Tiger Marching Band to compete at BOA Grand Nationals

DRIPPING SPRINGS — Before the roar of applause, there’s a moment of tension and triumph when the final note ends in a marching band's performance. In those brief seconds, Dripping Springs High School Director of Bands Derek Woods hopes that he and his staff have given the students the vehicle that they need to succeed.

“It’s all in the hands of the kids and how they handle it and produce it,” said Woods, who has been serving as the DSHS director of bands since 2018 and has taught music for more than 20 years. “Over the years, I’ve learned to let go and allow the performance to be what it is and appreciate all the energy and commitment and passion that the kids put into it.”

For the first time under his direction, the Dripping Springs Tiger Marching Band will be competing in the prestigious Bands of America (BOA) Grand National Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana from Nov. 9-11, vying for the top spot against approximately 90 marching bands from across the nation.

The title of this year’s show is “Fugue State,” a play on words, according to Woods.

“Fugue state is a psychological event where you’re not sure if you’re in reality or dreaming and there’s some confusion and chaos happening,” he said, explaining that it also refers to the musical fugue — a composition in which one or two themes are repeated or imitated by successively entering voices and developed in a continuous interweaving of sounds and elements.

“Fugue State” features music by J.S. Bach, Béla Bartók, Brad Mehldau, Son Lux and Kate Bush.

The journey to that special moment all began this summer. Between July 25 and Aug. 14, the Tiger Marching Band spent 100 hours practicing, oftentimes in the unforgiving Texas heat. Since school started, practices have been held from 7-8:20 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, in addition to a 6-8:30 p.m. Monday evening rehearsal.

As Woods explained, each year, the dynamic of the band changes as new students enter the program and seniors graduate. This year’s band is unique in that the students started their marching band experience online in 2020 due to COVID-19.

“Just the fact that they’re still involved in the program and having started online is a testament to their commitment to making music and being part of the program,” the head director said. “We’re very pleased and proud of them for that. They bring a different perspective than we’ve had in the past.”

Woods said it’s going to be a busy season for the marching band, starting with the BOA Regional Contest in Austin on Saturday, Sept. 23, held at the Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex, 10211 W. Parmer Lane. The Tiger Band will travel to the Capital City Marching Festival on Saturday, Sept. 30, held at Burger Stadium, 3200 Jones Road in Austin. Burger Stadium will also host the UIL Region 18 Marching Contest on Tuesday, Oct. 17, before the UIL Area D Marching Contest on Saturday, Oct. 21 at the Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in Austin. Another BOA Regionals competition will be held on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Midway High School, 8200 Mars Drive in Waco. The band will then head to the UIL State Marching Prelims and Finals, held Monday, Oct. 30-31 at the Alamodome, 100 Montana St. in San Antonio. Finally, the season will culminate at the BOA Grand National Championship in Indianapolis beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Despite the pressure, Woods said the marching band is not treating Grand Nationals any differently than other competitions; however, the band aspires to be able to perform as many times as possible in Indianapolis.

“That’s in the back of your head,” he noted.

Woods also hopes that, throughout this experience, his students understand their individual importance to the program’s success as a whole.

“When they are stepping up and being their best selves, the whole program benefits and that’s where the personal growth happens,” he said. “If competitive success follows, then great. If not, then at least we figured out how to be great people.”

The Tiger Marching Band has been successful in UIL competitions in the past few years under Woods’ direction, making UIL State in Division 5A in 2019, 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the program made UIL State in Division 6A as well. In 2018, the first year Woods served as head director, the band traveled to St. Louis for the BOA Super Regional Championship and placed sixth overall.

But the benefits of participating in marching band, Woods said, go beyond success in competitions.

“The benefits are not directly related to the day of the competition. It’s more about the preparation and making sure they have good time management [skills] and collaboration. They have to be eligible academically. You can’t just march your show greatly, you have to do this stuff outside of it in order to make that happen, so being able to follow through with commitments and keeping up with responsibilities are probably the most long-lasting benefits,” he said. “Then the day of [the competition], they get to hang out with their friends and enjoy the performance part. They get to support other bands that they compete directly against. I’m looking forward for them at Grand Nationals to see bands from around the nation that we don’t even know exist yet. So, just getting that awareness of a more global marching band activity, I think, is going to be really cool.”

The community can view excerpts of “Fugue State” every Friday night at halftime throughout the football season. Woods also invites the public to attend the area competitions to see the entirety of the performance. Before heading to Indianapolis, the Tiger Marching Band will hold its last rehearsal of the season on Nov. 6 at Tiger Stadium. Everyone is welcome to support the band, watch the final performance and give the students a big send-off as they head to BOA Grand Nationals.

For more information, visit www.dsbands.org.