For the first time in seven years, a Polk County High School band has earned the highest possible rating at the Western District Music Performance Assessment, sweeping Superior ratings from all judges at Mars Hill University on Thursday.
The PCHS concert band, under the direction of Kimberley Benson, received Superior ratings from all three stage judges and the sightreading judge – an accomplishment that represents the highest level of musical performance. The band last earned a Superior rating in 2017 and had not participated in the assessment since 2019.
Music Performance Assessment is a highly respected event where concert bands perform three musical selections and are evaluated by a panel of judges on tone quality, technique, musicality and overall performance. Students must also sight-read a piece of music they have never seen before, demonstrating their ability to read and perform music in real time.
Achieving a Superior rating requires excellence across multiple dimensions of performance, making the band’s clean sweep of all four judges particularly impressive.
Preparation for the assessment was supported by a $1,500 grant from the American Music Education Network’s “Notes of Hope” initiative, which was created to support schools in Western North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene. The band used grant funds to bring in several widely respected clinicians to work with students in preparation for the event.
