McAllen ISD has a dozen students who have earned All-State honors in three music programs this year.
Eight choir students, one band student and three mariachi performers placed in the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-State Ensembles this month. Texas All-State represents the highest honor a Texas music student can achieve and is earned through an exceptionally competitive, multi-level audition process that begins with approximately 60,000 students statewide. Fewer than three percent are ultimately selected.
The choir students include Isabel Garza Johnson (McAllen High, soprano 2), Julian Arguelles (McAllen High, tenor 2), Gia Salazar (McAllen Memorial High, soprano 2), Gael Nino (Memorial High, bass 1), Mitchel Rodriguez (Memorial High, bass 1), Kayla Gonzalez (James “Nikki” Rowe High, alto 1), James Humphrey (Rowe High, bass 1) and Justin Maya (Rowe High, bass 1). Humphrey earned All-State honors for the fourth straight year.
The band student is Aaron Salazar (piccolo) from McAllen High. The three mariachi students are all from McAllen High’s Mariachi Oro; they are Allyson Contador (violin), Antonio Gámez-Cuéllar (trumpet) and Caleb Arellano (violin). Both Gámez-Cuéllar and Arellano repeated as All-State music honorees.
Twelve All-State honorees is five more than last year.
“This speaks to the quality of our music programs across McAllen ISD,” Fine Arts Director Debra Loya said. “Texas has a reputation for having some of the best high school music programs in the nation and, as a result, some of its most highly skilled performers. Congratulations to these outstanding students, their directors and private lesson teachers for the exceptional preparation, discipline and artistry required to reach this level of achievement.”
This marks the 47th straight year that multiple students from McAllen ISD have earned All-State recognition in music. McAllen ISD has been named a national Best Community for Music Education by the National Association of Music Merchants for 13 straight years.
These students will perform at the TMEA Clinic and Concert on February 14 at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio.
Students were chosen for this prestigious honor through a competitive process held this year across the state at District, Region, and Area levels.
Texas Music Educators Association sponsors the Texas All-State competition. This competitive process begins throughout the state in auditions hosted by 33 TMEA Regions. Individual musicians perform selected music for a panel of judges who rank each instrument or voice part. From this ranking, a select group of musicians advances from their Region to compete against musicians from other areas in eight TMEA Area competitions. The highest-ranking musicians judged at the TMEA Area competitions qualify to perform in a TMEA All-State music group. Only the top 2.6 percent of musicians who initially audition become All-State musicians.
About McAllen ISD
McAllen ISD is a 2025 winner of the state’s highest rating of an “A” grade and a 2025 winner of the state’s Postsecondary Readiness Distinction. The district is home to 31 campuses and approximately 19,500 students. To learn more about McAllen ISD’s schools and programs, contact Student Outreach at 956-687-MISD (6473).
About TMEA
Since 1920, Texas Music Educators Association has worked to ensure excellence in music education for all Texas students. TMEA’s 19,800 members include more than 13,800 school music educators who belong to one of five TMEA Divisions: Band, Orchestra, Vocal, Elementary, and College. Members elect Vice-Presidents to their Division to guide the Division’s programming. On behalf of its members and Texas students, TMEA monitors the actions of state decision-making bodies on issues affecting fine arts instruction in Texas.