After a two-year break from UIL competition in choir caused by COVID-19, San Antonio ISD choirs came roaring back this year, with 14 school groups earning Sweepstakes awards for their top marks in both Concert and Sightreading at the competition March 30 and 31.
“This year posed one of the greatest challenges choir teachers have ever had to face,” choir coordinator Joe Estala said. “Getting students to sing and feel safe and confident was not an easy task. Choir directors were concerned with how their groups would perform for the first time at UIL in two years, but our teachers delivered big.”
The results are a show of the hard work of the teachers, students, and school communities.
“It’s unique to every school, so how everyone went through COVID is different,” Rhodes choir director Catarina Cabrera said. “We all had to do what we had to do. We didn’t realize what we had until it was taken from us.”
At Rhodes, Cabrera and Associate Director Isaias Garcia, like all their counterparts, had to completely start over this year, with students who had no experience with UIL.
Holding their program together by focusing on the basics of music in 2020-2021, they worked harder than ever to build their team and make sure every student felt confident and comfortable.
“We had to be more understanding and offer more grace,” Cabrera said. “We had to be there socially and emotionally and focus on relationship building even more.”
Through the support of their campus and parent community, they knew they had a successful group when 21 of their students made the honor choir at region auditions in the fall.
“It showed us how hard they were going to work,” Cabrera said. “Having the solid basics made it easier to pick up the things they were missing quickly.”
When their Sweepstakes award came in at UIL last month, Cabrera said they were overjoyed for their students.
“They didn’t use it as an excuse,” she said. “Nothing stopped them from wanting to do the best they could. If they do this in a pandemic, they can do anything.”
In total, groups from five high schools — Brackenridge, Burbank, Jefferson, Young Men’s Leadership Academy, and Young Women's Leadership Academy — and four middle schools — Harris, Longfellow, Rhodes and YMLA — earned the Sweepstakes distinction, with additional groups at Edison High School, Whittier Middle School, and Young Women’s Leadership earning Superior ratings in the Sightreading category.