The Melissa Band program had been working to be a competitive 4A band for years. And after last year’s big success, they came back to show that placing sixth at the UIL State Championships was not a fluke. They were proud of their previous accomplishments, but this year they wanted more.

“On July 23rd, the band started its quest for victory this season,” Director of Bands Jerry Whorton commented at the second annual band showcase.

And victory soon followed. The band started their season out strong by placing first in the 4A division in prelims, and earning first place overall (sweeping all captions) during finals at the Aubrey Marching Classic.

“Melissa band wins the Aubrey Marching Classic!” said One Shot Films on Facebook.

Next, the band went to the McKinney Marching Invitational, a contest where many of the best 5A and 6A bands in north Texas were scheduled to perform. Although the band did not make finals, they, once again, swept the 4A category, won the 4A exhibition performance, and placed 11th among the 5A and 6A bands.

And finally, the band went to the Region 25 UIL Marching Contest on Oct. 19, ready to finish their season strong. They performed a great last run of Chameleon and earned all ones from the judges, bringing home a UIL sweepstakes trophy.

The year’s marching show Chameleon gave the band a newer look and featured musical selections from Pentium by Peter Gram, Birds by Herman Beeftink, and Chameleon by Jonathan Batiste.

Drum majors for the 2019 marching band are junior Brianne Finnell and senior Camille Bogdon. The staff includes Director of Bands Jerry Whorton, Assistant Director Jordan Hays, Director of Percussion Eric Boyett, Percussion Technician Ben Cordell, Color Guard Director Taylor Tucker, and Color Guard Technician Maegan Benavidez. Other helpers include David Landry, Sasha Blankenship, and Jeremy Fender. Together the team brought the right tools to bring the band to perform at their best ability.

“This year’s success with Chameleon will lead us to even greater success with state next year,” Whorton said.

The 2020 marching season will be a state advancing year and it could be the last state year for another three years if the school grows to 5A.