Band students of all grade levels begin the All Region audition process Saturday at Plano Senior High School with hopes of advancing to state.

“I’ve never actually experienced state before,” freshman William Phytal said. “But I do have experience from all regions in middle school and it was pretty competitive because there are a lot of other people who are also trying to get into state who also practiced a lot.”

Competing against 6A schools this year leaves sophomore Jeamin Yoon with some uncertainty. 

“I am really not sure what to expect because I am going in a different division than last year,” Yoon said. “Last year I went to 5A which is for the smaller schools, this year I am going to 6A which is for big schools like Plano and they have a lot of good musicians.”

Putting in the work can be crucial when auditioning for an advanced ensemble according to Yoon.

“We have two technical pieces and one lyrical piece,” Yoon said. “The two technical pieces one of them is meant to be musical but technical so its like fast fingering but a lot of slurs and for the other technical piece you have to really make sure your doing the accents and the lyrical pieces you have to make sure your in tune and playing musically.” 

Excited for her last year of regionals, senior Lindsey Jobe aims high after auditioning since her freshman year. 

“I have auditioned every single year,” Jobe said. “This year being my last, I do really want to make region. I may not even be able to attend the concert but I would still like to achieve the goal of me being in the regionals. I’m really just trying to challenge myself and surprise myself that I actually can play challenging music.”