As another school year comes to an end, the Azle Junior High Band is looking back on a season of growth and achievements. Topping those achievements for the AJH nonvarsity band was making school history when it became the first nonvarsity band in AJH history to receive all Division I ratings — also known as sweepstakes — from judges at the University Interscholastic League contest in April.
The UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Evaluations is a state competition that typically happens in early March to late April. Students are given a new piece of music they have never seen and have seven minutes to learn the music before performing it for three judges. In the concert portion of the competition, students play three pieces of music they have worked on since January in front of three different judges. The highest rating bands can receive is Division I, considered superior.
“That was a history-making moment for the kids and I’m really proud of them for that. With our varsity group, which is essentially our top group, they did the same thing. They got straight ones, sweepstakes and for the fifth year in a row,” AJH Director of Bands Kevin Chapman said. “It's been a really successful year, and I'm very proud of my assistant, Courtnie Canchola. This is her third year, and this was her first time to get a sweepstakes at UIL, so it's a big deal for her.”
