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Marching bands get ready for football and competition

Braving the hot summer days, the Harlingen High School and Harlingen High School South marching bands committed to honing their routines as both programs pursue a state championship, both band directors said.
Both campuses have been practicing since the middle of July to be ready for the start of football season this coming week.
“We are definitely going to be ready for the official kickoff, “ said Shane Shinsato, HHSS band director. “We have a majority of our show on the field and everyone seems to be working very hard and very well together.”

HHS’s staff feels like their ready for a great season after a productive summer, the band’s director said.

“We will absolutely be ready for the first game,” said Ronnie Rios, HHS band director. “We are just doing some final staging things to refine. But overall things are going tremendously, and I think it’s because all of the performers brought a desire to excel.”

Each campus will offer a different completely different performance, and showcase different techniques from previous shows.

“It’s a tribal show with a lot of color, choreography and pageantry that supports the music,” Rios said. “There will be a new twist with all of the drumming that will create excitement.”

HHSS’s performance was inspired by the idea, based on the Mayan calendar, that the world will end in the year 2012, entitled their show “Apocalyptical Dreams.”

“This year will be more of a theatrical production instead of traditional marching,” Shinsato said. “The end product will have a lot of sound effects and body movement to go along with the theme.”

Although the focus is currently on football season, both schools agree on two ultimate goals for the year, high quality academic performance from every student and trip to the University Interscholastic League marching band state championship, both directors said.

Texas high school marching bands can only qualify for the state’s top prize every two years, first qualifying at the district and regional levels before advancing to the Alamo Dome.

To help band members excel academically, the band programs often discuss the importance of their academic performance, and its potential effect on their post high school endeavors.

“It is all about academics,” Rios said. “We try and encourage ever student to produce excellent work in the classrooms.”

Both bands will host their first performances on August 31.

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