4 MISD FAD Programs Win National Honor

Congratulations to the Boyd Honors Consortium Orchestra, Mike Link & Shelly New, directors; the Faubion Honors Orchestra, Kari Zamora, director; and the Dowell Wind Ensemble, Tiffany Lisko, director; for being selected to receive the following Mark of Excellence awards from The Foundation for Music Education:

Boyd HS Honors Consortium Orchestra – 2018 National Orchestra Honors Commended Winner

Faubion MS Honors Orchestra – 2018 National Orchestra Honors National Winner

Dowell Wind Ensemble – 2018 National Honor Wind Band National Winner

Congratulations also to the McKinney North High School Symphonic Band, directed by Josh Kurzweil, for being selected as a 2018 Citation of Excellence National Winner by The Foundation of Music Education.

The Mark of Excellence project seeks to recognize and award outstanding achievement in performance by high school and middle school bands, choirs and orchestras, while The Citation of Excellence is a competition for Texas High School non varsity bands. Both projects gather entries from throughout the United States and provide valuable feedback for all entrants. A unique competitive environment is created which allows ensembles to compare their performance quality to other outstanding groups from across the country. The top 25% of entrants are recognized as National Winners, with the second 25% named as Commended Winners. All entrants receive a compilation recording of the winning performances. Winners are recognized in regional and/or national publications and at national and regional conventions. It is hoped the adjudicator critiques and the compilation recordings will prove helpful in improving performances and will spread knowledge of quality literature.