For the second year in a row, the Cedar Park High School drumline placed third in their competition in Dripping Springs on Sept. 17 with a performance they have been working on for months. Vandegrift took first place, while Cedar Ridge came in second.

“I was very excited to win the outstanding front ensemble caption,” senior marimba player Courtney Fielding said. “It was a goal of mine to repeat our success we had last year, so I pushed my section to work toward it.”

The CPHS drumline excels in their craft because of practice, according to junior snare drum player Jacob Lewis. The group rehearses three times a week for about two and a half hours each rehearsal.

“We practice every morning and most afternoons and usually work on the weakest parts of the show,” Lewis said. “The rehearsal will continue to change to adapt to the parts that need most work. We will continue to build the ensemble in listening and playing together and work on technique and chops during the offseason.”

The 35 drumline members are a close knit group, and after their performance, the group got together to celebrate and were joined by previous drumline members who graduated.

“We had a BBQ cookout after our performance that the parents and family organized,” Fielding said. “It was nice to sit back and relax with friends and see old alumni who came to support us.”

Out of 20 high school drum lines in Texas, third place is a privilege, according to senior snare drum player Matt Johnson. 

“I was pretty pleased with the results,” Johnson said. “We gave it our all, and there were just some groups who were better than us. They had older kids which is always a big factor, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear that we even placed. There were so many good groups there and to know that we were one of them even though three fourths of the drumline is freshmen and sophomores, I thought that was pretty cool.”

Check out Go Pro video from senior Nick Hedges.