Wishing Directors and Students a Successful Contest Experience

By Penny Meitz | Friday, January 23, 2009 11:15 AM

What makes a UIL Concert and Sight Reading Contest a success? Certainly it is much more than earning a Sweepstakes trophy or a Division I plaque. A successful contest has multiple components. Was the competition smoothly organized and implemented? Did students learn and grow musically from their preparation and participation? Did you, as director, learn from the UIL experience and/or the judge’s comments? These are all important components of a successful contest experience.

Do you remember participating in UIL as a student and how you felt after a UIL performance? Many of you will recall the exhilaration from knowing you performed well and received a high rating for the performance. Whatever the rating outcome, students should have a positive impression about their participation in the contest.

I grew up in another state, and what Texas calls “UIL Contest” was for us a “festival” rather than a competition, but the premise was the same. As a junior high school student, I remember being embarrassed about our performance. We weren’t always well prepared, and perhaps more importantly, our teacher often expressed impatience and frustration with us throughout the rehearsal process.

Then in high school I had a much different experience performing in one of the best orchestras in the state and having a director who prepared us well and had confidence in our abilities. We arrived at Festival expecting to play well and rose to the occasion, taking pride in our accomplishments. I quickly learned to appreciate a good contest experience.
Choosing appropriate music is all-important. It’s sometimes difficult to find that happy medium between what the students think they can play and want to play and what they are capable of performing well. Look for pieces that use skills you’ve been working on in class and are at a realistic level for your students. Push the envelope on one selection, but not all.

When rehearsing, strive to be clear regarding what needs to be better and how to improve it. Then as your students’ skills grow, praise them. You want the students in your ensemble to perform well and to have positive feelings about how they’ve performed and what they’ve learned. Reinforce the idea that improvement and growth are the ultimate reward rather than a Sweepstakes trophy.

Make preparation for sight-reading a part of your routine and consistently practice the approach you plan to use at UIL, so the only surprise in the sight-reading room is the music itself. This will build student confidence in both themselves and in you as their teacher. Help them to do their best by preparing them to be successful.
And what constitutes a successful UIL for us teachers? Of course, we all want our programs to be validated by receiving a top rating. But, more important analyze the experience and learn from it. What new ways can you approach your ensemble as a result of the judge’s comments?

Consider new repertoire you heard at contest that challenges both you and your ensemble. Ask colleagues at the contest who heard your group to suggest fresh repertoire for your consideration. The results can infuse energy into your teaching and challenge students to seek continued musical growth.
Finally, if you find yourself hosting a UIL Contest, one of the first things to do is review the C&CR for procedural requirements and your Region Handbook for host guidelines. It should go without saying to involve the school administration in planning and hosting a UIL Contest.

You will have many students on your campus during the contest and will need to plan for traffic flow, both within and outside the building, feeding adjudicators (often directors and participating students as well), parking, and moving ensembles from warm up, to concert, to sight reading.

If you are hosting an instrumental contest, don’t forget to plan where to keep instrument cases while groups are taking part in the competition. Whenever possible, remember to have the passing bells turned off in the contest area. How many of us have had our UIL recording flawed by the sound of the passing bell?

Arrange for student or parent hosts to meet each organization upon arrival and stay with them as a guide during their stay on your campus. Be sure your greeters and hosts understand their duties and the importance of their role in helping make the contest run smoothly.

After UIL is over, if you’ve achieved the goals you set for your program, analyze what worked the best to help your students reach them and what wasn’t as effective. Plan the future accordingly. If you feel your program has fallen short of the mark, consider what you can do differently next year. Identify and write down goals that you can apply the next contest season. By doing so the process becomes a continuous cycle of musical growth and educational benefits for your students. Have a great UIL.