MPA

What is MPA? More about spring band contests.

Hello everyone, I wanted to send out some information about the MPA contests that AHS and AMS bands will be competing in soon. As a parent, you may have heard me or your student say “we’re going to MPA”, but you may or may not know what that is or why it is important for the Ashford Band program. 

Similar to how we have competitions for the marching band in the fall, in the spring we have a competition called the Alabama Music Performance Assessment (MPA) that virtually all high school bands in Alabama attend. Bands perform three pieces of music in a concert setting (similar to our spring concert). In the audience there are other band members, band directors, parents, and three judges that are making comments into a tape recorder as the band plays. Many bands play throughout the day. The three judges will give each band a score of 1 to 5, with 1 being the best and 5 being the worst. After we perform our concert pieces on the stage, the band will immediately go into another room and participate in the second portion of the competition called Sightreading. During Sightreading, the band is given a piece of music that they have never seen before, and we have 8 minutes to talk through the piece. After we have gone over the piece for 8 minutes, we play the piece from start to finish. A judge keeps time and assigns us another score, again from 1 to 5.

MPA is important because just like a basketball game or track meet, it serves as a goal which organizes and measures the very best of our energies and skills. We are competing for ratings, yes, but we are also competing against ourselves to see how good we can be. For every band contest that we enter, the goal is not only to win, but to see how far above the competition and the previous versions of our own band we can rise.

In 2026, MPA is particularly meaningful because for the first time at Ashford, the middle school band (7th and 8th grades) will be competing in the middle school division of MPA. The middle school band has made great progress through this year, and the participation of the middle school band in MPA will put Ashford on a great trajectory for the future.

If you (parents) would like to attend and watch our MPA performances, I encourage you to do so! There is room on the band buses for chaperones and you are welcome to drive up and watch as well.

Dates:

We will be attending a pre-MPA festival at Bainbridge (GA) High School– it will be on one of the days February 24, 25, or 26. (Directors will be sent their day once registration closes.)

MPA will be at Enterprise High School, and it will be March 3, 4, or 5. (Again, directors will be sent their day once registration closes.)

I will send out Ashford’s specific days and times as soon as I know.

As parents, encourage your students to practice their MPA music and please let me know if you would like to chaperone on either the Bainbridge or Enterprise trips. Thank you as always for your support!