TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple High School Band has been celebrating a milestone throughout the school year, but the band’s Centennial celebration will reach a crescendo during Homecoming festivities on October 6-7.
The Temple High School Wildcat Band program started in 1923 and is celebrating one hundred years of excellence this school year. The band is celebrating the occasion with several events over this Homecoming weekend. The program is hosting an all-band reunion to mark the milestone and the current band will march in with alumni during pregame of Friday night’s football game. At halftime, there will be a video that showcases highlights from the past one hundred years, including halftime performances at Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day games. The current band will then play its special “Centennial” halftime show following the game. That show features elements that are uniquely ‘Temple’ and was designed by THS band alum Weston Scholten
“I am excited about the community and the alumni seeing this year’s marching show ’Centennial’ because the students have been working very hard to make it exceptional,” said Brent Mathesen, Temple HS band director. “We hope that the alumni catch the excitement, some history, and a few surprises that we have designed into the show. The Wildcat Band has a special place in Temple and the current band is proud to honor that history with our show.”
The celebration will continue with a postgame reception and mixer in the Temple High School cafeteria following the band’s postgame performance. On Saturday, band alumni will gather for lunch at Dead Fish Grill from 11-1 to mingle and reminisce about their time in Wildcat Band. The band will continue to perform its Centennial halftime show for the rest of the football season as the milestone celebration will last through the rest of the year.
Jeniece Washburn played flute in the Wildcat Band and graduated from Temple High School in 1994. She has also supported the band as a parent of a band member and is now working to help organize this weekend’s reunion. The process has allowed her time to reflect on what the Wildcat Band experience has meant to her and her family.
“What comes to mind when I think of the Temple Wildcat Band is pride and tradition! Being a part of this band as a student brought me so much joy and my absolute fondest memories in high school! We worked hard, learned so much discipline, and always represented Temple High School to the best of our ability,” Washburn said. “I was blessed to be a part of the Temple Wildcat Band as a band parent from 2018-2022. Life absolutely came full circle for me. It brought me just as much joy and pride and allowed me to experience my son enjoying so many of the same traditions that I did. I can’t wait to decades of Wildcat Band members to come together, share so many memories and reconnect! #YAYBand and always remember, #EyesWithPride.”