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The pandemic has made bands across the nation change the way they rehearse and share their music. This was no exception for Fuqua School.

Fuqua band students recently participated in a virtual competition. This year, students were required to work up pieces, record performances on campus and send them to the judges. Bands were then judged by what level music they were playing. Each state gave an approved music list and graded each piece by difficulty. These grade levels changed how judges scored the ensembles.

“It’s a complicated grading scale,” Tyler Gage, Fuqua School director of bands, said. “The judges give scores for tone, intonation (tuning), articulations and overall musicianship.”

Possible scores for music ensembles ranged from superior, excellent, good, fair and poor. Fuqua’s sixth-grade beginning band scored a superior rating. The junior band, made up of seventh and eighth graders, scored an excellent, and the high school concert band, known as the Fuqua School Senior Band, scored a superior.

“Like everybody else, this year has been one learning curve after the other. We were lucky to have smaller ensembles and could continue to rehearse in safe spaces throughout the year,” Gage said. “Without the quick paced marching season, the bands were able to dive deeper into each piece that we rehearsed in class.”

“Under the direction of Tyler Gage, our band program continues to be a huge source of pride for the Fuqua family,” Paul “Chance” Reynolds, Fuqua School head of school, said.