Each year, the band prepares several pieces of music for concerts and UIL contests. However, during the 2011-2012 concert season, the top band took part in a national contest. At each concert and contest the Wind Symphony performed, they recorded the music, always playing their best to get a great recording. They then chose the best one to send in.

“We sent in recordings of two of our songs to be judged,” band director Glenn Lambert said. “We chose to use our recordings from the UIL performances at Allen High School for both of the songs.”

After the tapes were sent, and several months of waiting, the results came in. The Wylie East Wind Symphony was nationally recognized in the top 25 percent of bands in the nation.

“The superintendent of Wylie was notified first. He then told the fine arts director and that was when we found out,” Lambert said. “It was cool to find out from the highest person in the district.”

The members of the Wind Symphony band worked hard to earn national recognition. Even after showing up early for rehearsal and practicing for hours a day to be sure they got a good recording, the award still took them by surprise.

“I was really impressed that Wylie East is now nationally recognized. People used to fail to even recognize the ‘east’ in our name,” trumpet player Luke Dailey said. “It helped me realize that we really are good.”

The top band has set up a good name for themselves through this recognition. A few years ago, Wylie East was a new school and was not well known, but they have proven that the size and age of the school doesn’t matter when it has ambitions.

“Being a freshman last year, I didn’t know what I was doing and it was stressful,” clarinet player Hannah Diaz said, “but it just goes to show that size and age doesn’t matter.”