All orchestras, from Philharmonic to Symphony and Full Orchestra, swept the floor at UIL with all of them coming home with Sweepstakes.
For the past five years, every single orchestra has received Sweepstakes at their UIL competition. On March 11, all of the orchestras at Amarillo High competed against Caprock, Palo Duro and Tascosa in order to exceed musical expectations. It took effort, hard work and lots of commitment but it all came together for their biggest success of the year.
For some, going into UIL was nerve-racking due to the amount of practice time they had in class and expectations that had built in the past five years.
“When I first went into UIL for orchestra, I was mostly only nervous for this one part of our song, but overall, I felt pretty confident,” Jude Selman, 1st Chair Violinist and Full Orchestra Bassoonist, said. “For Full Orchestra, it was scarier because we had a lot less practice, and we were struggling at some things at PreUIL.”
This did not paralyze the orchestras, but they all continued to perform to the best of their ability so that they could reap the rewards at UIL.
“I am very thankful that the Lord gave us the determination to work hard and to perform at a Sweepstakes level,” Symphony Orchestra and Full Orchestra member Mason Kee said. “I believe we were much more prepared for UIL, so in that instance, our confidence level might have been higher than that of PreUIL. However, due to the higher importance of UIL compared to PreUIL, UIL felt much more stressful.”
At the UIL competition, practice and hard work came to fruition. At UIL for orchestra, each orchestra will get thirty minutes to warm up and set up, then they will perform on stage to judges who will score them on tone, technique and musical understanding. After that, they will go and sight read for ten minutes, and receive however many points they may get from that performance. This whole process can carry intense stress or perfectionism, but it can also provide ways for orchestras to truly show off their skills and create something beautiful for the judges. 
“Pre-UIL and UIL were so incredibly different,” Concert and Full Orchestra member Kinley Davis said. “Pre-UIL allowed us to notice what we needed to work on which motivated me a lot to keep practicing my music. It is always amazing to see Mrs. Parker so happy, and I think it’s amazing that she leads us to accomplish so much.”
In the end, this was an enjoyable and fun experience for the orchestras that renewed their confidence in their skills and united them together under their victory.
“Even though we had somewhat difficult music, I knew we’d get 1’s across the board,” Concert Orchestra 1st Chair Cello Paden Simpson said. “It makes me proud of the hard work put in by everyone involved, and happy to be able to use my skills and abilities to represent the school.”
Because of this amazing success, credit must be given not only to the students who performed but also to the teacher that prepared and poured into them beforehand. In Mrs. Parker’s entire time working as Amarillo High’s orchestra director she has successfully led all of the orchestras to receive Sweepstakes for the past five years in a row.
“A lot of preparation goes into UIL, and this year I was very confident in my students ability and their work effort.” Orchestra Director Breanna Parker said, “I think I get so much recognition for being the teacher but I think it’s vital for the students to receive their credit because yes I’m the teacher but the students have to put forth their effort as well. Every single orchestra came to sectionals and put in their effort.The school district is also extremely supportive. I feel very fortunate to be a part of such a great district.”
