Pasadena ISD Band Students Earn Superior Rating at UIL Competition

Pasadena ISD Band Students Earn Superior Rating at UIL Competition
Posted on 10/24/2019
Pasadena ISD Band Students Earn Superior Rating at UIL Competition


Bands from each Pasadena ISD high school competed in the UIL Region 19 Marching Contest against marching bands from Channelview, Deer Park, Goose Creek, La Porte and Pearland on October 19.

 

Each Pasadena ISD school earned a rating of Excellent or above.

•Dobie High School earned a Superior Rating of 111;

•Pasadena High School earned an Excellent Rating of 122;

•Pasadena Memorial High School earned a Superior Rating of 111;

•Sam Rayburn High School earned a Superior Rating of 111;

•and South Houston High School earned a Superior Rating of 112. 

Michael Holt, assistant director of Fine Arts for Pasadena ISD, said, “We are extremely proud of all five bands for their outstanding results.”

The Superior Rating earned by SHHS marks the first time in over a decade that the band has earned this distinction. In preparation for the competition, the students began practicing in July and have attended two hours of rehearsals each day after school to perfect their show. The band, backed by SHHS administration and the South Houston community, was committed to creating a strong musical and visual ensemble to represent their school well.

When asked what made this year’s band stand out at the competition, SHHS Band Director, David Ngo said, “The students have committed themselves to strive for excellence and to not settle.  They push themselves to be better at every rehearsal and every performance. This has been a multi-year process and they are setting themselves up for future success.”

Ngo sets his students up for future success through his unique teaching philosophy, where he emphasizes the importance of various life skills such as goal setting, cooperative learning, critical thinking and problem solving through music. The goal of the band department is to create life-long learners who have an appreciation for music, as well as the skills to achieve success in any profession.

Ngo believes that the band’s success at UIL validates what the students knew all along, that they can overcome any obstacle and achieve success.

“The hardest thing in preparing for success is not teaching the necessary skills, but to get the students to fully believe in themselves that they can do it.  Once they learn that lesson, they can achieve anything.” said Ngo.