The hard work of all four concert bands payed off on April 18 as Wind Ensemble, the top band, concluded the week of UIL performances. Shortly after winter break, the bands began the challenging pieces they worked on to display their musical ability. The band played Symphony for Band by Vincent Persichetti, Firefly by Ryan George, and March from First Suite by Gustav Holst. They spent an hour and a half each day, plus outside rehearsals, to prepare for this competition.

“We started a few months ago, and from that point we worked on small sections and then larger sections because we really wanted to emphasize making a really great product that we could show to the audience,” Vivian Tran ‘19 said. “Throughout the year, we had a few concerts in between so that we could practice playing in front of other people. The day before UIL, we had a personal concert with parents and that was a really great last rehearsal before UIL.”

The Wind Ensemble received a Sweepstakes score, meaning an overall 1 in both on-stage performance and sight reading. All three of the other bands received sweepstakes as well. There are three judges in each stage of the competition, and each judge ranks the performance on a scale of one to five, one meaning superior.

“I think it went really well and it was very consistent,” Cordell Foulk ‘19 said.  “It really meant something to us and was an amazing performance.”

For seniors, it was a bittersweet experience, because it was the last competition of their high school band careers. They have been participating in UIL since middle school, and while some may go on to participate in band in college, none will go through the UIL process again.

“It was a really satisfying end to the past four years. I think we prepared very well and had an excellent performance of three wonderful pieces of music,” Cameron Adams ‘17 said.

Besides the spring concert, this is the final performance the band will make as they near the end of this school year.