On March 26th, Concordia’s Symphonic Band and Handbell Choir members traveled to Waco, TX to compete in the TAPPS 6A State Instrumental Music Championships. The students did an outstanding job representing Concordia as they successfully defended their 2022 and 2023 State Titles and became the 2024 TAPPS 6A Instrumental Music State Champions!
At the state competition, which featured large ensembles, the Crusaders featured four performance groups and all of them earned “1 Superior” ratings. These groups included our Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, Handbell Choir, and a Handbell trio. The judges unanimously agreed that all of these entries deserved the highest rating based on their challenging level of music in addition to how well the music was performed.
Concordia’s quest for the 2023-2024 State Title began in Fall 2023 with 35 points from finishes in Fall’s Field Band and Drumline contests. In March, TAPPS hosted the Solo/Small Ensemble competition at regional locations with an additional 259 points being tallied toward the Crusader’s final year total. These two categories as well as the Large Ensemble performances in Waco (290 points) were combined to crown the top school.
Concordia secured a 1st place finish over state runner-up Antonian College Prep (San Antonio, TX) with a total score of 584 points compared to Antonian’s 501 and Nolan Catholic’s (Fort Worth, TX) 481. The 290 points earned by Concordia in the Large Ensemble portion of year-long competition, was the highest point total for any school across TAPPS’ six divisions for Large Ensembles.
According to Mr. Held, CLHS Director of Fine Arts and Director of Instrumental Music, he shared these thoughts: “More than the state championships, I am proud of our students earning the “Sweepstakes” award in symphonic band. Sweepstakes means you earn a 1 rating in your concert pieces and a 1 rating in sight-reading. This is a reflection on a great group of students who not only perform well, but also can play a never before seen band piece at a high musical level. To earn sweepstakes you need to be an exemplary band.”
You can hear all of our large ensemble groups performing at our final concerts of the year which include:
- Spring Handbell Concert – Thursday, April 4th at 6:30 pm at Concordia (featuring ensembles from Concordia and Salem Lutheran School)
- Spring Band Festival – Sunday, April 7th at 6 pm at Concordia (featuring bands from Concordia, Salem Lutheran School, and Trinity Klein Lutheran School)
- POPS Concert – Saturday, May 13th at 6 pm at Concordia
Soli Deo Gloria! (To God Alone Be The Glory)