The marching season for the Coppell High School Band came to a close Nov. 5 as the 320-member band competed in the Bands of America Super Regional Championships in the San Antonio Alamodome.

The CHS Band, which earned a Division I rating, finished 18th out of 59 bands competing in the highly competitive contest known for its emphasis on visual elements.

"Their show on Saturday was by far the best performance of the year," said CHS head band director Scott Mason.

CHS head drum major Jonathon Zuniga agreed. "Although the results didn't quite turn out as many had hoped, we really did our best and played a show everyone was happy with," he said.

The judges commented on how much they liked Coppell's sound, Mason said. Students improving as musicians is the emphasis at CHS all year long no matter what contest it is, he said, adding that visual elements can add a great deal of cost to a show.

Coppell's scores for ensemble music performance were among the top four of the contest.

This year, the Coppell band also included more students marching on the field than it has in previous years, Mason said.

While making this year's show more difficult with greater numbers, this could prove helpful next year when it is a state year with more students being experienced at marching, he added.

Mason said the band competes in the BOA Super Regionals every other year when it is not competing in the UIL Texas State Marching Contest so that students experience playing in the Alamodome, which also is the location for the state contest, and also due to the high level of competition at the BOA Southwestern Regional Contest.

Last year, the band finished fifth in the Class 5A Texas State Marching Contest and in 2008, the band won the bronze medal in that contest, which places more emphasis on music and marching than on visual effects.

This year's marching show was entitled "Breaking Barriers" and featured music by Giuseppe Verdi, Clint Mansell and Marco Beltrami.

With Coppell not in the football playoffs for the first time in many years, the San Antonio contest marks the official end of the 2011 marching season and the bulk of Zuniga's duties as drum major -- a position he's held for two years.

"It is going to be different to not have any more marching after four years," Zuniga said. "I'm feeling a lot of different emotions; I'm happy to have accomplished such a great show, and start working on other musical endeavors, but I'm also a little sad that it's all over now."

Senior assistant drum major Brandon White said he is a little upset the band has no further contests, but he is extremely proud of the band's accomplishments this year.

"It was invigorating, exciting and such an honor leading and being a role model for so many students," he said. "I learned that communication is key, and unity and teamwork really help to push a group."

Leading one of the state's largest marching bands has been quite an experience for Zuniga as well.

"Every day was full of surprises, and it was absolutely the most rewarding experience of my life so far. It is something I will never forget, and all the things I've learned from it I'll use the rest of my life," he said.

The most important lesson he learned about being drum major was the virtue of patience. "Getting more than 300 students to come together to perform a 10-minute show is something that can try your patience more than anything I've ever experienced.

"Being drum major really taught me how to work well with everyone and accomplish great things through perseverance and keeping a cool head when times get rough," Zuniga said.

Zuniga was assisted by senior assistant drum majors White and James Halpin and junior assistant drum major Matt Smith.