The Dillon Wind Band recently participated in the South Carolina Band Directors Association’s Concert Band Performance Assessment.
This event addressed all of the state standards for music education, and is a tool used to measure the growth and quality of the band programs of schools across the state.
It is the equivalent of a state standardized test and school report card all rolled into one.
Students in the band program at Dillon High performed three prepared selections for a panel of three judges.
Each judge on the panel gave the band an excellent rating and several comments to help improve the ensemble. Next, the students performed  one sight-reading piece for a panel of two judges.
Sight-reading is the ability to play music at sight without practice, and playing it as accurately as possible on the first attempt.
Each judge on the panel gave the band a superior rating which is the highest rating possible.
The band’s overall rating based on the scoring system was an Excellent.
They fell shy of an overall rating of Superior by one point. The students were slightly disappointed, but they are hopeful that they will earn a Superior on next year.
The Excellent rating is equivalent to a rating of B on the school report card.