With their trip to Chicago fading in the rearview mirror, orchestra is shifting its focus to UIL season with the state competition in March.

“We’re working very hard to prepare for UIL,” freshman Isha Naik said. “We’re learning all types of things at the moment like sight reading and we come to sectionals once a week.”

While orchestra students have spent more than a semester preparing for the competition season, nerves and anxiety are already on the rise for many.

“I’m very excited for UIL because it’s a really big competition for everyone, but I’m still very nervous since we have to do well and make everything sharp, clear, and perfect,” freshman Hannah Kim said. “It’s really scary, however, I’m still excited to be able to perform with my friends.”

Students are practicing both in and out of class to get accustomed to their instruments in hopes of having successful competition performances.

“I usually spend about an hour or two everyday to practice and we play together as a whole orchestra in class,” sophomore Grace Nguyen said. “I’ve never done UIL before, cause this is my first year, but I’m excited to make good music with everyone at UIL.”