Missing instruments. Missing props. And a bus full of nervous students. The Chaparral band had a hectic first marching competition to begin their 2024 competition season. Yet, despite all these challenges, the Chaparral Band placed 6th at the Bands of America Round Rock Regional competition on Sept. 21, 2024, matching their highest placement since 2013.

“It showcases that [the kids have] put a lot of faith and trust in us as their new teachers,” band director Thomas Turpin said. “It is hopefully a showcase of the things that we’ve been trying to implement with them, some of the changes that we’ve put into place. Hopefully, it shows them that those changes are working for them, working for the program, and is setting them up for success for the long run of the season.”

With new staff and uniforms, the band program is beginning a new chapter. These changes are reflected in the marching band’s show for the season, Nouveau. Nouveau, meaning new in French, has a “younger, contemporary feel” according to Turpin. It includes music by modern composers and displays lotus flowers across the field to represent the idea of rebirth. 

Rehearsals for the marching band remain similar to previous years. The band continues to quickly run through chunks and pieces of the show as efficiently as possible in order to get the most out of their 50 minute class period.

“We’re on an eight period day, I think every other band, at least in the top 12, are on block schedules, so they get to see their kids for an hour and a half every day, where we have 50 minute class periods,” Turpin said. “We are hypersensitive to that. We have to maximize every single minute of rehearsal… We try to talk as little as possible, we use a lot of nonverbal communication when we have our rehearsals after school, before school… The process is all about maximization of time, because we have so little of it compared to a lot of the other schools that we compete against.”

Weeks of practice led up to the band’s first competition. Parents, volunteers and band members all work together to ensure competitions run smoothly. However, on the road to Round Rock, two of three trucks broke down, one containing the band’s front ensemble equipment and the other transporting props.

“We were sitting there at 10 A.M. ready to get off the bus and change,” senior drum major Marc Miller said. “Our warm up block was supposed to be like 10:45, and we were still on the bus by that point. We were all just silently freaking out in our heads like ‘What’s happening?’ None of us knew the semi broke down, and if they told us that, we probably would have freaked out [more].”

In a moment of stress and uncertainty, another high school offered support to the Chaps. The band’s performance time was postponed and Turpin reached out to his old co-workers at Westwood High School who offered to let the Chaparral band use their front ensemble equipment for their performance. Ultimately, the Chap’s semi-truck with their front ensemble equipment made it to the competition and they were able to perform on their own equipment.

“It was really cool to see the band community come together and another high school offer to let us use all of their equipment and instruments so we would have the chance to perform,” Turpin said. “It was really special.”

With their own equipment secured, members of the band remained nervous, but for different reasons.

“[It] was all of the drum majors’ first performance or competition in front of an audience that were there to see us,” Miller said. “Football games are different because they’re here to see the football team, but competitions are unique in that they’re actually there to watch the band and I think that had all the drum majors feeling a little bit nervous.”

Central Texas is a highly competitive region that includes current 6A State Marching Band champions, Vandegrift High School. Battling against many strong bands, the Chaps focus on their own performances rather than their competitors.

“We just compare ourselves to ourselves, and that sounds a little cheesy to say, but the idea is that we work a process every single day, and if you are following that process then the result is going to come no matter what,” Turpin said. “My goal for them is if they feel like they have done their very best, or the performance that they’ve given is representative of what they feel like is their very best for that moment in time, then I’m going to be proud of them no matter what.”

The Chaparral band finished 6th. The last time the band placed as high was in 2013, making the placement a huge milestone for the band, especially with many faculty changes this past year.

“When you have somebody that is like Mr. Taylor, who has been here for 35 years, he’s a close friend of mine, he’s a mentor that I look up to a lot, it’s a little scary coming into something like that,” Turpin said. “You want to come in and you want to honor that legacy. You want the kids to have a great experience, especially our senior class. So, for me, I wanted to come in and make sure that the show that they had was brought to life in a really high quality way… It feels really good to experience success, but more than anything, to watch them have fun and to enjoy the process of working on something that is a really high quality product.”

The Bands of America Round Rock Regional is just the beginning of the competition season for the band. With both Bands of America and UIL marching competitions, playing at football games, other individual competitions in the fall and many rehearsals, the band has a jam-packed schedule.

“Mr. Turpin has said this multiple times, ‘No future success is guaranteed based on a past success,’” Miller said. “So, I think [getting 6th place] says nothing about our future. We still have to keep working. We still have to have efficient rehearsals.”

The band will compete in Waco Oct. 19 for the Bands of America Waco Regional.

“When they walk off the field, if they feel like they have had the very best performance that they can based on the time that they’ve had, the experiences that they’ve had in all their rehearsals leading up to that point, then that’s a win for that day,” Turpin said.