The Palestine High School Marching Band is headed to Area Saturday for UIL Marching Competition.

'This is the first time in four years that the band has advanced from Regionals to Area,” said Daniel Curry, PISD director of bands.

The band is under the direction of Curry and assistant band directors Steven Reiss, David Jones and Jennifer Joslin.

The 76-member corp-style marching band's 2016 marching show, “Rise to the Summit” contains an original score from Gary Gilroy, Curry said.

While East Texas high school bands are predominately military, that standard of excellence is the same for either on the field of competition, Curry said.

“The judges are looking for how well each marching routine is executed and for consistent sound, regardless of what type of marching style your band has,” said Curry.

On its journey, the PHS Marching Band began participating in marching invitationals earlier this year, in Sunnyvale and Mineola. The band advanced to finals in Sunnyvale and received several first divisions, top honors in music, at Mineola, Curry said.

At the Regional competition, the top 25 bands are chosen to advance to Area.

For its area competition, PHS will perform at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches at 1:45 p.m. on Oct. 29, Curry said.

The high school hopes to be one of the top five bands to advance from Area for a chance at the state title.

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