The band attended the UIL State marching band contest at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Nov. 5 and 6. They advanced to the State level after receiving a 1 at the regional contest on Oct. 20 and then earning second place at the Area contest on Oct. 27.

Having left Friday night’s football game at Lewisville High School after performing halftime, the band rode charter buses overnight to their hotel in San Antonio to start its four-day trip.

“During this trip, you get to bond better with people that you’ve already been bonding with all season because you spend so much time with them in close quarters,” junior French horn player Zach Rezazadeh said. “For the most part, it went pretty well: we made better friends, better relationships, and we just bonded over what we do together.”

Placing fifth in prelims, the band qualified for finals the next day. The directors randomly drew a placement for the finals performance order and received the second time slot, playing at 2:15.

“In the end, what really matters is how the students felt after the performance,” assistant band director JP Wilson said. “As soon as we left the field, I could see lots of emotion on the students’ faces: lots of hugs and lots of tears of joy and completion. The vibe that the kids had their best performance of the season at the right time was definitely present, and that is more important than the placement. You have no control of what five people think on any given day, but you have complete control of your own performance.”

The band placed fourth behind Vista Ridge High School, Flower Mound High School and Vandegrift High School.

“[The energy of the students] was a little bit muted compared to first coming out of the performance,” junior band officer Obosa Aimuyo said. “But everyone was still genuinely very happy because we had such a good run of the show, and we were very happy for Vista Ridge — we saw [its] show and how amazing it was.”

Aimuyo said that though there was some disappointment about getting fourth, students are happy with what they achieved on the marching field. Hebron’s show, titled “Endeavor,” has been praised all season in the band world for being very difficult musically and physically.

“What we delivered at our state performance was something that no other high school marching band has ever done,” Rezazadeh said. “And even though we didn’t necessarily get the result that shows that, I think we have this feeling among us that gives us the satisfaction we need.”

After the awards ceremony, the band drove back to Hebron, arrived around 1:15 a.m., and attended school as usual on Wednesday.

“We honestly come back and we’re just super tired and don’t really want to do anything,” Rezazadeh said. “But there’s still that drive and you want to keep your grades up, so you get over it eventually.”

On Nov. 14 to 16 of 2019, the band will attend the Bands of America Grand Nationals contest at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Rezazadeh said the students are excited about next year’s marching season and attending Grand Nats.

“I feel like what we did with the show this year was something completely new that Hebron has never done,” Rezazadeh said. “So with what could happen next year, I think everything’s going to change and it’s going to be for the better.”