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Freshmen Liam Lord and Olivia Osborne participate in the Bands of America finals full retreat.

On Nov. 1-2, the Chaparral marching band traveled to the Alamodome in San Antonio for the Bands of America Super Regional Championship. On Nov. 1, the band put on a spectacular show at prelims, placing eighth out of 64 other high schools throughout Texas, and even a band from Missouri.

“BOA was an amazing experience,” mellophone player freshman Evelyn Webber said. “During prelims, I was very nervous. I knew that it was time to give it my best, and I tried my hardest to do just that. The audience was big, but as soon as our show began my anxiety subsided.”

Then Nov. 2, 14 bands fighting for first returned to the Alamodome and marched their final show. After the final band performed, all of the bands who participated gathered on the field to get the results, every single musician stood together on the field and listened to the announcer list off from 14th to 1st. Westlake earned 13th place.

“Everything from the bus ride to our actual performance was memorable,” Evelyn said. “There were highs and lows, the high being how well we performed and the celebration that followed, and the low being a bus with a popped tire on the way home at 2 in the morning. Even so, I had a blast and it was something I will never forget.”

Flute player senior Lee Ashlee Fletcher said she was pleasantly surprised at the skill level of the incoming marchers.

“My final fall marching season went a lot smoother than I expected it to,” flute player senior Lee Ashlee said. “As a senior, I had my suspicions about what it was going to be like: annoying new freshmen who didn’t know what they were doing and adults expecting too much out of me. But it was the exact opposite. I have never seen a group of freshmen as intelligent and hardworking as this one, and it was the most rewarding experience leading them.”