On April 15, 24 Schools from Lewisville ISD, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Southlake ISD, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, Frisco ISD, Lake Dallas ISD, and Little Elm ISD gathered at Flower Mound High School to compete in the Choir UIL competition.

The choirs competed against other schools to impress the judges.

In this type of competition, choirs do not earn a rank. Instead, any choir who earns an overall rating of superior on-stage and superior in the sight-reading room, can win the sweepstakes award.

All choirs can achieve a sweepstakes award depending on how well they sing.

“All of our students have received the sweepstakes award before,” Choir teacher Adela Martinez said. “Except for the brand new kids to choir, we have a history of excellence dating back to our middle school feeder schools.”

The students who participated in UIL have been singing since middle school.

“Except for the brand new kids to choir, we have a history of excellence dating back to our feeder schools,” Martinez said.

At this UIL completion, FMHS received four of the sweepstakes awards. All students received a commended score on their individual performances.

“This year, I got a chance to be in the women’s choir and bond with all of the girls in my group,” senior Raphaelle Bernier said. This is her second year participating in UIL.

Taking part in UIL can benefit those students who experience the challenges of the competition.

“The best part of being in choir is seeing the audience’s reaction to the variety of songs we sing,” freshman Savannah Allmon said. “I think the energy of the crowd really determines how well we sing.”

Students have been preparing for UIL since January this year. Individual and group practices were held every morning before school.

“We had to practice every morning before school and the whole class period,” freshman Tess Hendry said. “It was tiring but it really helped with everyone’s sight reading.”

The competition came to a conclusion on April 17. With the coaching of the choir teachers and hard work of the students, the 2013 choir UIL ended with satisfying results.