Finding Their Sound: Three Students, One Stage, and the Confidence Built Through Band

PALM COAST, Fla. – The auditorium was filled with anticipation as families gathered to watch the Symphonic Band take the stage for regional assessments on Thursday night. For the students, the night meant adjudicators, sight reading, and performance under pressure. For parents, it meant watching years of growth unfold in a single evening.

“Tonight, they will be performing three pieces, and there are adjudicators, three different adjudicators, in the room that will judge the quality of the music, how well it’s put together, the difficulty, and all of that, and then after they perform in here, they’ll go do sight reading,” said Geri Scott, there to watch her daughter, Angel Scott, a junior.

“It evaluates how well they can pick up a fresh piece of music, read the music, and do their best on their first run through.”

Angel’s journey has been steady and determined.

“When she started her freshman year in high school, she was in the lower level symphonic, and then moved up to the second, the middle level, and this year, she’s in the highest level,” Scott said. “It is through the assessments like this, and the quality of the program, that they move up through the levels.”

For Allyson Senn, watching her son Cody perform is deeply personal.

“Words can’t put how excited I am,” she said. “He’s also on the autism spectrum. So, for him to overcome all of this, to do the things that he’s doing, he makes me very proud.”

Cody, a junior who plays baritone and euphonium, is also in chorus and theater.

“He’s also an All-State Choir. He just came back from All-State Choir,” Senn shared. “They go through a rigorous, written exams, they audition and only a select few get picked. He was one of two from the school.”

She has watched music transform him. “It’s made him so much of a better and stronger and more confident young man. Just seeing what he’s capable of doing… that is spectacular.”

For Jackie Anderson, band gave her daughter Jalen Ricks direction and a voice.

“At the beginning, she was just super shy, not as outgoing, very reserved,” Anderson said. “And then the minute she got into band, it gave her that motivation to do something, and to keep pushing.”

Now a tenor saxophonist and drum major, Jalen leads her peers with confidence.

“She stands up for herself. She’s not afraid to tell people, she’s really good about voicing her opinion, and not afraid of what other people might think of that opinion.”

The leadership role required auditions, summer practices, and constant dedication. “It’s practice, practice, practice all the time,” Anderson said. “You would see her in the living room, conducting for us.”

Beyond technique and trophies, parents say the greatest reward is who their children are becoming.

“Music is just a huge part of their life,” one parent reflected. “Pretty much everybody who’s in the band program has found a spot. A group that they enjoy being with.”

On a stage measured by notes and timing, something far more meaningful was being evaluated — growth, resilience, friendship, and a lifelong love of music.

Side Note: How Does the Process Work?

Amelia Fulmer, Director of the Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center, described the Florida Bandmasters Association (FBA) concert assessment process as rigorous, educational, and deeply rewarding. Although students participate in marching band during football season, spring is dedicated to concert band.

As she explained, “they’re marching bands, but this is concert band season. So they’re not marching… they’re sitting still, and they’re playing musical music.” The same students participate in both seasons, but in concert season they focus on challenging repertoire tailored to their ensemble’s experience level.

Bands prepare music “all year long,” performing three pieces for three certified Florida adjudicators. These judges, who must have earned superior ratings themselves and completed years of service, evaluate ensembles using a standardized rubric that has been used in Florida for 50 years. After warming up, performing on stage, and being recorded, students must also “site read music they’ve never seen before and just play that, too.”

Fulmer emphasized, “it’s not a competition, it is an actual rating.” Bands receive ratings of superior, excellent, good, or fair based on criteria such as “intonation, articulation, dynamics,” tone quality, and musical effect. When a band earns “straight superiors, that means all four judges gave you a superior.”

Scores are released later that evening, after judges tabulate results. Directors collect the sheets and share them with students—often an emotional moment filled with celebration.

While stressful, Fulmer noted, “it’s what you work for all year.” Bands earning straight superiors may advance to state, where college judges evaluate performances at an even higher level, further preparing students for collegiate auditions and musical careers.

The assessments are part of a multi-day assessment process with 30 bands from across the region participating at the host location of Flagler Palm Coast High School’s Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center.