With the band and choir ending their Area auditions earlier this month, the school has had over 20 students qualify to participate in the All State clinic in February. While the results for State were released in December for orchestra students, the band and choir had to undergo the strenuous, nerve-wracking auditions just a few days after winter break.

“I do get very nervous and start going into coughing fits before my first etude, and that’s probably my hardest moment in any audition,” Alex Chao ‘18 said. “Especially in percussion, when we get nervous, our hand start shaking, and that ruins even the best players.”

The band TMEA Area Auditions were held on Jan. 7, where only a select number of students qualified to play. Hours after the audition, the band students were given the final results: this year, five students were chosen for the clinic, more than that of the past years. The selected students are as followed: Erin Lim ‘19,  Chase Scelsi ‘18, Alex Chao ‘18, Brian Chiu ‘18, and Rachel Horvit ‘17.

“I was still ecstatic and surprised when I saw I had gotten first, and once I saw Brian got 3rd, I immediately screamed his name, ran over to him and hugged him,” Chao said. “Everyone worked hard for the competition, and at the end of the day, only three made it to state. It was a bittersweet moment, but I’m still super happy to have made it in.”

Choir students Christy Vineis ‘17, Martha Beaty ‘18, Akshay Aggarwal ‘17, Jack Mischnick ‘17, and Kyra Kornfeld ‘18 also had to experience the burdensome process of competing against the best throughout the state. For choir, the audition begins with about 10,000 singers and ends with 300. There were three rounds of auditions within Region 26, leading up to a final audition across the area, which encompasses three other regions. The results were announced in descending chair order at the end of the competition, a very stressful moment for all the auditioners.

“I cried a little bit. Making the mixed choir was all I wanted this year and I slid in at 3rd chair!” Vineis said. “Though it was the most stressful thing I’ve ever put myself through, the end reward of singing with some of the best musicians in Texas is so worth it, and that hard work and practice does pay off.”