There is no rest for the weary for members of the LH Wildcat Band as the spring semester gets into high gear.  With their successful award-winning marching season behind them, students continue to pursue excellence in the second half of the school year.

All-State Honors

In January, Toby Furr, senior euphonium musician, earned a spot in the Texas All-State Band, the highest individual honor for a Texas high-school band musician.  Toby, along with his peers at Lake Highlands and other high schools across the state, had to first audition for a spot on the All-Region band before being eligible for the All-Area band.  Then, further auditions are conducted for an ultimate spot in the All-State band.  Toby traveled to San Antonio in February to perform with other all-state musicians at the annual convention of the Texas Music Educators Association, which sponsors and governs the annual competition.  Twenty-two LH band members earned a spot on the All-Region Band with twelve earning All-Area honors.

Color Guard Earns Top Honors

The LH Color Guard, under the direction of Renee Cantrell, took first place at a recent North Texas Color Guard Association’s competition held on February 28 hosted by ArlingtonHigh School.  The group, known as winter guard outside of marching season, competed with winter guard groups from over 15 area schools.  They have been perfecting their show, Butterflies, since November with their sights on the state championships to be held on March 27 at ColleyvilleHeritageHigh School.

Two Drummers Earn Spots on Blue Knights

Jordan Brooks, junior and Bayo Ajibade, senior, members of LH Band’s drumline, recently earned coveted spots on the world-class Blue Knights, a member of Drum Corps International (DCI).  High school and college musicians audition each year for membership into one these top-tier national corps for the opportunity to travel over 10,000 miles during DCI’s nationwide summer music tour covering over 135 cities.  Come and see Jordan, tenor drums and Bayo, snare drum, perform when the Blue Knights, along with other world-class corps in the DCI summer tour show, come to town the evenings of July 16 and 17 at Wildcat-Ram Stadium.

Dallas City Council Has Rhythm

Members of the LH Drumline descended upon the Dallas City Council meeting held on March 4 at City Hall.  Invited by council member Jerry Allen, the drumline led a processional march into the chambers at the start of the meeting along with members of Arc of Dallas to promote the organization’s work with those North Texas citizens with developmental disabilities.  All council members were observed to be fully awake and ready to conduct business after the percussion performance.  Mr. Allen stated he wanted to “beat the drums” to gain support and awareness for Arc of Dallas’ work in the community.  He knew that the LH musicians would rise to the occasion to bring some early morning excitement to City Hall.

Steve Hedrick handles publicity for the Lake Highlands Area Band Club