Minshin Kim ’21: “It feels pretty good (to make All State), considering that not many freshmen make it, so I feel like I distinguish myself as one of the higher players, but I don’t want to push that to another level. I’m anticipating to learn much more in an orchestra sense, and just to learn how to bond with more people and be a better person.”

Anant Malpani ’21: “I’m happy that I made it because it’s a good start. I thought I wasn’t going to do well, so I felt happy (in making All State). I hope (All State) matures me as a musician, and it’ll be a lot of fun playing with a lot of talented people.”

Emily Liau ’20: “I was kind of nervous (for the auditions) because last year, I didn’t make it, but this year, I wanted to make it so I practiced more. Afterwards, I was relieved but still nervous because I had to wait for a week for the results to come out. I was just really happy because everything I put into to work for All State worked out well.”

Brian Lee ’20: “(Waiting for results was) probably the most stressed I’ve ever been this year, but I made area at least so I knew I had a decent shot in making it. I felt stress because I started working on it ever since summer started, and it was an accumulation of all the work coming together, and I didn’t want all the work to be wasted.”

Anna Wicker ’20: “There were definitely more excerpts than last year, so that’s probably what made it more harder, but overall, they were a lot easier than last year because you don’t need much technique; it’s whether you can play fast, or can you play in tune, etc.”

David Xu ’19: “I wasn’t really paying attention the first half of the day because of homework, and the results just came out, so I was like ‘Okay’. I was surprised with the results because it was kind of unexpected because the people who I thought were better didn’t make it. I felt lucky because I got last chair, so I just barely made it.”

Margaret Seo ’19: “I was so stressed (for the results); I couldn’t do any homework. I was literally refreshing that TMEA page five times a minute. (When the results came out), it was kind of weird, and I messed up a lot, but I’m so excited to see my friends.”

Naveen Rajan ’18: “I thought they (the excerpts) were easier than previous years, but even then, I didn’t feel confident. I didn’t practice a lot over the summer, but I made sure to practice the week before. (It feels) good (to make All State four years) because it’s a big accomplishment.”

Lillian Young ’18: “I am beyond excited to go to All State again this year. Our repertoire, Strauss’ Alpine Symphony, is a phenomenal piece and I cannot wait to begin rehearsals. I’m also very excited to start my high school career by playing Strauss Don Juan with the symphony, make symphony the next two years, and finish in the symphony with another Strauss. Alpine Symphony is a very fitting end to my high school bass career.”

Albert Chen ’18: “Since I had previous experience, I knew that making myself nervous about the audition wouldn’t help me, so I kept my composure. After the auditions, I felt anxious yet relieved. I feel excited to be called a four-year All Stater, as that was my first goal coming into high school. I will certainly treasure this year’s State experience much more, as it my last year of All State.”