On October 29th and 30th, orchestra students auditioned for a spot in the prestigious Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-State Orchestra ensembles. Students started preparing the audition material when it was originally released in May, with additional pieces released in August, which culminated in the final auditions in late October. Results were released this past Tuesday, Nov. 16. 

Unlike the Region 26 Orchestra auditions, these were recorded auditions, with students having a single chance to record the material they had been preparing for the last few months.

“It is a long, arduous process,” Orchestra Director Mr. Joshua Thompson said. “Students start those études in May, and go through all [of] the different rounds. They do region, [with] some instruments even [going through]  a pre-area round, then area, and then it’s finally judged and cut down on two different days.”

Tens of thousands of students across the state audition for a chance to make it in, and this year, just over 200 students were selected. Out of the entire state, Westwood was one of only two other schools to send 12 total All-Staters, the highest number from a single high school. This achievement is a testament to the sheer dedication and hard-work of the students in the orchestra program. 

“I think it’s probably the best high school group of musicians on the planet, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that it’s just that good of a group,” Mr. Thompson said. 

Listed below are the Westwood students who were accepted into All-State.   

Violin: 

Symphony: 

Hyunjae Lee ’23              

Suhaas Patil ’23           

Peter Kim ’24

Gloria Wu ’24

Philharmonic:    

Daniel Nam ’25

Sophia Louie ’23

Sinfonietta: 

Seokhyun Kim ’23 

Aimee Wang ’24

Viola:

Sinfonietta:

Haekyu Yang ’23

Cello:

Symphony:

Yochen Zhong ’24

Noah Kim ’23

Philharmonic:

Akhil Gharpurey ’23