By:  Cain                                              H.R. No. 296
       73R4943 NBM-F
                                  R E S O L U T I O N
    1-1        WHEREAS, Under the capable tutelage of director Beverly
    1-2  Hirsch, the J. L. Long Middle School choir has attained
    1-3  well-deserved recognition for its outstanding performances over the
    1-4  past three years, entertaining and delighting audiences throughout
    1-5  Dallas and North Texas and garnering numerous awards in University
    1-6  Interscholastic League competitions; and
    1-7        WHEREAS, During the 1988-1989 school year, the school's choir
    1-8  placed 28 students on the 100-member Dallas All-City choir, more
    1-9  than any other middle school choir in the city; eight J. L. Long
   1-10  students also made the All-Region choir, again the best performance
   1-11  of any Dallas middle school; and
   1-12        WHEREAS, J. L. Long Middle School students dominated citywide
   1-13  and UIL regional solo/ensemble contests that year, winning the most
   1-14  medals of any school at each level of competition, including the
   1-15  award for best boys' ensemble in the city; the boys' choir also won
   1-16  sweepstakes, the highest award possible, in concert and
   1-17  sightreading competition at the city and regional events; and
   1-18        WHEREAS, At the Sandy Lake festival, the 7th and 8th grade
   1-19  girls received top ratings from all of the competition judges, an
   1-20  outstanding achievement duplicated at the festival by the boys'
   1-21  choir in their competition; and
   1-22        WHEREAS, During the 1989-1990 school year, J. L. Long Middle
   1-23  School students continued to outperform other teams in local and
   1-24  regional choral competition, again placing 28 members on the
    2-1  All-City choir and 12 members on the All-Region choir to surpass
    2-2  all 21 of the other middle schools in the Dallas Independent School
    2-3  District; and
    2-4        WHEREAS, The impressive vocal talents of these young students
    2-5  also were evident in the solo/ensemble contests, as the school
    2-6  again took top honors with the most medals of any middle school in
    2-7  the local and regional competitions, paced by the first place
    2-8  showing of the girls' ensemble; and
    2-9        WHEREAS, The 8th grade girls added further honors by winning
   2-10  the judges' sweepstakes award in local concert and sightreading
   2-11  competition, while the boys' choir received the top rating in
   2-12  sightreading; these two groups also performed impressively in
   2-13  sightreading competition at the UIL regionals and at the Sandy Lake
   2-14  festival, where the 7th grade girls were named the outstanding
   2-15  choir in their class; and
   2-16        WHEREAS, During the 1990-1991 school year, the J. L. Long
   2-17  Middle School choral department made an even greater showing by
   2-18  placing 36 students on the 100-member All-City choir and 18
   2-19  students on the All-Region choir, and for the third consecutive
   2-20  year the solo/ensemble members outperformed their local and
   2-21  regional competition by winning the most medals in those events;
   2-22  and
   2-23        WHEREAS, Other achievements compiled by these young students
   2-24  during the year included sweepstakes awards by the boys' choir, a
   2-25  top rating by the 8th grade girls in city competition, and top
   2-26  ratings from all of the judges for both groups in regional
   2-27  competition and again at the Sandy Lake festival; and
    3-1        WHEREAS, The school's show choir, Expectations, also enjoyed
    3-2  phenomenal success, receiving the top scores from all of the judges
    3-3  at the Sandy Lake festival three years in a row; in addition, the
    3-4  36-member show choir participated in the America Sings festival in
    3-5  Houston to benefit the nation's homeless children and earned the
    3-6  selection as the Most Outstanding Middle School Choir at a choral
    3-7  competition at Astroworld in Houston; and
    3-8        WHEREAS, These young vocalists have brought great honor and
    3-9  prestige to J. L. Long Middle School, and their exceptional
   3-10  achievements in local and regional UIL competition are indeed
   3-11  worthy of special praise and recognition; now, therefore, be it
   3-12        RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 73rd Texas
   3-13  Legislature hereby commend the student members and sponsors of the
   3-14  J. L. Long Middle School choir on their noteworthy achievements in
   3-15  interscholastic choral competition and extend to them best wishes
   3-16  for continued success in the years to come; and, be it further
   3-17        RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
   3-18  prepared for the members and sponsors of the choir as an expression
   3-19  of high esteem by the Texas House of Representatives.