As marching season comes to an end, the tiger band gets prepared for concert season. The band has two separate bands, Wind Ensemble and Symphonic band. Each band gets new music for their UIL Season. 

Just like athletics, the band must follow the UIL rules. Students with bad grades, ISS and DAEP are incapable of participating.

Head band director Arnie Lawson looks through JW Pepper and finds three pieces for his band to compete with.

“Initially, all you have to do is practice and practice and practice some more until this UIL music is essentially memorized so that you can start focusing on the smaller details that the music entails,” senior Jackson Roberson said. “Personally, all I did was just come to practice and do what Mr. Lawson asked me to do and do a little bit more in regard to effort in the music.”

The Wind Ensemble gets its new music in the second semester of the school year. Lawson lets the band listen to the tunes and distributes the music to all his students.

“For the parts I play, the hardest part is definitely keeping track of not only measures but dynamics and articulation,” freshman Caleb Lauterbach said. “Counting [a lot] of  rests can suck the life out of you, so it’s difficult to stay focused sometimes.”

The Ensemble had some difficulties in the music pieces but overall accomplished all trouble spots. 

“I was very happy [with our score]. I was confident that we’d do well but you just never know,” Lawson said.

The Wind Ensemble went to UIL hosted at Pleasant Grove High School and received a one on stage and in sight-reading.