Due to the change in Orchestra UIL, students and teachers alike were anxious to see how this year’s UIL, which took place on March 8th, would turn out.

In previous years, the orchestra competition consisted of two main events: the concert portion and the sight-reading portion. The concert portion consists of students preparing and playing three songs for a set of judges. During the sight-reading portion, students receive a sheet of music they have never seen before and for seven to ten minutes they may silently read and shadow-bow the music. They then play the piece out loud for the first time in front of judges. 

“Previously, students could only silently finger through the music while the director would sing and or clap the musical lines,” Director of Music Education Christopher Reidlinger said. 

Sight-reading now allows students to freely rehearse the music with their director for the allotted amount of time. They may use this opportunity to play their instrument, finger rhythms and ensure that the notes played demonstrate fine-tuning.

“I think in the end sight-reading will help us because now we can rehearse it as if we were rehearsing it in class,” Orchestra teacher Breanna Parker said. 

Students not only have the ability to play out loud but also receive the familiar feeling they usually have when learning a new song. With this new change, there is a fear that, since orchestra students are now capable of rehearsing out loud, the judges might grade harder than they ever have before. 

“I think that this an interesting change, but because of this change the judges might grade harder,” sophomore Bradyn Gilbert said.