Under the bright light of the Alamodome on Nov. 11, the band once again made history, capturing its seventh consecutive UIL 5A State Championship and ninth state title overall. Their performance “Listen,” inspired by the broadway musical “Into The Woods,” brought them to victory against 37 other schools across the overall competition.

“It’s super special, and even though we’ve been really blessed and fortunate to be in this place for many years, consecutively, no one accomplishment is any greater than or less than another,” Head Band Director Chris Yee said. “They’re each very uniquely special.” 

In order to make it to finals, a band has to successfully make it through the regional qualifier, then securing a top four spot from the area competition before finally making it to state. The band competes in other competitions as well, including Bands of America, where they placed sixth on Nov. 8 in the super regional finals. Senior baritone player Ryan Chung said this year’s show is one of the hardest the band program has ever performed. 

“What really kept me motivated was just all of the people,” Chung said. “I tried really hard to connect with as many people as I could in the band and I think that it really paid off because it motivated me to continue to inspire, continue to grow and connect with everybody I know. It truly didn’t just motivate me, but it also pushed me to grow as a person as well.”

Before nearly 400 band members departed for the state finals in San Antonio on Tuesday morning, students, teachers and administrators crowded the bus lane to send them off. Families and neighbors lined the surrounding streets, waving handmade signs and cheering as the caravan prepared to leave. The Cedar Park Fire Department flashed its truck lights and sounded its sirens, while city police provided an escort out of the parking lot. A noisy, heartfelt farewell for a band on its way to the Alamodome to make school history. 

“It’s really neat to see how this is an entire neighborhood endeavor,” Yee said. “Everybody bands together, no pun intended, to send the band off. I tell the students all the time that they are lucky and fortunate to carry their city’s name, and it’s their job to do their city proud. I hope we did that today.”

This marks Yee’s sixth state championship since joining the Timberwolf Band in 2017. After becoming head director in 2020, he has continued to build a talented directing team that includes Associate Director Kendall Santos—the program’s first female band director— Assistant Band Director Samantha Dimatteo, Drumline Director Roland Chavez and Color Guard Director Jordan Openshaw. For Yee, though, the real victory isn’t found in rankings or scores.

“It’s really powerful to see how the kids realize what it’s all about before the announcement of results is even given, watching their faces when they exit the field after that last performance, before the judges even write down a number and assign a number to them or a score on the Rubrick,” Yee said. “They understand what it is they’ve been working so hard towards.” 

The band keeps practicing when marching season is over, with band camp over the summer and concert band with performances in the off season. According to senior trumpet player Wyatt Wilks, being a member of the band has helped him grow both into a better marcher since he first started in his freshman year and as a person. 

“I’m super happy about it. It was so rewarding and doing that after the four years of humiliation of working effort,” Wyatt said. “All this work ethic you can take into the real world after marching season is done. It was just really awesome to wrap that all up.”