Hours of practice and endless pep talks led the Westwood Choir to succeed at the annual UIL Concert & Sight Reading Evaluation. Set at Georgetown High School, directors Andre Clark and Emma Degraaf guided students through the University Interscholastic League (UIL) process for Cantare and Bellator on Monday, March 9, and the remaining choirs on Tuesday, March 10.
The first choirs to perform on Monday, March 9, were the non-varsity boys’, Bellator and the sub-non-varsity treble, Cantare. Bellator received a one in their three concert pieces and a two in their sight reading evaluation. In the UIL ladder of assessment, a 1 is the best score to be received and a five puts the choir at a strong disadvantage. They performed a traditional Ghanaian song titled Sansa Kroma by Emily Crocker, Vuela by Carlos Cordero, and Dies Irae by Ryan Main.
“I honestly am disappointed about our two in sight reading because the whole choir all got ones in everything but at the same time, I know we will do way better next year because of this little blow,” Baptiste de Cormis ‘29 said. “We did get a one in the concert though which I honestly think is more important because we practiced so much for it and we really deserved it in my opinion.”
Cantare received all ones, in other words– a sweepstake as many call it. They performed an enchanting children’s song titled Notes From Emily by Robin McLaughlin Conine, Il y a Un Coq Qui Chante by Sid Robinovitch, and Shenandoah by Laura Farnell. On Tuesday, March 10, Aurora, the non-varsity treble girls, also rocked the stage and received a sweepstakes. With their variety of songs from contemporary choral works like Dum Spiro Spero by Daniel Brinsmead, Bonny Wood Green by Stephen Hatfield, and Hello Girls by Lloyd Pfautsch.
“We honestly really did a good job,” Amrita Seth ‘29 said. “Not only did we get up there and do our absolute best, but we also had a lot of fun and showed the audience how hard we had been working on our music and sightreading and how well it did end up paying off.”
In the afternoon glow, varsity treble girls’ choir, Innova and varsity mixed choir Chamber, both took home the big wooden Texas plaque. Innova brought an Eastern European aura with their Bulgarian piece Ergen Deda by Peter Lyondev, Hungarian piece Dancing-Song by Zoltan Kodaly, and last but not least, Annie Laurie by Arthur Frackenpohl. Following them, Chamber showcased Venite, Exultemus Domino by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, a luminous a capella work Surge Illuminare by Michael John Trotta, Talaa Min Beyt Abuha by Shireen Abu-Khader.
“At the end of the day, we don’t remember the trophies or the awards we got, we remember how we did individually and how we put our absolute best effort into the show,” Sara Acosta ‘27 said. “We all got together, not as a choir, but as more of a community to pass on our learning and get to perform our hard work for an appreciative crowd.”
All choirs will next perform at their annual Playlist Spring Show at the Raymond Hartfield Performing Arts Center (PAC) at McNeil High School.
![Gazing into the audience, Wes Autry ’26 as Mr. DePinna poses like the Discus Thrower as Mayla Montgomery ’26 as Penny Sycamore paints him. Mr. DePinna was especially absurd, requiring intense amounts of committment from Autry and resulting in an All-Star Cast honor at competiton. “I never expected anything like that,” Autry said. “[This is] the first year I’ve ever gone to UIL, and winning an award from it is gratifying. It’s something I never thought I would achieve, and so achieving that makes me feel like everything I’ve done here wasn’t pointless.”](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-3.28.43-PM-1200x799.png)
