Guitar students competed at the Regional Universal Interscholastic League (UIL) contest at Katy High School on Jan. 31, earning 22 soloists and 12 ensembles a spot at the State Competition in Austin.

The guitar program has participated in UIL competitions since 1999, consistently placing across all class levels including Class One, which categorizes advanced concert level pieces, Class Two, which are intermediate pieces, and Class Three, which emphasizes beginner level pieces.

Since November, guitar teacher Edward Grigassy has worked individually with soloists, ensemble quartets and trios preparing for Regional UIL, emphasizing the importance of preparation to achieve success.

“We do a lot of slow practice, carefully making sure that everything you play sounds good and that you’re comfortable with it,” Grigassy said. “A lot of times, people play and they’re struggling, so [they] have to slow down and play things exactly right. We do this to really deep dive into the weak links in the songs and just focus on perfecting these pieces for the next few months.”

According to Grigassy, UIL contests are a rare occasion for students to devote their full attention to one piece in order to make it concert-worthy. Only pieces that receive a score of 1 out of 5 are considered concert-level pieces and qualify to advance to State UIL.

“For guitar students, there’s only one contest per year, so they get a chance to focus on one piece at a time,” Grigassy said. “It’s a real challenge. It’s like asking, ‘Can you sit down and learn something so well that the judge calls it a concert-worthy performance?’ It’s like going into the boxing ring against yourself.’”

To Grigassy, UIL contests are not just an opportunity for students to perform once and immediately move on. Rather, it is a chance for them to hold on to and hone their skills, developing as an artist along the way.

“[Students] can learn something in a field that is considered difficult and highly specialized, and master it to the point where they feel like it’s part of them and their own expression,” Grigassy said. “Not only do the students have a piece with them that they can take with them forever, but they also have that experience of what it’s like to go through that process.”

Sophomore Lily Goodwin performed “Farewell to Stromness“ by Peter Maxwell Davies, a Class One solo. She also played “Nebulae” by Olga Amelkina-Vera as a Class One quartet alongside seniors Sara Kannan, Kelly Escobar and Amy Rangel. After gradually learning their individual parts, they used a program called Noteflight to input each member’s part and play it back slowly. Then, they practiced with Noteflight five to eight times, which allowed them to collaborate, play back and perfect their music, before finally performing together without it.

“When we were practicing, we made sure we went with a tempo that everyone could comfortably play their part at, and then we gradually increased together,” Goodwin said. “We also made sure to give each other constructive feedback on different parts.”

Goodwin ultimately scored a 1 on both Class One performances, qualifying her for State UIL. The state solo and ensemble contest will be held May 23 and May 25 at multiple sites in the Austin area, including the UT Austin Butler School of Music.
This year, guitar students earned 22 medals in Class Three solos and 15 medals in Class Two performances. In Class One, 24 soloists and 42 students that performed in ensembles qualified for State. Though everyone was able to compete at Regional UIL, only fully memorized Class One solos were able to move onto State UIL.

“I’m excited and nervous for State because that’s in Austin, and it’s a lot harder to get a good score at State compared to Regionals,” Goodwin said.

Sophomore Lucas Nguyen also competed at Regional UIL with a Class One solo and a Class One quartet with junior Rohith Mehra and sophomores Nathaniel Pate and Marcelo Medina. He performed “Romance” by Niccolò Paganini as his solo and participated in a quartet performance of “Clair de Lune” by Claude Debussy.

“I prepared a few months in advance by memorizing my pieces,” Nguyen said. “I had to practice during every single lunch leading up to Regional UIL, and Grigassy gave our class tips about what each judge was looking for in our performance.”

Nguyen qualified for State and plans to continue practicing his quartet and solo, implementing feedback from both his teacher and judge. According to Nguyen, working with a quartet was challenging at times, requiring a high level of collaboration and cooperation.

“It definitely caused me some stress when some people didn’t show up for practice or couldn’t make it,” Nguyen said. “Logistics were a challenge, but it taught me and the other quartet members how to cooperate and communicate together.”

Grigassy emphasized his pride when he saw his students from all levels succeed at UIL competitions, knowing that their skills are becoming more refined as their motivation grows.

“It’s a great thrill for a teacher to see their students succeeding,” Grigassy said. “We put all these hours into it, and the students are understanding it. We’re not having to order them to practice or make them do it for grades. They’re doing it on their own, and that’s amazing.”