HS Band and Choir Pre-Contest Concert

The Waynesville High School Concert Band has been preparing three pieces since early January—March Jubilee by James Swearingen, The Lost Temple by Jared Barnes, and Shaker Variants by Elliot Del Borgo.  Likewise, the choir has been working on music to take to contest.  Our musicians have been working very hard to polish the music, and on Friday, March 8, both the Waynesville High School Concert Band and the High School Choir will be taking the stage in hopes of earning a Superior rating (I) at the OMEA District 13 Large Group Adjudicated Event.  This annual contest gives area bands and choirs the opportunity to polish three pieces of music to perform for three judges, who rate the performance on tone, intonation, interpretation and technique.  The judges then award a score of I through V, with I being Superior, II Excellent, etc.  After the ensemble’s performance on stage, they are directed to the sight-reading room where music that has never been seen before is passed out to the group.  The students and director are given four minutes to look over the music silently, and an additional four minutes for the director to talk the students through the piece.  After that, the ensemble then plays or sings the piece of music, trying to perform it with as few errors as possible.  The sight-reading judge then awards the group a rating as well, and all four judges’ ratings are added together.  If the combined scores are between 4 and 6, the band receives a Superior rating (I) and is eligible to perform at State Large Group Adjudicated Event.   To prepare for this event, the High School Concert Band and Choir will be presenting a Pre Contest Concert on Monday, February 25th, at 6:30pm in the High School Gym.  In addition to regular concert goers, there will be professional musicians/music educators in the audience to give constructive feedback to both ensembles as they make their final preparations for contest.   The band will be traveling to Madison high school on Friday, March 8th and the choir will be performing on the same date at Eaton High School.  As of now, the performance times have not been set, but please mark your calendars to come out and support these fine organizations!

Fantastic group performances from the band and the choir this past Monday evening.   Both groups presented material that they have been working on for the upcoming contests.   Good luck at the contests and congratulations on a successful evening!!