Southeast Wyoming High School Musicians Gather in Laramie for Annual Assessment

High school music programs from across southeast Wyoming will descend on the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie next week for the annual Southeast Music Performance Assessment, a two-day event that puts student musicians in front of evaluators who have never heard them play.

Scheduled for April 13-14, the assessment is organized by the Wyoming High School Activities Association, the Casper-based body that governs 27 activities across 72 member schools statewide. Under Commissioner Trevor Wilson, the WHSAA places Music Performance Assessments in weeks 41 or 42 of the school year, and the Laramie dates fall precisely in that window.

The event's structure distinguishes it from a concert or traditional competition. The Wyoming Music Educators Association describes district MPAs as opportunities for students to perform, both individually and as ensemble members, before music educators from outside their own schools. Scores are assigned using a common rubric, giving programs a consistent benchmark against district-wide standards rather than the familiar judgment of their own teachers.

UW's Department of Music makes the Laramie campus a fitting host. The university, Wyoming's only four-year public institution, recently earned Carnegie Research Level 1 status, placing it among the nation's top research universities. WyoMEA has also designated the campus as a future site for state-level music education events, cementing UW's role in Wyoming's broader music pipeline.

Laramie High School, with approximately 1,127 students and a 4A classification under the current WHSAA reclassification structure, will participate on home turf as a host-community school. The school sits at the center of Albany County, where UW anchors the city's academic and cultural identity.

The southeast assessment follows the established model of a comparable event in southwest Wyoming, where the Southwest Music Festival brings choir, orchestra, and band programs from approximately a dozen schools together for performances and clinics, evaluated by professional educators drawn from across the Rocky Mountain region.

The WHSAA has expanded considerably since its founding in the 1920s as a regulator of athletic competition between Wyoming's high schools. The association now oversees fine arts programs including music and drama as part of its 27-activity portfolio, serving all 72 member schools across the state.