The last note crescendos and rings in the stadium, announcing the end of the show. Drum Captain Callie Luong stands in her final pose with her snare sticks struck down beside her, reveling in the audience’s cheers and her adrenaline pumping. At that moment, she knew that the band had won it all. 

On Saturday, Sept. 24, the Band and Vision Dance Company performed at BOA Austin Regionals at the Kelly Reeves stadium. They received sweepstakes for earning first place and all outstanding awards: general effect, music, and visual. 

“Winning BOA felt really good,” Drum Major Koustubh Galagali said. “But, I was most excited about what the culture of our program had really developed into that day. We became more cohesive and bonded to each other.”

This year, the band has come out with a show that is much different than the previous years. 

“This new show is a lot more modern than previous years, and it’s based off of the grid in Tron,” co-vision leader Kate Dennis said. “We do get to have a sense of female empowerment integrated in the show with the female’s voice in the beginning.”

In order to improve on their techniques and the overall show, the band has spent their weeks of preparation taking some more attention to certain details and fine-tuning the show for their first competition. 

“Our goal has always been to perform our best every time we play in front of people,” Luong said. “I think after all the practice we’ve done and all the adversity, getting to perform well for our first competition was definitely rewarding.”

During the weeks of preparation, the band talked about some difficulties they’ve had to combat along the way. 

“Grinding it out every day after school in the sun and really refining on the tiny details was probably one of the biggest difficulties,” Galagali said. “However, I think overall that really helped us in the long run.”

Unlike the singular retreat last year, the Band plans to have a retreat after every competition this season. At these retreats, students are able to meet with their other friends from different schools and create new connections. 

“Retreat is such an incredible tradition where after band competitions, everyone breaks form and you get to introduce yourselves to new people and find your friends from different bands,” Dennis said. “I got really close with the Cedar Park color guard captains and it’s just so amazing seeing all my friends after such a long time.”

In the next few weeks, the Band and Vision Dance Company are competing at BOA San Antonio and UIL, and they are preparing for their appearance at the 2022 Thanksgiving Macy’s Parade in November. 

“The show is looking cooler and cooler every day,” Galagali said. “We have a lot of community performances coming up for Macy’s, and definitely watch on NBC for the Macy’s Parade. So, I’m really excited for the rest of the season.”