Many members of the Vandegrift Band auditioned for the TMEA Region Orchestra on Nov. 10. Each player was required to perform a cut from four different pieces. Judges then chose a certain number of people to perform in the region concert and an even smaller number of people to move on to the next round of the competition.

 
Those who made Region Orchestra were required to attend a clinic on both the 16th and 17th where they worked on the pieces given for the concert.

 
“We get advice from professional players about our musicality,” junior flute player Rhea Adhikary said.

 
The players practiced both with their instrument groups and as a whole.

 
Finally, on Nov. 18 the players showed off all their hard work at the 2012 TMEA Region Concert.

 
“We played Shostakovich symphony #5 (by Dmitri Shostakovich) and American salute (by Morton Gould)” percussionist Kyle Richardson said. “It was a great experience to perform with the best players of the region.”

 
Five members of the VHS band qualified for the concert, two of which will be advancing to area.

This is just one example of the bands success this year. They took the top prize at both the Vista Ridge Marching Festival and the class 2A preliminaries at the Bands of America Super Regional contest on Nov. 3. In addition, they won third place at the Texas Marching Classic band competition.

“I challenged the program to exceed expectations and to not settle for less than great,” band director Jeremy Spicer said.