Band students continue the road to state on Saturday with area auditions taking place at Coppell High School.

“It’s a tiered process with around 20,000 students from around the state that audition,” band director Jamie Weaver said. “They’re broken into about 32 different regions. They will have to advance to the next level and a certain percent of students move onto what’s known as area. And in some cases, they don’t even move on after area, they have to be first at area and then they have to record a piece and send it in again in order to move on to the state auditions.”

With the competition being immense, a lot of time and practice go into the end result.

“We got our music in July,” senior Elly Campbell said. “I’ve been practicing every day since. Recently, I’ve been practicing an hour in the morning, during advisory, and after school. It’s a lot of work.”

Over time, the students have all grown in one aspect or another. 

“I would say that my focus has improved a lot,” senior Shelby Pybus said. “Definitely, my ability to perform without all the anxiety has also improved. I’ve learned to just enjoy performing and playing music. My goal is to more to improve than it is to be the best. I think that all of us auditioning have reached some sort of growth in our own way.”

Past all the pressure and tension, the event leaves behind a memorable experience.

“If you work hard, it’s rewarding,” Campbell said. “The concert is probably what I look forward to the most. You get to meet new people and see how far you’ve come.”