Tenaha Prepares for U.I.L. Spring Band Contest by Jared Tovar

March 24, 2015 - Mrs. Elizabeth Ward’s 7th grade students were assigned an article to write highlighting local stories in our area. Jared Tovar chose to interview Mr. Sours about their upcoming band competition.

Tenaha Prepares for U.I.L. Spring Band Contest

Then Tenaha Middle School and High School bands will be performing at the U.I.L. spring contest in April. The middle school contest will be on April 9th or 10th at Lindale I.S.D. and the high school will perform on April 28th at Troup I.S.D. Mr. Brian Sours, Mrs. Brandi Gilbeau, and Mr. Rhett Pilcher will be the conductors.

Both bands will be performing stage and sight reading. Stage music is where students play their own music that they have been practicing on at school. In sight reading, the band has to learn how to play a sheet of music in seven minutes. Sight reading should be the most difficult task in the competition. Mr. Sours said, “To get a 1st division in sight reading, students must sight read daily to ensure their music reading skills are strong. The students must put in extra time and effort; they must want to be successful.” On stage, he suggests music that fits the band’s strengths and weaknesses.

A first division is really difficult to accomplish. Mr. Sours added, “It’s very difficult to get a 1st division because you must put on as close to a perfect performance as possible. There is little room for errors. Notes, rhythms, pulse, balance, blend, intonation, ensemble sound (group sound), and musicality must be one of the highest qualities. Not every performance is worthy of a 1st division. You must step up to the challenge and put the work in to get the results you want.”

The middle school band will play Fortis, Cortlandt County Festival, and Honor March. The high school band will play Knights of Dunvegan, Maesong, and Crosswinds March. These songs will be played for stage. The judges will select the sight reading copy for the bands to play. Students are practicing daily during class, as well as after school to get ready for contest.

Mr. Sours came from San Saba I.S.D. before arriving in Tenaha this year. When asked why he came to T.I.S.D., he replied, “I came from San Saba I.S.D. to Tenaha I.S.D. in order to build the Tenaha Roarin’ Band into a more successful and prideful band program.”