Flower Mound High musicians end school year on high note with third national Grammy gold award

in five years
By LINDSAY RUEBENS Staff Writer lruebens@dallasnews.com Published 07 June 2011 01:00 PM Only a handful of school music programs in the nation are honored as Grammy Signature Schools each year. That makes Flower Mound High Schools three gold-level awards in the past five years so exceptional and choir director Mark Rohwer so proud. I think the music students here are excited to be involved in the arts, said Mark Rohwer, who is finishing his 20th year as choir director. And I think theyre very hardworking and very high energy. To compete in the contest, 20,000 schools across the country submitted musical recordings and demographic information including student enrollment numbers and how many students graduate and attend college. The gold awards, which come with a $5,500 prize, are given to just seven schools in the nation for excellence in musical education. Two other area schools, Allen High School and Plano West Senior High School, also received the honors, announced in April. Rohwer praised his fellow music directors the school has six bands, three orchestras and eight choirs but said it was the students performance that really set the program apart. Up and down the dial we have a consistently strong program and exceptional kids who dont take no for an answer, he said, and I think that comes across in the recordings.