to Finals that evening. The 10 bands in Finals
were competing for five spots to represent the UIL
Area B in the State Marching Contest. Following the
disappointment of not advancing two years ago, the Bell
Band eagerly awaited the qualifying announcement.
Joy flooded the grandstands at Pennington Field as
the announcer confirmed the L.D. Bell High School
Band was going to state!
When the day came for the band to travel the final leg of
their journey, they boarded six chartered buses at L.D.