Yoe Band marching toward state contest

By Josh Pratt, Herald Sports

The C.H. Yoe High School Band is now in the final stages of preparation for the big Region 8 marching contest next Tuesday.
The regional marching contest is the first of two competitions that the Yoe band will have to get through in order to advance to the state marching competition in San Antonio on Nov. 2.
The band had a warm-up competition at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) on Monday, earning straight division one ratings. After months of preparation, the band will once again look to accomplish that feat at the regional UIL event next week in Belton.
“As with any contest, our goal is to have our best performance up to that point,” said head band director Craig George. “From a judging standpoint, we want to be awarded “Straight One’s.” This score will allow us to advance to the “Area Marching Contest,” which is held on October 24th at Belton High School.”
The band has had multiple practice performances at the football games along with the invitational this week, and it has been a building process to get to this point.
“The band has progressed throughout the past few months simply by learning the show and having the opportunity to perform the show on six different occasions,” said George. “Along with the students side of learning the program, all of our props, auxiliary units, and electronics have been fully integrated into the show as well.”
If you have not been able to see the band this year, they are bringing an exciting show entitled Everest to the field. The shows features three different movements, and continues to build momentum until the very end of the show.
The show has its challenges, but Mr. George and all of the band students should feel confident heading into this competition as their hard work and dedication appears to be ready to pay off once again.
“Leading into any competition or performance, students need to have a great of deal of confidence about themselves,” said George. “This confidence is gained through repetitions during rehearsal as well as the students feeling comfortable with both the music and drill. Now that the show has been taught, the students prove on a daily basis what has actually been learned by demonstrating confidence in sound and with their marching.”
The band is set to take the field at UMHB at 2:30 on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Results and pictures will be featured in next week’s edition of The Cameron Herald.