On Tuesday, Apr 12th 2023, Air Academy High School’s Orchestra participated in the Large Group Evaluation Festival hosted by CHSAA. Throughout this event, groups of students performed their selective pieces and got constructive feedback from the judges to help create a new goal for the team.  

After the feedback, the students got sent into a room and got tested on how well they are able to play a piece without any prior knowledge of the piece. The sight reading was the most stressful for some students, especially since they were not able to practice beforehand.  

Throughout the reading, the students were not allowed to speak, pluck, or play any of the notes before the three minutes were up. After that, AAHS band teacher Vanessa Lyttle, was able to sing and conduct silently to give the students a small idea of what the piece sounded like. Then the students were able to play the piece. Following the test, they got to watch other students perform and learn from their critiques from the judges as well.

“It was really fun because we hadn’t had a competition in forever and It was a good learning experience especially when we got critiqued,” sophomore Hannah Merriman stated. 

Following the test, they got to watch other students perform and learn from their critiques from the judges as well.

After the festival, orchestra students were given the opportunity to hang out at University Village for lunch in Colorado Springs. During this time, students were able to shop around the area and grab something to eat. Students also took this time to get to know each other and understand each other on a different level.  

“My favorite part was probably getting to share the experience with everyone else because I love them all,” freshman Heavynlie Vargas exclaimed.   

Then after they were all finished eating, they packed their things and boarded the bus back to AAHS. Once they arrived, they were given a rest break. The students took this opportunity to play cards, catch up on homework, take a nap, or just hang out on their phones. 

“It really feels like all of us really got to know each other more,” Merriman stated.  

This festival was also a great way for the students to send off their seniors since this was their final orchestra competition. This festival introduced many new ideas, techniques, and learning experiences to the students and the conductor as well. 

“My favorite part of the competition was being able to have a different performing opportunity other than our normal seasonal concerts,” sophomore Sierra Buah stated.  

This festival created such a positive environment for the students, and for Lyttle. Maybe in the future, there will be more fun festival ideas for the next generation of high schoolers to love as well. For the seniors this was an amazing way to end the school year and have a little fun during practice.