On Wednesday, February 8, McKinney Christian Academy’s sixth grader Silas Urban competed at the TPSMEA Middle School Honor Band competition. Urban won the third chair on the clarinet and was the first sixth grader in the MCA Band history to compete and win a spot for this organization. Each contestant had to play their chromatic scale and prepared the same fast and slow musical excerpt.  Five judges blindly listened to each contestant to decide who would win a spot in the band. When asked about the competition Urban said, “I think the pieces were hard but they got easier over time because I practiced more. I am anxious about the upcoming concert. I have four days to learn seven pieces of music, but I have already spent several hours on them. Some of them are easy, but some of the pieces are difficult. There are some things I don’t know, so I got help from Mr. Snow. I am really excited about the music and am proud I get to be a part of it.”  The majority of the band Urban will be playing with will consist primarily of seventh and eighth graders that have one or two years more experience on his instrument, the clarinet. The concert will be held on Saturday, February 18, at Greenhill School.