Each year, the Fountain Hills High School music program takes part in the Heritage Music Festival in Hollywood, Calif., performing with groups from all over the country and taking in the sights in their free time.

This year, the Falcon squad brought home awards in eight different categories, including Outstanding Choral Program and the Outstanding Overall Program.

The Falcons always do well at the Heritage Music Festival but, this year, the team brought home a rather impressive collection of hardware.

Austin Hemphill kicked things off with the Outstanding Soloist Award for Concert Choir. The FHHS Concert Choir also received an Excellent rating, equivalent to a silver medal.

The local percussion ensemble group and symphonic band also received ratings of Excellent, while the Vocal FX Jazz Choir and Falcon jazz band both received first place honors.

The first of two major awards for the event was the Outstanding Choral Program Sweepstakes Award, which is given to the group with the highest combined scores in vocal jazz and concert choir.

Finally, for the second time in school history, the Falcons received the impressive Outstanding Overall Programs Sweepstakes Award, which is given to the group that produces the highest combined score in instrumental and vocal areas.

According to instructor Lynn Truby, it was a great way to cap off the 2014 school year.

“I think this was a year of firsts,” she said.

“We had one of the most successful band councils we’ve ever had, everybody worked really hard, and that leadership trickled down through the band.

“I think everybody worked really well together and communicated really well, and I think having both of those things is how you succeed.”

Members of the FHHS band council came together to discuss this year’s achievements, all agreeing that the Heritage Musical Festival could only be described as a “huge success.”

“The trip was April 10 through April 14,” explained Lianne Chung.

“The competition was hosted out of Santa Monica High School, and the awards ceremony was held at Universal Studios.”

According to Alex Osborn, those five days were a non-stop roller coaster ride.

“We were busy pretty much from early morning to late at night. We performed earlier in the day and then spent some time at amusement parks,” he said.

“We also went to a pirate dinner our first night there, which was pretty incredible. But we were basically swamped from morning to night, then we’d sleep and repeat it the next day.”

According to Gina Chung, the best part of the California trip was the big prize the Falcons received on the final day.

“As a senior, the overall award we got for the competition was the highlight,” she said.

“I think that was pretty cool. It was the first time we’ve won it in a while, and this was only our second time getting it overall.”

Evan Cain, however, was especially proud of the jazz band’s first place finish.

“I think that was really outstanding,” he added.

“Our jazz band has been improving over the years, but I think this year has been one of the strongest years ever. There was a lot of energy and a lot of pride in the show we put together, so it was really cool to see those results come out.”

It was a big haul for the Falcons this year, sure, but not one the kids necessarily expected they would be bringing home.

“We got the Outstanding Overall Performance award, which means we were the strongest group there,” Osborn said.

Logan Cain continued.

“The key to our success is that we don’t really stress awards so much,” he added.

“We stress having a really good time so, when we’re competing, we’re just really enjoying ourselves while playing music that we love. I think that comes out and ends up winning us the awards. We’re just a family having fun together, really.”

Alex Smith agreed, saying that it’s a vibe he expects to see continue into next year’s program.

“Next year we’re getting a lot of freshmen,” he said.

“We also had a lot of freshmen this year and, because of that, we labeled it as a building year. But it didn’t turn out that way at all. We expected to struggle, but we didn’t. They were a really strong group and, as sophomores next year, they’re really going to help us in the long run.”

Maia Gutierrez agreed.

“It’s been pretty impressive to see this year’s freshmen grow so much,” she added.

“Next year, I expect to see everyone grow even more. It’s going to be great.”