Photo by: JACQUELINE RAY/Lufkin ISD
For the third year in a row, the Lufkin High School Panther Band has earned a State Championship title!
The band advanced to the state competition after being awarded a First Division rating at the UIL Region 21 Marching Contest held on Saturday, October 19th at Longview High School.
Yesterday’s contest (Wednesday, October 30, 2024) was multi-round, with the Panther Band taking the field at McClain Stadium in Waco, Texas at 2:15 p.m. After wowing the crowd and judges, the band advanced to the final round, taking the field to march at 8:45 p.m. Just after 10:00 p.m. last night, after a long day full of excitement and anticipation, the Lufkin Panther Band was named the 5A/6A UIL State Military Marching Band Champion for the third time in a row!
Director, George Little shared the band’s approach to contest season. “Preparation for the contest starts on day one when we have summer band practice, knowing our goal, keeping it in mind, and demanding excellence in the small steps along the way as we navigate the ups and downs in as positive ways as possible. Very purposefully, we started the year with the mindset that we were going to do the best we could do because we can’t control how other bands perform. We can only control how well we perform, and we just kept pushing. Even yesterday, we made adjustments between prelims and finals to see if we could make things that much better.” Mr. Little went on to say that this year’s win was made even sweeter because he got to watch as a parent with performers on the field too. “The whole reason all of us are band directors is to try to give kids the chance to be successful and a part of something special. All of our gold medals are special, but this one is extra for me, because my son and daughter are in the band, so it is really neat to share that experience with them.”
Lufkin High School Principal, Mrs. Julie McManus, expressed, “We are super proud of our Lufkin Panther Band and our directors, along with the dedication it takes to becoming 3-peat UIL State Military Marching Champions. There are many hours behind the scenes of blood, sweat, and tears, but the outcome is so joyous!”
“We have a unique situation in seeing kids grow from 6th grade to seniors, having them seven years. This year is even more special for me because our Class of 2025 Seniors were 6th graders when I started. These seniors are three-time gold medalists, which is rare for any group, and shows their hard work, the dedication they’ve poured into Lufkin band, and how much they continue growing as instrumentalists themselves,” reflected Mr. Beavers.
LHS Band Directors are: Director – George Little, Assistant Director – Brandon Beavers, and Assistant Director – Aubrianne Wattigney. Drum Majors for the Panther Band are Lucy Lantis and Maddie Minter.
The Lufkin High School band is made up of 139 members. There are three high school directors, and three middle school directors. For competition, the band performed the following:
“Legacy Fanfare” by Timothy Rhea, “Gloria March” by F.H. Losey, “Viking March” by K.L. King, “The Purple Pageant March” by K.L. King, and “Sinfonians” by Clifton Williams.
Assistant Director, Aubrianne Wattigney, joined the program three years ago. She shared her experience coming into this award winning program. “Joining the LHS Band, seeing how family oriented it is…I believe that is a large reason for our successes. Our ability to make the kids feel safe and comfortable, and to also have a strong work ethic that has been taught to them from 6th grade all the way up to their senior year, these things play an important role. And, our band boosters, under the leadership of President Dustee Knapp, are amazing. They are most certainly a super strong support system for us. We couldn’t ask for a better group.”
Conference 5A/6A participants included the following high schools: Cleveland, Crosby, Ennis, Hallsville, Humble Atascocita, Humble Kingwood, Huntsville, Jacksonville, Longview, Lufkin, Nacogdoches, Whitehouse.