CHS band ends season with second-place finish

The Wildcat Marching Band completed a record-setting season over the weekend with prizes at back-to-back competitions in Utah, finishing second out of more than two dozen bands in each contest.

The strenuous weekend included many milestones, said Clovis High School Band Director Bill Allred, starting with a 14-hour bus ride overnight Thursday to St. George, Utah, and ending with "their best performance of the year."

Competing Friday in the Red Rocks Invitational against 29 bands — from California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico — the CHS band finished second, its highest such placement at that competition, said a Clovis Municipal Schools press release.

That was only the start: the following day it competed in the Bands of America Regional Championship, earning in the preliminary round its first Class 3A award there along with recognition for outstanding music and visual performances.

The class award was a particularly poignant moment for Allred, who in his 23rd year with the band got to hand the corresponding medals to his students on the BOA field for the first time.

"I've been to BOA seven or eight times and we'd just barely come up short (of that prize) so many times. It was kind of a bucket-list item and a dream come true for me," he said Monday. "It was a huge honor. There wasn't a dry eye out there."

Advancing to the BOA finals with a third-place rank, the band turned out an additional feat of improving its preliminary round score by 1.65 points and ending with a second-place silver medal. It was the CHS band's highest placement at a BOA Regional Championship and the band's sixth time there as finalist.

Allred likened the improvement between the two shows to a football team down by 21 at the half coming from behind to win the game. It was an instance of saving the best performance for last, he said.

"That was pretty spectacular, to have that kind of swing ... They went out there and really laid it on. I'm really proud of them."

This was the first time in five years for the band to compete at Utah's BOA Regional Championship, having finished eighth at the last such appearance. Allred said he decided at that time not to return there until the Wildcats were operating at a higher level.

"We waited five years to reboot things," he said. "This year we had an exciting show design and our color guard has come a million miles in its dance and choreography."

The band came off to a strong start this year, debuting its show "EnCHANTment" at the Westerner Marching Festival Oct. 7 in Lubbock, where it finished first overall among 32 competitors. The 230-some students kept that momentum going with another first-place finish Oct. 28 at the Zia Marching Fiesta in Albuquerque, its sixth year in a row leading the de-facto state marching contest.

Allred credited this year's success to teamwork and good music, which this year blended elements of Native American and Hispanic cultures.

"I think the kids really loved the music and I think the concept of the show connected with a lot of the kids and I think that was really good. I've always noticed that if the music is really good then the kids just buy into it more," he said. "This is also just one of those years that everyone really came together. The spirit of the kids and their willingness to accept instruction from the staff and to follow student leadership made this year pretty special in that regard."

But the band will not rest on its laurels, already gearing up now for concert season and setting even higher goals for next year's marching competitions.

"Our goal every year is to get better and never be satisfied," Allred said. "We're proud but we're not satisfied. We're going to work like crazy next year to be better. The staff and I honestly believe that we can and should be better next year."

The CHS Marching Band is also assisted by Ty Frederick, Timothy Clifford, Marcus Flores, Stephanie Lenhart, Melissa Rice-Perez, Daniel Perez and Color Guard Instructor Savannah Muir, said the press release.

"The CHS band is an amazing machine that is well maintained and continues to perform at the highest level," CMS Superintendent Jody Balch said Monday. "I'm very proud of the program."