McAllen ISD students had a whopping 13 students earn All-State honors in four music programs this year.
This includes nine students in choir, two in mariachi and one each in band and orchestra.
The choir students include Gabriel Banda (Rowe High), Michael Banda (Rowe), Catherine Byrnum (McAllen High), Diego Guerra (Rowe), James Humphrey (Rowe), Aranza Repreza (Memorial High), Evie Shirah (McAllen High), Ian Yamada (Memorial) and Zarah Zamora (Memorial).
The All-State students from mariachi include Andrew Trevino and Angel Trujillo who both perform for the seven-time state champion Mariachi Oro at McAllen High. In addition, Diego Palacio (Rowe) made All-State in band and Peter Choi (Memorial) earned a spot in orchestra.
These students competed against thousands of other musicians across the state for these prestigious honors which are awarded by the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA).
“This speaks to the quality and depth of our music programs in McAllen ISD,” Fine Arts Director Debra Loya said. “Texas has a reputation for having some of the best high school music programs in the country and, as a result, some of its most highly skilled performers. Congratulations to our hard-working students and their music directors.”
This is the 44th straight year McAllen ISD had produced at least four students who earned All-State recognition in music.
All-State is the final step of a five-month journey that begins in September, when more than 70,000 students audition at regional tryouts. About 1,875 of them advance to the TMEA Clinic/Convention in San Antonio each February. This represents fewer than three percent of the original total. At the convention, they audition once more, for chairs in the 18 All-State ensembles before performing in the event’s final concerts.
McAllen ISD has been named a national Best Community for Music Education by the National Association of Music Merchants for 10 straight years.
Founded in 1921, Texas Music Educators Association is an association of more than 14,000 members dedicated to promoting excellence in music education.