West hosts multiple CHSAA music groups

Most students know that CHSAA regulates the sports that are done at the high school level, but not many know that it also has its own annual CHSAA Large Group Festival. Every four years, Greeley West hosts the instrumental portion of the festival on campus, and this year marks the first time since 2014.

CHSAA Large Group is similar to other competitions that the musicians have competed in this year, with the inclusion of an additional category: sight reading. After performing and working on stage with a clinician, the musicians were brought up to the band room to be judged on their ability to sight read. This category judges the ensemble’s ability to read and play music that they have not previously seen.

Pegasus competed Tuesday at Northridge and performed a lyrical repertoire and received a two as their final score. Wednesday, the Spartan Chamber Orchestra hit the stage and earned a score of straight ones for their performance on stage and an additional one for their sight reading ability. The wind ensemble followed with their performance Thursday morning that earned them two ones and a two, with a one in sight reading. This ranking gave the band an overall excellent score. Last, West brought jazz to Colorado Springs Friday where the Spartones received twos for their performance.

Behind the scenes of the instrumental portion, West students were hard at work to help the festival run smoothly for the ensembles. Volunteers were needed to guide the ensembles, assist with distributing sight reading music, run scores between headquarters and judges, rearrange the stage for each group, and watch the storage area to prevent theft. The success of the festival would not have been possible without the help of the volunteers, directors, and musicians.