From March 11 to 16, the St. Mary’s music department brought 84 students to the WorldStrides Anaheim Heritage Music Competition, where they had standout performances across all ensembles.
The band dazzled, with the Varsity Jazz Band taking first place in the jazz category with a Gold rating, while the Varsity Wind Ensemble earned second place in its division, also receiving a Gold. These excellent results secured the Instrumental Sweepstakes award, recognizing the top overall instrumental program.
The choir program matched that success. The Men’s Choir earned both a Gold rating and an Adjudicator’s Award, given to groups with an average score of 95 or higher, placing second in their category. The only group to beat them was St. Mary’s own Varsity Ensemble, which achieved an average score of 97, earning first place, a Gold rating, and the Outstanding Choral Award as the highest scoring choir at the competition. Together, these results brought home the Choral Sweepstakes award, recognizing the top overall choral program.
As a department, St. Mary’s also earned the Festival Sweepstakes Trophy, awarded to the school with the highest combined score across three ensembles. Competing as a 1A school (highschool enrollment of about 500 to 600 students), St. Mary’s stood out among 21 choirs and 27 bands, including larger 3A programs (highschool enrollment of about 800 to 1,500 students). This made the achievement even more impressive.
Beyond the competition, students experienced a wide range of activities, including a campus tour and music clinic at the University of Southern California, a visit to Hollywood Boulevard, and a full day at Disneyland. One student commented how these activities off the stage made the trip extra fun, “these experiences outside the classroom are things I will never forget”.
Reflecting on the trip, choral director Mr. Drahos emphasized that the purpose of the trip was more than just trophies “My biggest hope for these trips is always two-fold: I hope students have the chance to bond with each other and make memories that will outlast any test or concert or assignment from high school, and that students learn the benefits of hard work and are rewarded for it.” That effort was clear in the results, with the department bringing home almost all of the score-based trophies possible.
