Band places second in new competition

Before school was even in session, the Wildcat band was already marching across the hot summer asphalt, preparing their show for the season. Senior and drum major Marlene Rojas-Castillo stood on the podium, conducting over 200 band members below her. What followed seemed almost dreamlike: Rojas-Castillo passed out from dehydration, falling from her podium onto the hard surface below. This incident is what keeps her motivated to conduct to the best of her abilities, no matter what trophy the Wildcats bring home.

“I know that when I’m on the podium and when I’m looking at Josh [Lin], getting the tempo, I get dizzy sometimes and I tell myself, ‘No, you can’t pass out. You can’t pass out. You have to keep it [the tempo],’” Rojas-Castillo said.

This year, the Wildcat band competed in the Siloam Springs Marching Competition, a change in their usual participation and winning history at the War Eagle Classic. Junior and percussionist Alondra Altamirano explains that although some members were upset with this change, she feels that this change was necessary in order to grow as band.

“Well, it for sure made some people feel like we should’ve gone to War Eagle, but it was an experience we needed to have because some people were like, ‘Oh, we’re going to win, we’re going to win,’ and we needed that second place in order for us to get better,” Altamirano said.

Despite the loss, sophomore trumpet player Chase Bowman reflects on the surprisingly positive atmosphere at the competition.

“It was a different environment than what you’re usually used to. You’re used to just only your band friends and then you get around Springdale and a bunch of other schools, and they’re all just cheering you on,” Bowman said. “It’s more positive of an environment than you think it is. You think everyone is going against you, but it’s just a really positive environment.”

Junior color guard member Kayla French also felt this energy, and noticed that instead of football parents and a student section filling the stands, supportive band parents cheered on each performance.

“Football games are more like football parents, standbys, and the student section. Band moms and band dads are really lively, and take it to heart when they see their child perform,” French said.

The positive vibes of the competition reminded the band of what is really important when it comes to their performances: their dedication and perseverance.

“Like Mr. Ford said, it’s not all about the winning, it’s about giving it your best shot,” Rojas-Castillo said. “As long as you do your best at everything, it’ll be fine. I feel like we wouldn’t have had the motivation to come back and just work even harder on the show and fixing the show and getting more visuals and making it more appealing to the eye for state.”

Hours upon hours of sweat and blood are put into their show, and no matter the score, the performance comes down to the passion and the band’s love for their art.

“Being in band and performing every Friday night and on contest days are why I enjoy it,” French said.

The Wildcat band will be competing one last time at their state competition in Little Rock, and with their loss at Siloam Springs comes more determination to win that first place trophy.

Sophomore Trumpet Player Chase Bowman Quotes:

“It was a different environment then what you’re usually used to. You’re used to just only your band friends and then you get around Springdale and a bunch of over schools, and they’re all just cheering you on. It’s more positive of an environment than you think it is. You think everyone is going against you, but it’s just a really positive environment.”

“Mr. Ford talked about getting our mind in focus and just talking about the competition and music and all that. We got our arcs warmed up walked over to the stage and started.”

“I’m not going to say I expected to get first, but I expected to do better than what the judges thought we did. I expected to get at least first in music, but I guess it doesn’t always turn out how you want it to.”

“I don’t really think it feels much different, you just pay attention to what you’re used to doing and getting everything out of your head and perform like regular.”

“I don’t think it felt different except they [the audience] cheered for you more than football games because more people were there to actually watch you instead of football.”

“I think your mind gets more focused while performing for a judge, and you know that it counts in your head. I guess you play really confidently.”

“I think we would’ve gotten first if we would’ve gone to the other competition [War Eagle]. Van Buren had a lot of props. What I’ve heard is they weren’t at the other competition we went to, so I think we would’ve won.”

“I think that their [Van Buren] visuals and props had a lot to do with what they had. I think our music is really good, but Van Buren just had a bunch of props, dance moves, and visuals.”

Junior Color Guard Member Kayla French Quotes:

“Well, it was good. Good atmosphere. A lot of the bands were supportive of what we did.”

“Practice. Performing it over and over again, and encouraging coaches.”

“I didn’t expect it, I kind of knew we were going to get second seeing all the other bands perform. Van Buren is the one that beat us. They worked really hard, and their show was really good.”

“I don’t really take it [being scored] to heart. It’s just performing every Friday night. We’re always getting judged.”

“Footballs games are more like football parents, standbys, and student section. Band moms and band dads are really lively and give it to heart when they see their child perform.”

“I don’t care about the score. Being in band and performing every Friday night and on contest days are why I enjoy it.”

“The only one [competition] I’ve been in is War Eagle, so competition is competition and it doesn’t feel different. All judges will be different at each competition, and this year they rotated so we didn’t have the same competition judges for preliminaries and finals.”

“Nope. We gave it our all, and we didn’t win. It’s all up to the judges.”

Junior Percussionist Alondra Altamirano Quotes:

“It was really fun. We were all super excited because we are an okay band, so we knew we had a chance. It was really fun, but no one really takes second place as ‘super yeah,’ but it was still really fun and we can learn from it.”

“We prepared all these months since early week, and we were just preparing to become a great band. It’s not just for the trophies or anything, it’s that we know we’ve accomplished something.”

“No, we did not expect to get second. Not me personally because I knew we were good, and usually the bad habit is that we know we get first, so we were a little bummed when we got second. But we’re good.”

“It’s a little nerve-racking because you’re being judged on something you’ve been learning for years, and if you mess up, everyone notices sometimes.”

“On competition night, it was a little scary, but it was fun, because those are band parents and not just any regular crowd. They know a little more than usually crowds, so it was a little scary.”

“Well, for percussion there was a percussion judge, so they were looking specific things that you do. It’s a good way to get better.”

“Well, it for sure made some people feel like we should’ve gone to War Eagle, but it was an experience we needed to have because some people were like ‘Oh, we’re going to win, we’re going to win,” and we needed that second place in order for us to get better.”

“I honestly don’t think we could’ve done anything better at the time. Obviously we can get better, but at that moment all of us let it out, and we did as best as we could. I guess second is second, and we’ll just have to get better.

Senior Drum Major Marlene Rojas-Castillo:

“I think that the competition went well and that we performed not as best we could, but we did for what we could that day considering the pressure.”

“I know that the drum majors, Josh [Lin] and I, we practiced our conducting and stuff because if we mess up, it’s on us if the band messes up. Our sections just got together. Mr. Ford listened to the criticism of the judges and he told us what we had to fix and what we did wrong and what could get our points higher. Our band kids just took off on that, and they tried to fix it as best they could, like make sure the sections knew what to fix.”

“At first, I thought that we were going to get first because that’s what we got all two years that I’ve been here. We thought that our marching run was pretty good, but then we saw Van Buren’s, and they had these great visuals and their props and their color guard was amazing and their drum majors were on point. That got me a little iffy like maybe we will get second.”

“It feels very stressful, but also good because after the runs, when you know you had a good performance, you’re like ‘yes, this is why we’re here.’ But when we mess up, and you know that it’s on you, it’s really stressful. It’s like ‘I messed up. How can I fix this? I let the whole team down.’ It’s a mix between really good or really bad, depending on the performance.”

“At first, it feels very nerve-racking because you’re like ‘I don’t know if the audience is going to like us.’ You’re always going to have that small group of people wearing blue and cheering, but everyone is going to have their own biased decision of what they’re going to think of Har-Ber. At first, it’s like ‘Are they going to like us? Are they not?’ In the end, when everybody’s cheering for you, and when you hear other people cheering for you that aren’t  from your school, it feels really good. But then when we’re marching out onto the field, like getting ready to do the salutes or when band can start, it’s really nerve-wracking. I know that when I’m on the podium and when I’m looking at Josh [Lin] getting the tempo, I get dizzy sometimes and I tell myself ‘No, you can’t pass out. You can pass out. You have to keep it.’”

“At this point, you can’t do anything. However the run goes, you get one shot. If you get it, great. If you don’t you can’t go back and fix it. You have to have a focused mentality and not get nervous, because people in the stands are usually cheering something positive or negative. You have to focus and connect with the people on the field and just hope that all the work you put in all season works out in the end for the judges.”

“I honestly feel like we should’ve gone to War Eagle. I feel like we could’ve done all three competitions, and it would’ve felt really good to go to War Eagle and win first place again. But we didn’t get to do that. Like Mr. Ford said, it’s not all about the winning, it’s about giving it your best shot, but we are really disappointed that we didn’t get to go to War Eagle. I know that he doesn’t want us to just look at the first place, second place, or third place trophies to give it our best, but it would have been really nice to have gone to War Eagle.”

“I think we still would’ve gotten the same speech- it’s not about the trophies, it’s about giving it your best shot. As long as you do your best at everything, it’ll be fine. I feel like we wouldn’t have had the motivation to come back and just work even harder on the show and fixing the show and getting more visuals and making it more appealing to the eye for state.”