By Tolu Salako

Staff Writer

In August, around 350 band students were given three pieces of music that they would soon have to know like the back of their hand. They would master every rhythm and every note before playing these three pieces in front of judges in the All-State process.

The process of getting to All-State is rigorous; students first audition for region and the top ranked students advance to pre-area, then area and finally get to state. This year, CHS band broke another record of having 19 students advance to All-State.

“The normal 5A school usually has around two or three band members advance to All State,” CHS band director Scott Mason said. “I was really surprised that we had 19 students this year; the second highest was Marcus High School who had 11 All-Staters, so our kids did very well.”

Many students share the same joy as students learned that they had advanced to All-State on Jan. 12.  Senior drum major Jonathan Bolton was very excited about getting to All-State for the second time.

“Getting to All-State is extremely difficult, and it is great to go for the second time,” Bolton said. “I practiced for about 14-15 hours a week, and it was great to see all of my hard work pay off.”

Last year, 16 students made the All-State band, breaking a record at Coppell High School. Students this year practiced harder than ever before to get to All-State. For some, this will be there third year to make state.

“It’s really awesome to get to state for the third time,” senior section leader Cinnie Lin said. “I’m happy that I finished off senior year really strong, and I’m excited for going to San Antonio in February.”

Many students felt the pressure of making All-State; one of these students is senior Matt Smith, a drum major who definitely felt the extra pressure in getting to All-State Band.

“I was really excited when I found out that I had advanced to All-State,” Smith said. “I had missed it by one spot the year before, so making this year was a dream come true. I definitely felt the extra pressure, and since I am a leader, it is not a surprise that [Mason] added more pressure on the drum majors.”

This new record has given other students the motivation in trying even harder next year to finally get to All-State. Smith gave some advice for underclassmen hoping to achieve this goal in the future.

“Just don’t give up,” Smith said. “You can’t blame yourself for one bad audition or one performance. I thought I didn’t do well on my third piece, but I still made it. Basically just never ever, ever, ever give up.”

2012-2013 All-State Qualifiers

Sophomore, Clint Blackwell, Clarinet

Senior, Jonathan Bolton, Trumpet

Junior, Jason Fang, Bassoon

Freshman, Harrison Haas, Bassoon

Sophomore, Annabelle Kim, Flute

Sophomore, Mare LeGros, Tuba

Senior, Cinnie Lin, Clarinet

Senior, Chris Lugo, French Horn

Senior, Aidan McGraw, Bass Clarinet

Senior, Shane Murray, Trombone

Junior, Alisha Punjwani, French Horn

Junior, Joey Pye, Trumpet

Senior, Matt Smith, Saxophone

Senior, Anthony Stanley, French Horns

Junior, Brandy Sun, Flute

Senior, Harini Suresh, Oboe

Sophomore, Hannah Thorp, Clarinet

Junior, Cejay Zhu, Clarinet

Junior, Madi Zill, Clarinet