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Sperry Band Once Again Claims Superior Ratings at State Concert Band Contest
Superior ratings and an Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association Sweepstakes. It doesn't get any better than that for high school bands, and those are the ratings garnered by the Sperry Schools band at State last week in Elk City.
The Sweepstakes is the highest OSSAA distinction, comparable to an athletic team winning a State Championship, said Sperry Schools Band Director Makayla West. The Pirates earned superior ratings for both components, stage play and sight reading. Unlike many other types of contests, the OSSAA State Concert Band Contest does not compare school bands to other school bands. Instead, bands play two pieces for each component. In the stage play component, one selection is from a list provided to the school and the other is the band director’s choice. For the sight reading component, the band is presented two selections they have never seen before.
“To rate superior in one of the components makes any band director happy. To rate superior in both, that’s thrilling, Ms. West said. “I am so proud of these students for all of their hard work this year. They have consistently given their time, efforts and talents to overcome everything this year has thrown at us. They have earn a place in the great legacy of Sperry’s band program and school through their dedication."
The band qualified for State last month at the OSSAA District contest, also earning superior ratings for on stage and sight reading.
“This is Sperry's second sweepstakes, the other being in 2016,” West said. She also noted that seniors Ivey Yardley (clarinet) and Jared Lytle (bass clarinet) are the only Sperry students to earn two Sweepstakes awards.
Sperry Concert Band qualified for the State competition at the OSSAA District Concert Band Contest where the Pirates earned superior ratings for both the stage play and sight reading on March 11.
