WGHS Band and Chorus Take Home Straight Superiors at LGPE

Both the WGHS band and chorus return from their Large Group Performance Evaluation with straight Superiors, the highest possible marks.​
by Emery Brown

Band
For those in the fine arts world, the Large Group Performance Evaluation (LGPE) is a big deal, testing their knowledge and growth, meaning that it requires lots of preparation. “We focus on fundamental techniques and students get lots of repetition,” said Mrs. Merck regarding their preparation. “We have weekly after-school rehearsals on top of class so we can combine both class periods together. After we learn the notes and rhythms, I work with students to make musical decisions, bring in guest clinicians, and hold a pre-LGPE camp where we have sectional and full band rehearsals with guest instructors.”

Senior Whitley Farner describes her experience during the LGPE, “It’s a lot more stressful for me. Unlike a normal concert where you are supposed to entertain, this one is judged. We work on things a lot longer than a normal concert, too.”

Despite that, nobody seemed to be surprised about getting straight Superiors. Percussion Captain Sadie McManus (12) claims, “In full transparency, it’s not too shocking. Ever since Mrs. Merck has been here, we have gotten nothing but superiors across the board in everything we do.” Mrs. Merck herself states, “I wasn’t shocked, but was still extremely proud. I knew going into the event that the students had put in the hard work and effort.”

Mrs. Merck says this to students interested in joining the band, “Do it! It can’t hurt to try something new. You may love it and find your new niche like many students do. It is never too late to start (or retry). The high school band experience is very different from middle school. We go on lots of trips, and the students are like a big family—we always have each other’s backs.”

Chorus
Meanwhile, for the chorus, preparation for LGPE included going over the sight reading process, learning how to perform specifically for the judges, and practicing their pieces, both as a group and individually, every single day.  Mr. Reidling described the process of preparation, starting from the beginning of the year, as, “. . . learning a new language for our beginning kids coming in in January. They have to start from scratch learning how to read notes on a staff and learning how to read rhythms then putting all that together. It is a long-haul process learning how to basically speak the musical language and learn that over the course of a year or even a couple months.”

Similar to the band, Mr. Reidling wasn’t surprised by the superb ratings, nor were seniors Makaiko Kofunda and Manuel Medina-Balderas. “...I think it’s because I knew that we did amazing and we gave it our all no matter what score we got,” claimed Manuel. Mr. Reidling spoke on his pride for his students, saying, “To be honest, the scores aren’t as important as the experience that the kids get. I think they went in, and they did their absolute best and that meant more to me than any rating that I could’ve received...”

To new students interested in joining the chorus, Makaiko offers these words, “Do it. It’s quite easy and you meet good people. Not everyone is good starting out but everyone can get better and improve if they take the class.” Similarly, Manuel says, “ I know you may think it’s maybe a little cringe or nerve-racking to sing up there, but it’s really fun and a beautiful experience to make music and sing with your classmates. It’s worth staying in the class.”