That's the philosophy that Woods Cross High School's band, orchestra and choir take to the annual Heritage Music Festival in California, where this year the groups dominated all eight categories they entered, winning several additional awards and beating out 36 choirs and 54 instrumental groups from all over the United States.
"We haven't made a clean sweep of the awards like this since 2004," said WXHS Band Director Dr. Shannon Roberts. "This group has the strongest leadership of any students I have worked with. They are an extremely talented group."
In addition to first place gold for the Madrigals, women's, men's and concert choirs, string orchestra, wind ensemble, percussion ensemble and jazz band, Woods Cross also won the Best Band, Choir and Orchestra Awards, five adjudicator awards, eight Maestro Soloist awards, the Vocal and Instrumental Sweepstakes Awards, and the Overall Festival Sweepstakes.
Not that it was easy. Choir director Neil Hendriksen got caught on the other side of the country by the recent American Airlines cancellations, and realized with almost no advance warning that he wouldn't make it back in time for the choir's first concert.
"I got this panicked call from Neil in the parking lot of Circus Circus telling me he's not going to make it," said Dr. Roberts, explaining that the students had stopped there for breakfast on the way to California. Dr. Roberts directed the choirs for their first two concerts. "I gathered music together from all the section leaders and put a score together, while Neil drove from Milwaukee to the Chicago airport to make it in time for the third concert."
For the Woods Cross music department, however, teamwork is a familiar thing. As they've done for the past few years, the groups rented five buses and traveled to the festival together, an extension of the way the department stays connected throughout the rest of the year.
"We might be talented and stuff, but the big thing is that we learn to work as a group," said choir member Bryan Tagge. "In some schools the band and choir departments don't get along, but here we're all friends."
This camaraderie extends to the teachers, all of whom also work as professional musicians.
"I work with two of the best teachers on the planet," said Dr. Roberts, discussing Hendriksen and the school's orchestra director, Sara Jane Thompson. "Having three professional musicians teaching at a school is pretty unusual - it's like health classes taught by three doctors."
At Woods Cross, however, it's all part of the musical magic.
"Here, the music group isn't the nerdy kids," said Tagge. "It's the place everyone wants to be."
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