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On Wednesday March 1, Fossil Ridge High School held the Northern Colorado Regional Band Festival which featured numerous high school bands from all over Northern Colorado. The festival allowed the opportunity for bands to be ranked by skill level and advance on to the State Band Festival, which is held at CSU in April.

Both the Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony had outstanding performances; the bands placed within the top three on Wednesday. Students have worked hard to showcase their skill to the judges. Each band is critiqued by three different judges, who assess the strengths and weaknesses of the band by putting tallies on a sheet under different categories. They determine how often the band meets standards of good articulation, shaping, intonation, rhythm, and more. For every tally a bad receives in the “always” category, they receive a point.The best score a band can receive is a 36, meaning that each judge determines the band met all 12 criteria. The Wind Symphony received a 37 and the Symphonic Band received a 40. Seeing as how both bands advanced on to the state festival last year, they have a high chance of going this year too, but that will not be officially determined until all regional festivals across the state are finished on Saturday.

Students were proud to show off “It was a very informative experience that allows bands to showcase their skills and learn from their experiences in a friendly environment.” Elizabeth Choquette, a Symphonic Band junior states. Numerous of the students look forward to their concert on March 3 Tuesday, to perform to their family and friends.