This weekend, the Center Hill High School band will compete in the MHSAA 6A State Championship. Traveling to Pearl, MS, the marching band will face off other teams from across Mississippi and perform their show, “Pinned.” After reaching school-record heights of success this season, the Mustangs appear to be set up for victory.

Responsible for the success? Band director Michael Campbell says it’s the students. “It’s all because of the kids,” explained Campbell. “The kids qualified this year, last year, and the year before, so [we’ve seen] a lot of success [recently]. I could not be happier that we are going to state.”

While success has been a constant since Campbell joined the high school, this year’s show differs in many ways from its predecessor. “[Last year], it was what kind of concept, what kind of story can we tell, but this year, it’s more literal because we have to travel from Point A to Point B, and we do that on the field.”

After the band qualified for state, they shifted gears to focus more on the showmanship of their routine. But even when perfecting their show, the band is constantly learning and growing.

“Watching the growth of the kids, that’s what it’s about,” he explained. “It’s not about what place we get at state. It’s about how we started at one point, and we finished at a [different] point.” Looking back at a previous July practice, Campbell enjoyed seeing how far the students have come. “The goal for this year was growth, and we’ve grown every rep, every rehearsal. We have all genuinely grown in our performance.