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Focusing on their technique, seniors Evelyn Liu and Haruna Kubo perform at the TMEA Send-Off Concert at the PAC. This concert served as a final preparation before the Full Orchestra’s appearance at the state convention.
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With precision, Ethan Cheng ’29 plays violin alongside the Full Orchestra at the TMEA Send-Off Concert. The ensemble spent months to rehearse for their appearance at the upcoming convention.
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Playing in unison, seniors Natalie Ju and Haruna Kubo play at the TMEA Send-Off Concert. This event allowed the orchestra to showcase their repertoire before their performance.
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Maintaining rhythm with the rest of the ensemble, Dorian Herri ’26 performs on bass with the full orchestra. The concert previewed the music that the orchestra would later present.
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Concentrating on her part, Ivanu Hsu ’29 plays with precision as part of the Full Orchestra. The performance reflected months of preparation and rehearsals leading up to the ensemble’s state-level appearance.
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Smiling, Rithvik Hegde ’26 jokes with his friend during an orchestral performance. Hegde played the bass as part of the concert.
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Director Joshua Thompson conducts an orchestral performance. Thompson led the musical ensemble as they performed various classical compositions.
After being named the 2026 TMEA Honor Full Orchestra, Full Orchestra (a combination of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion) was given the opportunity to perform at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Convention on Thursday, Feb. 12. to Friday, Feb. 13.
The TMEA Convention acts as the culmination of the year’s auditions. It features performances by the elite All-State band, orchestra, and choir ensembles, which represents the highest honor for Texas students. The event provided an opportunity for the students to display the amount of work they had put in preparing for the performance.
“Band has been preparing for the event in tandem with [Westwood] Orchestra from around October,” Varun Harith ‘28 said. “The directors carefully curated pieces and [Band] had rehearsals almost every other day since the marching season ended.”
The Full Orchestra had an opportunity to perform in front of an audience prior to the convention at the TMEA Send-Off Concert on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at the Raymond E. Hartfield Performing Arts Center (PAC). To prepare for the performance, band and orchestra practiced pieces in individual sectionals, as well as meeting regularly for full orchestra rehearsals.
“Coordination was pretty easy, orchestra and band are specifically blocked so Full Orchestra shares a common block [so there was] always a 1.5 hour overlap to rehearse in,” Harith said. “Additionally, we had after school rehearsals on Tuesdays [until 6:30 p.m.]”
Since the TMEA convention is considered the biggest music convention in the U.S., the experience provided competitors with a completely new atmosphere compared to their typical concerts.
“The larger audience experience felt surreal, [however it also] felt more stressful,” Harith said. “It made the end result more rewarding because the ovation we received after playing the last piece was insanely loud.”
The Full Orchestra played complex pieces by Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Stravinsky, Higdon, and Esmail, which demonstrated their immense technical skill.
“My favorite piece we played was the last one, the Tchaikovsky,” Lasya Medikonduru ‘28 said. “There was a lot of energy and it’s a fast-paced piece so it was a lot of fun to play. Towards the end, the audience had risen [even before we had finished].”
A unique aspect of the TMEA convention was that the experience extended past the concert hall. Apart from the main performance, students were given the opportunity to interact with musicians from all across Texas and expand their exposure to music overall.
“[At the convention], we got to try out a lot of different instruments, like different violins and cellos,” Medikonduru ‘28 said. “I even got to try out a trumpet which was really cool.”
For was the second consecutive time, the ensemble was selected as a TMEA Honor Full Orchestra, further solidifying its record of excellence.
“We spent hours perfecting these pieces, rehearsing, and [working] with guest conductors,” Medikonduru said. “We put in a lot of work [and] I really feel like it all paid off.”
![Gazing into the audience, Wes Autry ’26 as Mr. DePinna poses like the Discus Thrower as Mayla Montgomery ’26 as Penny Sycamore paints him. Mr. DePinna was especially absurd, requiring intense amounts of committment from Autry and resulting in an All-Star Cast honor at competiton. “I never expected anything like that,” Autry said. “[This is] the first year I’ve ever gone to UIL, and winning an award from it is gratifying. It’s something I never thought I would achieve, and so achieving that makes me feel like everything I’ve done here wasn’t pointless.”](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screen-Shot-2026-03-25-at-3.28.43-PM-1200x799.png)
