14 CHS students named as TMEA All-State musicians
February 1, 2022
After a day of rigorous auditions, 10 Coppell High School students were named to the 2022 Texas All-State Band and four to the All-State Choir as members with three alternates.
“I was overflowed with happiness,” senior bassoonist Wes Booker said. “I couldn’t really describe the feeling. [I worked] countless hours, and I really wanted to make it, so it was super gratifying. Before I went into the audition room, I was trying to make myself mentally prepared for either option, and when I walked out after playing my audition, I felt really good about it.”
Being named as an All-State musician, which was announced Jan. 8, is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. Each year, 1,810 students are selected through a process that begins with more than 70,000 students. Despite the process varying for band and choir students, both audition processes involve learning and having to play a multitude of pieces to near perfection.
With choir, students are required to learn three different repertoire each round and once at the audition, they perform 30 to 40 seconds of each song. Five judges are behind a curtain and despite each judge looking for different things, each auditioner must know the notes, rhythms and how to follow the musical markings.
“It’s one of the most challenging things a high school senior [can] go through,” CHS head choir director Bona Coogle said. “For them to go through four brutal audition rounds is challenging in a positive way but it also shows you how determined they are, because it’s not a part of what we do here in class.”
On Feb. 9, the Texas All-State musicians will convene in San Antonio for the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) convention where they perform a concert on Feb. 12 with an audience of up to 3,000. For these music students, they get the opportunity to meet other students who hold the same passion and motivation for music as they do.
“We’re all really excited for [the convention] since we’ll be able to meet All-Staters from different regions that are all really good at their instrument and passionate about music,” CHS junior All-State flutist Akshara Sankar said. “We’ll also get to learn from top-level directors, which is an amazing opportunity for us.”
Students receive their audition music in July, and some attend a summer camp in order to prepare. The auditions are a place for these students to demonstrate their growth from the beginning of the school year to the end of the first semester.
“The whole process is about growth,” CHS associate choir director Aaron Coronado said. “We see it as directors, but their fellow students also see their growth not only through the year, but all four years. That’s what we love about the process, it’s all about growth.”
Although only a select few CHS students are named to the All-State band and choir each year, it remains a very large goal for music students. The auditions are restricted to Texas music students, however TMEA is well-known both at a state and national level, making it an opportunity for students to share their work and accomplishments with an audience of significant magnitude.
“It’s a big honor [to be selected for All-State choirs three years in a row], and it’s definitely something that requires a lot of hard work,” CHS senior All-State choir member Joseph Matthew said. “Coming in my freshman year, I was not super confident and I didn’t really know much about the process in general, so I was kind of indifferent about it. [My upperclassman friends’] motivation really inspired me, and at that point, I was practicing for a few hours a day. People don’t expect sophomores to make it, so I was working as hard as I could. After I made it, it was probably the best musical experience I’ve had in my life.”
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