Wind Ensemble performed on Mar. 6, and Symphonic Band played on Mar. 7. Both bands did not know their score until the day after their performance. The day after their performance, Mr. Faryniarz, the band director, made it so they could listen to their performance recordings before knowing their scores. As they listened to the recordings together, they talked about what went well and what they could have done better. After that, Mr. Faryniarz let them know their scores in each category. Both bands got one’s overall, being the best possible score you could get.
Faryniarz did this so that they wouldn’t have to focus on their scores when listening to them. He wanted them to go in with no idea what they got so that they could look at the good things and the things that they need to improve on, not just one or the other.
The grading at the MSBOA festivals is a little complicated. There are five categories: tone, technique, intonation, rhythm, and interpretation. They score each piece that they play and their overall performance.
These categories are graded from A to E. A being the best, and E being the poorest. Each song they perform is graded separately and then they grade their overall performance. If you get 3 or more ‘A’s in your overall score, you get a one. ‘B’s are two, ‘C’s are three, and so on.
With this information, you could probably tell that both bands got three or more ‘A’s on their overall performance. Now, judges also give the bands feedback that they can look back on when they get their scores so that they can know what they need to work on and what they did well.
The overall performance also included a sight-reading section. Sight-reading is a skill that all musicians need to master. Sight-reading is when the band goes to a separate room and gets handed a piece of music they have never seen before. They get five minutes to do whatever they need to do besides playing. This can include looking at difficult rhythms, fingering some notes, looking for accidentals, a key signature change, and dynamic changes.
After the five minutes, they have to play the piece from the beginning all the way to the end. They are conducted by their director and judged by a MSBOA judge. Based on the level of the music that you performed before sight-reading, they will give you a piece close to your band’s level of music. Video recording and photography are prohibited in the sight-reading room.
The five minutes bands get before they play the piece is the most important part of the sight-reading process. The judges can tell what kind of band they are based on how they used their time in those five minutes. All bands use those five minutes slightly differently.
Overall, this festival is an important part of the band program in Michigan. Both bands did an amazing job. Having fun while also being focused and working hard. Both bands deserved the amazing scores that they got.
