On March 2nd, Armuchee Symphonic and concert bands participated in the annual Large Group Performance Evaluation or LGPE. LGPE is an evaluation of musical skill based on each band’s performance of three pieces selected by the band’s director. Each band will be graded on a scale of one to five, one being the highest, in seven categories including tone, pitch, rhythm, ensemble, diction, interpretation, and other factors. Armuchee will be performing alongside Coosa’s high school band. 

The Armuchee band looked forward to being a part of this year’s LGPE, only the second one since the pandemic, Mr. Bates, AHS’s band director said, “I am excited, you work hard on three pieces of music for a long time so It’s always fun to take a really great concert in front of an audience.” The Armuchee symphonic band’s three pieces are “Sound Off’, ‘ ‘ The Clapping Song”, and “Nurture”. The piece selection this year is popular among students and Mr. Bates, although not everyone shared the same favorite piece, “Nurture” and “The Clapping Song” were some of the more popular of the three. David Lane, a senior saxophone player, said “My favorite piece is “Nurture”. I think it will be the high point of the concert.” Student perspectives on the pieces varied greatly as the woodwind section tended to prefer either “nurture” or “Clapping song” while the Brass section preferred “Sound Off.” Tyler Buckingham, a sophomore trumpet player, said “My favorite piece is definitely “Sound Off”.

The concert itself was held on the Armuchee High School campus in the newly refurbished auditorium, now with better acoustics and fixed chairs. The Armuchee symphonic band was on stage performing at two o’clock and after the performance was given all superior ratings by a panel of three judges. Armuchee students had been practicing the music for the concert since the music had been received, around early January. The concert was a positive experience for the students allowing them a chance to show off all the hard work they had put into their pieces. Mr. Bates said, “The high point is always watching students enjoy the concert, performing live music is a neat kind of thing.” Since no one fell off the stage Mr. Bates’ high expectations for the performance were met.