From the square tiled floors that lie within the four walls they call home to the yard marked field their feet march on every day, the band is swiftly preparing for marching season. What started in the summer heat will continue for the next two months as the group performs at halftime shows and marching competitions.

In addition to performing at the Festival of Bands, Sept. 21, the band will compete in two major competitions: Bands of America Regional in Conroe, Oct. 3 and Bands of America Super Regional in San Antonio, Oct. 31. Both competitions are a two-day event with a preliminary round followed by the finals.

“Bands of America is special,” head band director Lee Crochet said. “The shows can be longer, they can be more elaborate, and we can add more things to it. This year we got a lot of great things happening in the show: big props, and bigger color guard so we’re real excited about it and we are going to do way better on it than we have in the past.”

The marching and music for this year’s theme “Fragile” provides a unique show that unfolds on the football field, the story of the Joshua Tree and its struggle for survival.

“This is going to be a very special year,” assistant director Jared Morgan said. “We start in the Joshua Tree National Park at sunrise. We are introduced to the Joshua Tree surviving in harsh, dry heat. We then experience a rainstorm which makes the Joshua tree flower and bloom as the sun goes down on the day for the whole process to start over again.”

However, the show theme isn’t the only upgrade to the program. This summer the band welcomed three new directors to the department; Aaron Gantt as the new assistant director, Emily Tannert as the new percussion director, and Louis Flores as the new color guard director.

Despite their different responsibilities, the three new assistants are aiming for the same target: bring each individual together and create a show that exhibits the dedication and hard work of the past few months.

“I think the band, from my experience, is in a very good place,” Gantt said. “The drill is really good, all the kids are marching and playing very well, they seem to be learning their music and passing it off on time. I’m really impressed so far and I’m excited to see to see where it goes from here.”

Producing a new show doesn’t happen overnight. The band rehearses every Tuesday through Thursday evening, and every Friday morning before school starts.

“I’m very proud of what the band has done so far this year,” junior Abby Acosta said. “We’re going to sound really good since this year we’re a lot more prepared and we have a lot of talent so I think the band is going to do some pretty great things.”

The Sept. 21 Festival of Bands performance is an opportunity for the band to practice the new show and fine tune mistakes before competition.

“I am nervous, of course,” freshman Nick Temporale said. “But I also have this raging desire of excellence that I feel the band will achieve.”

The long hours for the 200-plus members will culminate with the final marching performances at BOA contests in October.

“I don’t want to qualify our success rate on how we place in a competition,” drum major Jackson Shultz said. “The amount of what we’ve done and how we’ve done it so far already qualifies us as a champion.”