School band awaits scores from competition

The concert band at Sisters High School finished second at the Capital Conference district band competition in Stayton, April 8. Despite falling just short at district, they still have a shot at state competition.

The band finished behind Cascade, whose strong program has lead to five top-five finishes the past five years at the state level.

Only the district winner advances to the state competition, but there is still a chance for the Sisters band.

The band competed in Redmond at the Central Oregon Music Educators' Association festival April 15, against schools such as Burns, Madras and Lakeview.

If two of the three judges give the band a score of 75 or better out of 100 possible points, it will allow entry to the state competition.

Scores were expected to be mailed to the school this week.

"A 75 is a really hard score to get," said Jody Henderson, the head of the music department at Sisters High. "When Redmond won the festival at Lewis and Clark, they played incredibly well and did not earn 75s."

At district, the band performed as well as they had all year, according to Henderson.

The judges gave the Outlaws 68, 69 and 82.

At the COMEA, Henderson called the Outlaws' performance "less consistent," but hopes of making state competition remain.

"There's always a chance," he said. "It depends on the judges."

"They can be very subjective, which explains why one judge gave us a 68 and another gave us an 82 at the district meet," Henderson said. "The criteria is very general. It's each individual ear and what they are hearing."

Although these festivals are scored, the atmosphere is not really competitive.The various bands get to listen to each other, which is valuable from a learning standpoint.

At district, the head adjudicator, who is a judge and a commentator, comments on tape for feedback that the program can build on.

At the COMEA, an adjudicator sits in a room with the band and discusses their performance with them for a half hour.

"That is really valuable," said Henderson, "and is really the best thing about these festivals.

"Our adjudicator was Kevin Egan from Tualatin and he had lots of great things to sa," Henderson said.

"He's one of the best teachers I've had a chance to be around."