LHS Band Groups Shine During Recent Competitions
On Saturday, February 4, the Mighty Leopard Band fielded three of its auxiliary groups in contest.
The LHS Indoor Percussion and Winter Guard units kicked off their 2023 Texas Color Guard Circuit season, the first of four contests, at Akins High School. Indoor Percussion performed in the morning, and placed 3rd in their class, bringing home the first Indoor Percussion trophy in school history.
“Though it had the kinds of errors you’d expect at the start of a season, they performed very musically and had some exciting moments!” Chris Cooper, Head Director of Bands, said of the performance, “Their overall score was also five points higher than their final performance at last year’s Championships, so they are off to a much stronger start this year!”
The LHS Winter Guard unit placed 2nd in their class. They narrowly missed first place by 1/10th of a point. Cooper said of their show, “Guard is showing incredible growth from a year ago. The technical demand and production value of this show are much higher than last year. There are a handful of featured soloists and duets, and they all shined today. This group is on track to be very impressive at Championships!”
“We are grateful to the parents and the community for supporting these groups, which are only in their second year of existence. I would like to especially thank our Superintendent, Andy McHazlett, and the LGISD School Board for their support. Last year this was new, so we had no budget for it. They supported these groups with an actual budget this year, and it has made a tremendous impact on their ability to succeed. Our ability to participate in these events and to be successful will have a major impact on the quality of next year’s Marching Band as well!”
The Polka Band traveled as part of LHS UIL German to perform at Sprachfest 2023 at Sandra Day O’Connor HS. They won 1st place at the Regional event and are advancing to State. Cooper noted, “Those students out played four other bands at the event. Considering four of the five members are Freshmen, that is very impressive. We have a lot of cleaning to do, but they’re on track to give an exciting musical performance at State. We’re proud of them for keeping the strong Polka Band tradition alive!”
“We - the directors - are extremely proud of all these students. All three groups represented our school and community very well today!”
All three groups will compete again on Saturday, February 25. For Polka Band, that will be their State Contest. Indoor Percussion and Winter Guard have additional contests leading up to their respective Circuit Championships. Winter Guard’s Championships are on Saturday, March 18. Indoor Percussion’s Area Championship is Saturday, April 1st. We invite everyone to attend their Home Show at the LHS Gym on Friday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m.