(Seguin) — The historic march continues today for the Seguin High School Mighty Matador Marching Band.
For the first time in 24 years, the Matadors will take the field at the UIL State Marching Band Championships. The band will represent Seguin in the Class 5A competition at the Alamodome in San Antonio, with its preliminary performance scheduled for 11 a.m. today.
Band Director David Witherspoon says their success is part of a process that’s been taking root for quite some time.
“This is a goal we’ve always had for our program. But it was something that we wanted to, step by step, accomplish and chip away at it. A couple years down the line, the fact that the kids, they had that drive to be great and they saw, they started to believe that they could be great and, they accomplished it way earlier than we expected. We were so proud of them,” said Witherspoon.
Nearly 200 students, including members of the band’s color guard, will perform this year’s production, “Tides of Temptation.”
Color Guard Director Heather Brown says this year’s show is even more special because, unlike many marching band productions, it was designed almost entirely in-house by the Matador staff.
“It’s pretty much like 95 percent in-house design this year. I did the drill. I’m very proud that we do have this in-house product. It’s really a passion project for us. It shows because the kids have 100 percent buy-in whenever we do that, and it shows on the field because they just love the show and you can see that as an audience member. And so, whenever we are able to design (the show), we can design and craft for our kids and know what they can do, and it just makes for a really special product,” said Brown.
This marks only the second time that the Mighty Matador Band has advanced to the state competition. The last appearance came in 2002.
Brown says she remembers seeing the Matador Band perform at that state competition 24 years ago in Waco.
Now, as a member of the Matador staff, she’s grateful for all the things that make the band program special, including the tremendous support it receives from the community.
Brown became emotional as she shared just how meaningful this experience has been for the students and the entire program.
“Seeing all the alumni, like, be real proud of us. It’s really awesome. It’s really…so special to be able to represent the city, our school, and ourselves. It’s such an awesome, awesome time right now to be a Matador,” said Brown.
The Matadors secured their trip to state following an impressive showing at the UIL Class 5A Area H Marching Contest on Oct. 24.
The band finished fifth in the preliminary round before moving up to fourth place in the finals, earning one of the coveted spots at state.
The Matadors are scheduled to perform in today’s preliminary round at 11 a.m.
Bands that qualify for the final round will perform on Tuesday.
KWED’s Linda Duncan will be at the Alamodome for today’s performance and will provide updates as they become available.
Those updates can be found on the KWED Facebook page.