On Wed., Mar. 12, 2014, the Bel Air High School Orchestra Program attended the Orchestra Assessment held at C. Milton Wright High School. The Assessment is an event attended by all musical programs of public schools in Harford County as well as John Carroll High School.

The Orchestra Assessment is not a competition, but as orchestra director Mr. O’Neil says “it’s a county assessment for groups. [More highly] graded groups can go to a state assessment.” It’s also a way to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the program. It’s comparable to a standardized test for a music program.

The performing groups are graded by three judges. The first grade the group receives is from a performance the group has rehearsed. Two of the judges gave the performance a 1, which is superior, and one gave them a 2, which is above average.

The second opportunity for judgment is sight-reading, which is when a group is given a piece that they have never seen before and must perform it for another judge. The director has a certain amount of time to look over the music before the students can see it. BAHS also received a superior rating in sight-reading.

The Orchestra Program at Bel Air High School has been invited to participate at the state level at Morgan State University on Apr. 29 and Apr. 30. They are in the process of deciding if they want to go, though Mr. O’Neil says, “we will probably be going.”

The Orchestra’s next concert is on Thu., Mar. 20, at the BAHS Auditorium. They will be performing their superior assessment pieces.