Band teacher Steven Schmitz said he was proud when the band received a superior rating for the second year in a row and the second time in the band’s history.

According to Schmitz, the band traveled to Edina High School April 24 to perform in a large group contest with other schools.

“It’s optional, you don’t have to go, but a school can take one or more bands to a large group contest. We are in region 6AA which is centered at Edina High School,” Schmitz said.

Junior Tommy Guddal said the band performed two songs, “Amberlan” and “Commando March,” for the concert.

“I really liked playing ‘Amberlan’ because it was a really good piece. We had been playing ‘Commando March’ all year so it was getting kind of old,” Guddal said.

According to Schmitz, the band received a lot of praise from the all three judges.  

“The biggest compliments that (the judges) gave us were musicality. That means not just playing notes on a page, but playing with emotion and telling a story with your song,” Schmitz said. “We also got high marks on tone quality for the band as a whole.”

Junior John Kraemer said he was proud of the top ranking results.

“I think (the concert)  went pretty well. We got a superior rating. (This) is the second year in a row with a superior rating,” Kraemer said.

Schmitz said the band needs to continue working to improve in certain areas of their performance.

“The biggest area (to improve) is just balance. Just making sure the melody is the loudest part for the audience so they don’t have to search for it. Our band knows that, but there’s times when we forget it,” Schmitz said.

According to Schmitz, the Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble will perform in the band’s May concert 7 p.m. May 2 in the High School auditorium.