Orchestra students headed to San Antonio for All-State

13 orchestra students will be in San Antonio through the weekend as they were selected as part of the All State Orchestra and will be performing at TMEA.

13 orchestra students will be in San Antonio through the weekend as they were selected as part of the All State Orchestra and will be performing at TMEA.

Megan Lin, Staff Reporter

13 students named to the All-State Orchestra are headed to San Antonio for the President’s Day weekend for the annual Texas Music Educator’s Association Clinic/ Convention.

“The All-State events are for choir, band, and orchestra students,” orchestra director Julie Blackstock said. “Students from all over the state of Texas audition and compete for a select few spots in any one of those ensembles.”

Making the All-State orchestra is a considered a great achievement.

Well, you’re the best in the state,” Blackstock said. “It’s kind of like the Super Bowl for football because it is all the very best orchestra students, all the very best choir, all the very best band students all in one area for four days rehearsing for hours and hours and then doing performances at the very end of those three days of rehearsal.”

Although many people make it their long-time goal to make state, some can already say that they’ve accomplished it.

“I’m honored to have made All-State as a freshman because not a lot of freshmen get this opportunity,” freshman Eunjae Kim said. “I’m also excited because I heard that it’s a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to creating music and hanging out with my friends.”

Many students had practiced for the audition well before.

“I started preparing for state well before the school year started, practicing the whole summer on the audition material,” junior Owen Shen said.

Making All-State was a long process but one that was worth it.  

“During the school year, preparing was definitely a challenge because of the schoolwork, and I often found myself practicing past midnight in order to juggle between academics and cello,” Shen said. “That being said, I am pretty happy and glad that my work paid off.”