High School Band- Always in Season

High School Band

Always in Season

The Gainesville High School band consists of many components. The most visible component of the band program is the Redcoat Marching Band. Within the Redcoat Marching Band, there is the Colorguard, the Pit Percussion (side-line), the Battery Percussion (Drum-line), and the Woodwinds and Brass Sections.

Let’s March

In addition to the ten football games, this fall the Redcoat Marching Band had 20 performances, including the 1st annual Redcoat Showcase, eight pep rallies at three different campuses, 3 parades, and 4 contests, just to name a few.

At the Golden Triangle Classic, the Redcoats placed first in Class A, which was a remarkable achievement for the students for several reasons. The contest was preceded by a late return from a football game in Mineral Wells Friday night followed by the Medal of Honor parade on Saturday, which was the same day of the contest. Not only did the band earn first place, but they scored higher than two bands that they have never been able to outscore, including one school that has repeatedly won first place.

To close out the marching season, the Redcoats earned a Superior Rating at UIL for the 6th consecutive year. The Redcoat band has not only been building its membership but also developing into a band that can handle more difficult artistry. As a program, they are looking to enhance the level of play from each of our members as they attempt to climb higher each year upon the thousands of shoulders of Redcoats who came before.

Outside of the marching season, the Colorguard competes as a Winterguard group from December to April. For Winterguard, the routines are the most difficult and challenging because the shows presented are indoors. Without the variable of changing weather, students can spin a rifle or flag and toss it six to seven revolutions in the air and catch them, which is the equivalent of tossing the equipment 20 feet in the air.

The Percussion splits and goes into solos and ensembles from December to February while performing their own concert and being placed into concert bands. Prior to the stage performances, the woodwinds and brass also perform in individual and small group settings during the solo and ensemble season.

Concert Season Begins

Marching Band trains the band for the concert season due to the rigor and discipline needed through the process of higher learning of artistry and aesthetics in music. During the concert season, the winds and percussion students perform the hardest music that they will ever play, which usually consists of marches from the 19th and 20th centuries, band symphonies, and contemporary music by modern composers. Also during concert season, there are more sectionals, more rehearsals, and more time spent in individual lessons preparing for solos, ensembles, or band music.

Each band member is being built to be tough and durable on the field, but we are also building artistic musicians and students who are academically disciplined, who will in time achieve remarkable feats of their own someday. These students will become the leaders they are meant to become and make our world better for tomorrow.

“As I take a characteristic inventory of each student in the band, I see durability, integrity, and a work ethic that is second to none,” said Tony Daniels, Director of Fine Arts and Bands. “Band alone is not the only component that builds leaders. It’s about the quality of the person, the person that they become, and the band community that keeps these future leaders on course.”

Daniels says he feels fortunate to know these students. “I work hard for them as they do for me. I too am a Redcoat, and they are worth it.”

“Band alone is not the only component that builds leaders. It’s about the quality of the person, the person that they become, and the band community that keeps these future leaders on course.”