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Marching to the Sweet Sound of Victory
Canutillo High School Band Earns Highest Achievement
Posted on 05/17/2022
This is the image for the news article titled Canutillo High School Band Earns Highest AchievementCanutillo Independent School District's Canutillo High School (CHS) Band has spent the past year marching to the beat of victory culminating in the group earning Sweepstakes, the highest achievement at the 2022 University Interscholastic League (UIL) Regional Concert and Sight Reading Evaluation. This high distinction was also earned by the CHS Chamber Choir this year. This marks the first time in the history of the high school that both programs have earned Sweepstakes at the UIL evaluation during the same contest season.

“COVID hurt all the band programs in this region, but in spite of that our students took on the challenge and conquered,” said Dr. Regino Ramos, CHS band director and director of Canutillo ISD School of Music. “What in January seemed like wishful thinking became actuality when our students went on stage and delivered an outstanding Sweepstakes performance. One judge commented, ‘This was an enjoyable, musically rewarding performance, congratulations!’”

The state of Texas, through UIL, has established a rating system to measure music programs statewide. Bands and choirs across the region were rated in two different categories - stage concert performance and music literacy, called sight-reading. CHS Band and Chamber Choir achieved the highest possible rating, which is Division 1 or “Superior” from all judges, in both categories, resulting in the distinction of Sweepstakes for the ensembles.

For Dr. Ramos, the high note to an excellent performance by his students was a comment made by a judge in the sight-reading room where students receive music they have never played and are asked to perform it musically and with little to no error; this is where literacy is adjudicated.

“Typically the judges have their heads down and are writing comments. What made this unique was that when the band finished performing this piece one judge was clapping and the other two were nodding their heads in agreement, Ramos said. “One judge wrote, ‘What a fantastic performance! You are a treasure to your school, community, and music!’ What a way to end the year.”