Central High School Bands Dominate at UIL

Last week, the Central High School Bands [Symphonic Band, Symphonic Winds and Honor Winds] competed in their UIL event, and all three bands received remarkable scores.

During concert season, the bands practice during their 50-minute class period, as well as an hour to an hour and a half once a week after school.

Ms. Ellis is the instructor for the Symphonic Band, which consists of 90 percent freshman and 10 percent sophomores, juniors and seniors. They performed at the UIL competition on Wednesday, April 20, against four other schools.

By the end of the UIL competition, the Symphonic Band had scored the highest ratings within the 6A Sub Non-Varsity Band division. The band received a 1, 1, 2 for an overall "Excellent" rating on their stage performance, and a 1, 1, 1, for an overall "Superior" rating on their sight-reading performance.

Ellis said, “The kids and I had a blast. They performed the best that I could ask for.”

Mr. Barry’s Symphonic Winds performed Wednesday, April 20, as well. The Symphonic Winds are known as the Junior Varsity band for Central High School.

The Symphonic Winds received 1s from all judges on both their stage and sight-reading performances for an overall "Superior" rating and earned the SWEEPSTAKES award. This is a great accomplishment for the Symphonic Winds, considering that they were up against seven other schools, said Barry.

Barry added, “When they gave us the SWEEPSTAKES award, it was outstanding. It was a great feeling of relief, and I know that it was a good sense of accomplishment for the kids.”

Every day, Barry let his students know that they only had one chance for their best performances at UIL. He said, “We do our best to prep the kids so that they do their best and don’t have a bad day. Every day, [we] train the kids to buckle down and know that they only have one shot at it--just one performance.”

Mr. Ashbrook’s Honor Winds were the last to perform on Thursday, April 21, for the UIL competition. The Honor Winds band consists of mostly junior and senior students, with a few freshmen who are outstanding players.

The Honor Winds ended up receiving all first division ratings in concert and sight-reading performances. They also won the SWEEPSTAKES award. Just like the Symphonic Winds, the Honor Winds competed against seven other schools and came out on top. 

Ashbrook said, “When they were awarded, I was very proud of course. I’m always proud first and then relieved that their hard work did pay off.”