Seven Grapevine-Colleyville ISD music ensembles earned national honors from the Foundation for Music Education, the district announced Oct. 28.
Three of those groups landed the top award tier. The Colleyville Heritage High School Wind Ensemble and the Grapevine High School Percussion Ensemble were each named Mark of Excellence National Winners, according to the district's announcement. Heritage Middle School's Honors Band also earned National Winner status.
The National Winner designation goes to the top 25% of entries submitted from across the country, according to the Foundation for Music Education.
The second 25% receive Commended Winner status. Ensembles submit recordings from the current school year, and an adjudicator evaluates each entry.
Three more GCISD ensembles earned Commended Winner honors: the Grapevine High School Wind Ensemble, Grapevine High School Jazz Ensemble 1 and Cross Timbers Middle School Advanced Treble Choir.
A seventh group, the Grapevine High School Honors Band, was named a Citation of Excellence National Winner. The district's announcement described the difference between the Mark of Excellence and Citation of Excellence as "the ensemble classification."
The percussion competition's submission deadline was June 5, with results announced Sept. 15, according to the foundation's guidelines. National winners receive a trophy, while commended winners receive a plaque.
