Nineteen members of the Littlefield High School Marchin’ Cats traveled to Lehman High School in Kyle over Memorial Day weekend to compete in the UIL Texas State Solo & Ensemble Contest, bringing home multiple top ratings against some of the state’s best young musicians.
Littlefield Marchin’ Cats qualified for the state contest after competing at the regional level in February, where they were required to earn a first division superior rating in order to advance.
John Barry, the current band director, took over for the Littlefield Marchin’ Cats program a year ago after previously serving as the junior high band director in Seminole. Barry has spent the year guiding students through regional and state qualifications in a highly competitive UIL season.
“They compete at the region solo and ensemble contest that UIL holds in February. We had 19 kids qualify across seven events, and they had to earn a one, which is a first division superior rating at the region level to qualify for the state level,” said Barry.
A Superior rating, also known as a first division, is the highest possible score a student can receive in UIL competition, followed by an Excellent rating, also known as a second division.
The state level brings a much higher degree of difficulty and pressure, with students performing in front of judges who are often university- level musicians specializing in the instrument being judged. Berry added that students who made it to the state level had to begin preparing months in advance and put in hundreds of hours memorizing and practicing their parts leading up to regionals.
“The big challenge the soloists have is to memorize their music, and they have to memorize it by the time they go to the region level contest, and so maintaining their memory work from February all the way until the end of May is really hard to do,” said Berry.
Among solo performances, senior Matthew Rios and freshman Melany Marquez each earned gold medal Superior ratings, while senior Jordan Randle earned a silver medal “Excellent” rating.
Barry also wanted to recognize Rios for his dedication to preparing his euphonium solo, noting that Rios earned All- State recognition and plans to study music education at West Texas A&M University.
“He’s been a remarkable student. He’s played at a very high level, played a pretty obscure solo, and the amount of technical work he had to do to get that thing memorized and get that first division gold medal, it was a lot of extra work,” said Barry, adding that they were very proud of the work he’s done.
In addition to solo performances, multiple Littlefield ensembles competed at the state level, including percussion, brass, and clarinet groups. Four groups earned excellent ratings, and one percussion group earned a superior rating.
Beyond the awards, Barry said that for many students, the experience also plays a crucial role in developing individual responsibility while growing into leaders and role models for younger students.
“Especially the soloists, you know, performing that work is all on them. There’s nobody else in the room to bail them out of. They have to play every note, and so having both a senior and a freshman bring home gold on those solos was awesome, because those kids have put hours and hours into practice, and they are not just great leaders for us and great musicians, they’re also excellent role models for the other students in the program,” said Barry.
Barry also added that younger students benefit from seeing older performers succeed at a high level, which helps build motivation and expectations within the program.
Barry said the competition reflects both the dedication of the students and the continued strength of the Littlefield band program as a whole. With a successful season behind them, the Littlefield Marchin’ Cats can now look ahead and build on this milestone for the future.