TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple High School Wildcat Band is marching into the Area Round of the University Interscholastic League Marching Competition. The THS band advanced after an impressive performance at the UIL Region 8 marching contest on October 17th.
The Temple High School band received straight ones or the top ratings possible at the Region 8 Contest at Midway High School’s Panther Stadium in Hewitt on Saturday. That rating qualifies the band to advance to the Area Marching Contest where Temple will be one of 30 bands to compete in that upcoming contest. The UIL Area D Marching Band Contest will be held on Saturday, October 31st, at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio. The full field and schedule for the Area D Contest will be announced later this week. Bands advancing from the Area Contest will move on to the State Marching Contest in San Antonio on November 9th.
The Temple High School band is performing a show titled “Hand(un)written” for UIL contests this school year. The students, on top of their academic studies and other extracurricular activities, put in eight hours a week after school to rehearse, refine, and perform the show. The design process for this year’s show began in January and students began learning the show in late July. The Temple High School Wildcat Band is under the direction of Brent Mathesen, Marcos Duran, and Joshua Pacheco.
“We are incredibly proud of our students for buying in to the music making process to bring Hand(un)written to life,” said Mathesen, director of bands for Temple High School, and Duran, assistant director of bands for THS. “This year has presented unique challenges with the new (UIL) heat guidelines, but our students were flexible enough to make the most of each rehearsal to ensure the show would develop as planned. Each performance, dating back to July, continued to improve based on our weekly film and music review sessions. Our student leadership took initiative to bring out peer-to-peer accountability. Our leaders challenged their peers to always focus on the things they can control and block out distractions when necessary. We look forward to giving our best performance to date at the Area Marching Contest at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio on Saturday, October 31st.”