UIL Music Competitions - A Texas Tradition
If you're involved in a school music program in Texas, you're certainly acquainted with the UIL. UIL is the acronym for the University Interscholastic League which was established in 1910 for the purpose of providing annual, extracurricular competitions in athletics, academics and music for schools throughout the state. Individual students and musical groups that compete in UIL music competitions are also acquainted with the UIL Prescribed Music List, or PML, which is the UIL's official list of musical pieces that solo musicians, school orchestras, bands and ensembles are required to perform during the competitions.
As it pertains to music, of course, this includes marching band, concert band, full and string orchestra, both instrumental and vocal solo and ensemble, and choir. Solo and Ensemble music events in band, choir and orchestra are scheduled in 28 TX UIL Music Regions, and portions of the sheet music to be performed must come from the Prescribed Music List (PML).
In addition to selections not contained in the PML, groups and individual performers must also perform selections from the prescribed music list during the competition. Selecting the most appropriate PML sheet music for the performers' level of skill is among the most difficult components of the UIL competition process.
Students desire to earn that Division One Rating at the region competitions, so that they are eligible to advance to the UIL State Solo and Ensemble Contest that is traditionally hosted in Austin each year on Memorial Day Week-end. The annual trek is to Austin, because it was the University of Texas at Austin that created the UIL in first place in 1910. So consider that. What has grown into the most significant inter-school organization of its kind in the world, has a more than one hundred year history, and the model from which it was created here in Texas is now emulated from coast to coast.
In its 100+ year history, the UIL has grown in prominence and significance and spawned more than its share of debates among those who question its relevance to the arts and people who see it as an integral component of any school music program. Detractors believe that there is no objective way to judge creative pursuits.
Yet (again from the Web site of the UIL), "the Music Program [specifically]...is designed to support and enrich the teaching of music as an integral component of the public school curriculum in the state of Texas." Support...enrich...compete, too...and don't forget to play or sing that sheet music as creatively and expressively as possible. Because luckily for us, music and competition have and will continue to coexist beautifully together, because as anyone knows, the heart and soul of a school's music organization is its concert ensemble, whether it be the top-level choral group, or the elite wind ensemble in the band. It is by no coincidence at all that the best marching band programs are a direct reflection of the best concert bands; that the best a cappella choral groups are an extension of the premiere choir in the school; that the wind trios, brass quartets, and percussion ensembles that compete in the TX UIL are usually formed from the top players of their respective programs.
If there is one area of agreement between detractors and defenders, it is that the UIL provides an unparalleled opportunity for students and school music programs to showcase their talent. The UIL ultimately gives students a much deeper appreciation for their art and participation in the annual competitions provides them with memories that will last throughout their lives.
As it pertains to music, of course, this includes marching band, concert band, full and string orchestra, both instrumental and vocal solo and ensemble, and choir. Solo and Ensemble music events in band, choir and orchestra are scheduled in 28 TX UIL Music Regions, and portions of the sheet music to be performed must come from the Prescribed Music List (PML).
In addition to selections not contained in the PML, groups and individual performers must also perform selections from the prescribed music list during the competition. Selecting the most appropriate PML sheet music for the performers' level of skill is among the most difficult components of the UIL competition process.
Students desire to earn that Division One Rating at the region competitions, so that they are eligible to advance to the UIL State Solo and Ensemble Contest that is traditionally hosted in Austin each year on Memorial Day Week-end. The annual trek is to Austin, because it was the University of Texas at Austin that created the UIL in first place in 1910. So consider that. What has grown into the most significant inter-school organization of its kind in the world, has a more than one hundred year history, and the model from which it was created here in Texas is now emulated from coast to coast.
In its 100+ year history, the UIL has grown in prominence and significance and spawned more than its share of debates among those who question its relevance to the arts and people who see it as an integral component of any school music program. Detractors believe that there is no objective way to judge creative pursuits.
Yet (again from the Web site of the UIL), "the Music Program [specifically]...is designed to support and enrich the teaching of music as an integral component of the public school curriculum in the state of Texas." Support...enrich...compete, too...and don't forget to play or sing that sheet music as creatively and expressively as possible. Because luckily for us, music and competition have and will continue to coexist beautifully together, because as anyone knows, the heart and soul of a school's music organization is its concert ensemble, whether it be the top-level choral group, or the elite wind ensemble in the band. It is by no coincidence at all that the best marching band programs are a direct reflection of the best concert bands; that the best a cappella choral groups are an extension of the premiere choir in the school; that the wind trios, brass quartets, and percussion ensembles that compete in the TX UIL are usually formed from the top players of their respective programs.
If there is one area of agreement between detractors and defenders, it is that the UIL provides an unparalleled opportunity for students and school music programs to showcase their talent. The UIL ultimately gives students a much deeper appreciation for their art and participation in the annual competitions provides them with memories that will last throughout their lives.
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Learn why more and more schools rely on Pender's Music Company for their sheet music needs. We stock the entire Texas UIL PML and offer flexible billing options for qualifying schools. Pender's Music Company - sheet music for all occasions.
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