The marching band rehearses for “My Beautiful Anna” scheduled to debut during the halftime show of the varsity football game against Canutillo, Friday, Aug. 29.

Puentes Middle School will join Pebble Hills in the stands during the game as part of the annual feeder pattern night.

“I’m excited to experience football games with my team members, and especially that middle school guard will join us this year, because we are there to inspire them and to have them look forward to becoming apart and performing with this band, especially because it is such a great program and it has so much to offer,” junior Isabelle Tolbert said.

Band camp began on Monday, July 14. Band, Color guard, and Dance gathered for two weeks straight until the school year started. All groups were determined and open-minded about learning their new spots, music, and choreography.  

Whether returning from previous years or newcomers, the group knew what to look forward to— being one of the first El Paso bands to be asked to perform in the 2025 Rose Parade tournament in Pasadena and making it to the state UIL competitions in San Antonio for two years straight.  

As band camp ended and the school year started, they continued to practice their show after school and on Saturdays. The show, “My Beautiful Anna,” is inspired by the 1997 film soundtrack, “Anaconda” by Randy Edelman.

“It sounds really exciting, especially the music that we have and the choreography,” senior Melissa Thornell said. 

Thornell, who has been in color guard all four years, is sad to see her high school guard years come to an end. 

Regardless of inclement weather- band rehearses, showing all the determination and the standard that has been set. Band will continue learning the whole show throughout the semester, slowly incorporating it into their pre-show, halftime, and UIL shows. Thornell and her classmates aspire to make it to San Antonio for the third consecutive year. 

“It’s just a lot of new concepts, choreography, and music that we have never really tried to put into shows before,” Thornell said. “We were kind of scared of where it would lead. So it’s just really exciting this year.”

According to Thornell, the show introduces a new concept, breaking out of their comfort zone.

 “The most challenging thing in the show has to be being able to create and upkeep the visual effects,” junior Isabel Valenzuela said. “This year, the dramatic visual effects of the show rely on the Color guard, meaning stronger and more aggressive choreography.” 

Band will debut the first half of their performance at Friday’s football game against Canutillo and get a feel for their show as they prepare for T-Bird Invitational Saturday, Sept. 27 at Coronado High School.