A high school marching band from San Antonio was recently crowned a winner in a nationwide competition presented by famed heavy metal band Metallica.
Organizers of the “For Whom the Bell Tolls!” contest on Feb. 12 announced the Sotomayor High School Wildcat marching band as the victor in the competition’s large high school category.
The Sotomayor band topped Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas, and Richland High School in Richland Hills, Texas, in their category, according to judges’ scoring of music videos submitted last fall.
The first-place victory includes $20,000 worth of new instruments for the Sotomayor band program.
“It’s not just a win for the band, it’s a win for our community,” said Joseph Espinoza, band director at Sotomayor High School, which is part of Northside Independent School District.
Metallica received more than 450 video submissions after announcing its first marching band competition in spring 2023.
Boerne High School tied with a New York high school for best medium high school performance in that inaugural contest.
Music professionals review the submissions, and the members of Metallica pick the winners for each category.
In this second contest, the Sotomayor band offered an adaptation of “Master of Puppets,” a nearly nine-minute song, in a public performance recorded last November.
According to Espinoza, the thought of entering the Metallica competition first came about toward the end of the 2023-2024 school year when band leaders and members spent time mulling what songs to start learning to play during Wildcat football games and at contests during the 2024-2025 school year.
Espinoza said the percussion director for the Wildcat band is a Metallica fan and suggested trying for the competition.
“We just kept riffing on songs and came up with the idea of doing a ‘Master of Puppets’ show,” Espinoza said.
Espinoza said band members spend the summer not just getting more familiar with their instruments, but learning show design and listening to songs using an app called UDB to better coordinate with the show design.
“We show the students what form to make, when to step on and off, and so on,” Espinoza said.
Espinoza said football game halftime shows are ideal to prepare for band competitions.
When it came time to perform “Master of Puppets” at Dub Farris Stadium for a recorded contest entry, the day ended up being “magical,” Espinoza said.
“We’re all supportive of each other. The community members who showed up really helped us out,” he added.
Aubrey Gaud, a senior flutist and drum major, said she and her bandmates were excited to compete with an opportunity to be seen by an iconic rock band.
“Everyone worked hard and helped each other,” Gaud said. “It was all intense, but that hard work paid off.”
Gaud said she was shocked when the Sotomayor band learned about being named the best large high school band in the contest.
“It’s great recognition for our band program, especially for the seniors,” Gaud said. “And it’s great about the new instruments, which will help students coming into the program in the future.”
Espinoza said he is happy that the band will have one more chance to publicly perform “Master of Puppets” at the Fiesta Battle of Flowers Band Festival, set for May 1 at Alamo Stadium.
Espinoza expressed gratitude for the victory, and a chance to enhance the Sotomayor band program, which has grown from 60 members in 2022 to 210 this school year.
“We did this not only for accolades, we did it for insurance and to grow the program even more,” he added.
