As the night closes, instruments are no longer played and flags and rifles are no longer thrown in the air. The field, filled with an array of colors, buzzes with nervousness and excitement. Schools stand in anticipation for the winner of the 2019 state marching band title. It comes down to the top two and the CPHS marching band comes out on top.

This past Monday and Tuesday, the marching band traveled to San Antonio, Texas for the UIL state marching band championships. On Monday, the band performed for the preliminary round, in which they placed second out of 34 other bands, allowing them to advance to finals on Tuesday. 

The day of finals, junior drum major Julianne Savage said she was eager to encounter the band’s energy throughout the day. 

“I was extremely excited to experience the energy and overwhelming passion that the band exudes in such a pressured situation,” Savage said. “Seeing how they did the small things, like walking from the buses to warm-up, with such precision and focus led to a truly moving and inspiring performance.”

After their finals performance, Savage said she was satisfied with their execution of the show.

“The entire band poured their hearts out and left everything they had out on the field,” Savage said. “At that point it didn’t matter what the judges said or what the results were, I knew we had given it our all and that’s all we could ask for.” 

At around 5:30 p.m., the award ceremony began. When Highland Park was announced as second, band members realized that they had won another state title. 

“When they announced that Highland Park got second and Cedar Park was yet to be announced, the entire band started to look at each other with excited looks and the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen,” senior marimbist Marshal Farmer said. “I felt a wave of happiness wash over me while simultaneous thinking ‘no way, we did it again?’ it was quite [an] emotional rollercoaster for me.” 

For Farmer, this win was not only special to him because it was his second state win, but also because according to him, it gave more meaning to his career in band throughout his high school years. 

“Being able to close my chapter with marching band with [two] state win[s] under my belt feels immensely satisfying,” Farmer said. “Knowing that these past four years with the band has led to such a meaningful victory means a lot to me. I’m going to carry this win with me for the rest of my life.”

Similarly, sophomore Kierstyn Born, who played Icarus, said that she was elated with the results.

“When they announced our placing, my mind was just screaming in excitement and price for the band,” Born said. “I burst into tears because we work[ed] so hard to be there.” 

Born said the success of the band this year is not only important to the band members, but also to the community. 

“I think this win is really important for the band and its community because they had a rough year the previous year and this is just proof for future reference that with hard work and motivation we can do anything we put our mind to,” Born said. “This year proved to everyone that you can fall, but it’s those who get back up and keep going that make champions.”