Clovis High band earns interstate honors

Sep. 20—The Clovis High School Marching Band added interstate honors to a steady stream of recognition over the past several years, taking top overall honors in its class last week.

During daytime competition Saturday at Bands of America regional competition in Las Cruces, among bands from New Mexico, Texas and Arizona, the Wildcat band swept honors in its class, wining first place overall and top honors for outstanding music performance, outstanding visual performance and outstanding general effect, Bill Allred, the band's director said.

Last year, coming off COVID-19 isolation and canceled events, the Clovis band for the ninth consecutive year took home honors as the top band at the Zia Marching Band Fiesta among high school marching bands from all over the state, Allred said.

The Clovis High School Marching Band just keeps on winning.

Reasons for their consistent top performance were on display Monday evening.

While they waited for a soccer game to end late Monday afternoon, band members drilled on finer points while standing under the bleachers of Leon Williams Stadium, the Wildcats' home field.

Brandon Rowe, the conductor of the Yucca Middle School band, led stretches, then finer points of stepping off to march from a standstill, first forward, then backward, then left and right, paying close attention to head position and even elbow placement.

The band got refined instructions of how to hold instruments, usually at a right angle to the field, then snapping them into position to play.

"Make sure that's really 90 degrees, trombones," Rowe called out at one point.

During the drilling under the stands, Assistant Director Anthony Gonzalez removed his shoes and stepped onto a stand, then held up his shoes to demonstrate proper foot positioning for turns while marching. The band drilled those moves.

Meanwhile, individual instrumental sections would file in and out of formation to drill on musical passages.

After the soccer game, as the light was fading from the sky, Allred was conducting drills of marching patterns on the field while sound equipment and some percussion instruments were set up alongside.

"These kids are tired," he said, but they kept going.

The band begins practice at 7:20 a.m. on most weekdays, Allred said. "That's the zero hour before first period." Daily practice continues through first period. Then they rehearse again from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays.

Besides the rigorous schedule of rehearsals, Allred credits the team of music instructors from the high school and middle schools who work with the marching band students regularly. They include Gonzales and Rowe, as well as Jenny Flores from Gattis Middle School;

Michealla Bailey, conductor of the high school symphonic band; and Juan De Leon, another assistant high school band director.

Aside from the direct assistance from middle-school band directors, Allred credits them with running music programs in their own schools that generate enthusiasm for joining the high school band when students enter high school.

Allred said Clovis elementary school music programs also do excellent work in "getting the kids excited about music and the band."

The elementary students receive tours of the high school's bandroom, attend concerts and are visited from time to time by high school musical groups and directors.

Allred said when bands compete, they are evaluated on the music they play, how it is played, the visuals that include posture and technique, and the "general effect," which he called the "wow factor."

In all, he said, the performances must be "cool, neat and exciting."