On April 26-27, the concert, symphonic and wind ensemble bands competed at the annual UIL Concert and Sight-Reading contest at Whitehouse High School.

“All three bands earned a 1st division in concert and sight-reading,” head band director Steven Moore said. “We were the only program to have all of their bands earn sweepstakes.”

Earning a 1st division is the equivalent to placing first at UIL. To earn a 1st division, band must give an exemplary performance of both the music they have selected and a sight-reading piece selected by the contest directors.

“All the contests we go to are extremely challenging and extremely rewarding,” Moore said. “It is nice when you go to a contest that is considered to be the most difficult ones in many years and still succeed.”

The band has been preparing for this contest since February. Each band goes through a process of choosing songs that go well with the sound of the band, learning the piece and perfecting it.

“I get the privilege of working in a great school district with wonderful parents, students and colleagues,” Moore said. “Our success is a product of all these groups having high expectations and being willing to work hard enough to achieve them. It takes a lot of hard work to achieve this level of success.”

There are three separate bands within the school. Concert band directed by Casey Johnson, symphonic band directed by Susan Scott and wind ensemble directed by Moore.

“What we do is way more important than ratings or winning at contest,” Moore said. “It’s about playing great music, setting high goals and working hard to achieve them; it’s about sacrificing for something bigger. It’s about persevering through hard times or even failure and then coming out at the end of the process with success.”