The award-winning Dobie Longhorn Band is the cornerstone of our spirit groups at J. Frank Dobie High School. The Longhorn Marching Band is one the largest student organizations on campus and is recognized in the community as "The Pride of the South Belt!" The Dobie Band routinely earns the coveted UIL Sweepstakes Award for achieving Superior ratings in Marching, Concert, and Sight-Reading in a single academic year. This is the highest honor awarded to a band program in UIL competition. In 2016-17 the Longhorn Band earned unanimous Superior ratings at the UIL Region 19 Marching Contest and placed 13th at the UIL Area F Marching Contest, the highest placement in program history. The three competing concert bands: Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Concert Band I all received unanimous Superior ratings in both Concert and Sight-Reading, another first in school history.

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The Dobie Wind Ensemble has established itself as one of the leading concert ensembles in the Houston area. In addition to its success in UIL competition, the Wind Ensemble routinely advances to the Area level in TMEA Honor Band competition, and was named the 2014 TMEA Region 19 Honor Band. In 2015, the Dobie Wind Ensemble performed in concert with the Houston Symphony at the renowned Jones Hall. The Dobie Wind Ensemble has been selected as a Featured Band for the Music for All National Concert Band Festival three times (2008, 2011, and 2020), and has performed in world-class venues such as the Moores Opera House at the University of Houston and the Gaertner Performing Arts Center at Sam Houston State University. In 2021, the Dobie Wind Ensemble was named a national semi-finalist for the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music.

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Recognized in their own right, the diligence of the Longhorn Guard has routinely placed them in the Top 3 at a majority of their recent competitive events; In 2015, both the Varsity and Junior Varsity Winter Guard were named Texas Color Guard Circuit Gold Medalists in their respective classifications. In 2023, they placed in the top three in all regular-season contests at 4th place in their division within the Texas Color Guard Circuit Southeast Area Championships

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In addition to the Longhorn Marching Band and our concert ensembles, the Dobie Band program proudly offers many other performing ensembles including Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, Steel Drum Band, and Winter Guard. In 2015, both the Varsity and Junior Varsity Winter Guard were named Texas Color Guard Circuit Gold Medalists in their respective classifications.