Aledo High School Bearcat Regiment fifth at UIL State

In its 50-year history, never has the Aledo Bearcat Regiment performed such an intricate and challenging show as their 2024 show “On the Throttle.” And, consequently, never in a half century has the Aledo marching band finished so high at the UIL State Marching Band Competition.

On Tuesday night, Nov. 5., having narrowed the 247 Class 5A bands in the state to 38 state qualifiers and then 12 finalists, the Bearcat Regiment’s near-flawless performance helped them to be recognized as the fifth-best marching band in Texas at the annual culmination of the UIL marching season at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

“We are so proud of the student’s efforts this year,” Aledo Director of Bands Joey Paul said. “From the beginning of summer band, they took a more mature approach to individual accountability and they never let up. 'On The Throttle' is a show that the students very quickly made an emotional connection with, and it was very apparent they were bought in to doing whatever it took to perfect this show.

“The band directors felt like rock stars after each competition due to the amount of people approaching them and praising both the students' performance as well as the engaging design of the visual and musical elements.”

"On the Throttle" had four parts: "Pressure" by Stephen Baysted; "Ominous," with building intensity, from Symphony No 3 by Kimberly Archer; "Whisper of a Thrill" by Thomas Newman; and "Asphalt Cocktail" by John Mackey. 

The show featured, among other things, 40 choreographed wind moments, drills that were boxes, curves, diagonals, scatters, pods, lines and circles, and moments where wind player's sound would be severely delayed if they did not anticipate the battery/drum major's time, which is one of the hardest things to do in marching band.

The show was meticulously planned on a theme of an F1 driver who has attitude, confidence, strength and heart. Band members wore uniforms designed to imitate an F1 driver uniform with bright red and yellow in front and black in back. They used the colors of the uniforms to match the music and take your eye to the key areas of the field, even brightening visually with a crescendo.

“We are so proud of the Bearcat Regiment being rewarded for their incredibly hard work,” Aledo ISD Superintendent Dr. Susan Bohn said. “Early mornings and late nights, intricate formations and difficult music - it all came together with a history-making finish. The entire band program is all in on being the very best they can be, and that was evident with 'On the Throttle.' Congratulations to all involved!”

The Bearcat Regiment’s 215 performers were led by student Drum Majors Isabella Stamper, James Leising, Jackson Sirois and Gracie Isaacs. Along with Paul, the assistant directors for the Bearcat Regiment are Jake Albin, Dexx Moore and Scott Stephens as well as colorguard director Junior Marquez.

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