By: ShayLea Boles, Savannah Sims

This year’s Pride of Malakoff High School Band is working on their new music, sets, and choreography for the state advancing marching competition.

“This year’s music has all the elements for us to be successful,” Adonia Dixon-Thomas, senior drum major, said. “The ballad piece was composed beautifully and the guards choreography was made by the guards themselves and it adds more flow to the show.”

Chad Bentley, band director, said that this year’s show “Nevermore” is very artistic, dark, and poetic. It is a musical interpretation of Edger Allen Poe’s “The Raven.”

“This year’s show is darker than the shows we’ve done in previous years, but the choreography is difficult and dancy,” Trinity Beck, senior dance guard captain, said. “I feel like it goes very well with the eerie concept of the show.”

Because there are so many bands that compete at UIL marching competition, the state divides schools into divisions that only compete for the state title every other year.

Even though last year wasn’t a state advancing year, Pride of Malakoff still accomplished many of their goals.

“With any program you want to do better than what you’ve done before,” Dixon-Thomas said. “Over the past we’ve been able to reach area finals and we’ve received a first division in our marching last year so my expectations are to get past the hump of area finals.”

This is possibly Bentley’s last year directing this band so he has high hopes for this year.

“Yeah I’m excited about [this year] for a number of reasons,” Bentley said. “Seeing this could potentially be my last year as a band director, I really hope we can come out on top.”