ICYMI: West Orange High School Wind Ensemble Receives Gold Rating at Festival

The West Orange High School wind ensemble received a gold rating at the Region I Concert Band Festival at Verona High School for its performances of “Puszta” and “Danza No. 2”, according to school officials.

In addition to a gold rating, the West Orange wind ensemble received several awards. The wind ensemble won the Outstanding Woodwind and Outstanding Percussion awards, and WOHS senior Matt Talbot received an Outstanding Solo award for his oboe solo in “Puszta”, according to a release from West Orange Public Schools.

The ratings are determined by a panel and adjudicated according to National Band Association guidelines with a scoring system totaling 100 points:

Tone - 20 points; Intonation – 15 points; Ensemble Technique - 15 points; Interpretation – 20 points; Balance – 20 points; and Literature – 10 points.

Gold ratings are given to bands who achieve a score of 88 to 100 points, while silver is given to scores of 75 to 87.9 points, and bronze to scores of 50 to 74.9 points. Degree of difficulty is a consideration in the scoring, but a gold rating is reserved for bands performing at the highest degree of difficulty.

Since achieving the gold rating, the West Orange High School wind ensemble will perform with three other top rated bands from Region I at the State Gala at Rutgers University on Sunday, May 3, according to West Orange Public Schools.

The WOHS ninth grade band received a bronze rating. The WOHS concert band and WOHS symphonic winds received bronze and silver ratings, respectively.​

(Photos courtesy of West Orange Public Schools)