Band and Choir students won major awards and accomplishments to start the spring semester off. Congratulations to the following students who advanced to the TMEA All-State band on January 7-8 and to the choir student being named All-State Choir member of the year.

• Matthew Bullock –

What does it mean to you, to make All State? : “It means a lot, especially because of the hard work I have put in for the past three years trying to place higher each time.”

What did your dedication look like, did you have to give up something, etc? : “I was very dedicated to practicing and placing higher than others. I had to give up free time and time with friends in order to achieve this goal.”

Was it stressful? : “It was stressful at time, I was concerned about my placements at different levels of the audition process and was very grateful to place 3rd as a senior.”

• Abby Almanza –

What does it mean to you, to make All State? : “It means putting in all that time, all that effort, making it, getting something out of that. It took s  lot of work to get there. I would say I did a lot of practicing. Its a lot of dedication to your work and you know, its very rewarding.”

What did your dedication look like, did you have to give up something, etc? : “I had to give up a lot of time for my school work, I did a lot of like hours of practice and it was a lot more of like managing my time, being able to like fit that in.”

Was it stressful? : “Oh definitely. Especially around the times where we had to do our auditions, like at Region area, I had to mentally prepare myself and really think about how I would play just to get out of that nervous stage that I was in and to just make music for the judges to hear.”

• Brandon Kusaj –

What does it mean to you, to make All State? : “I’ve always wanted to be one since middle school, its my third time making it and its just an honor to be one of the eight that were chosen.”

What did your dedication look like, did you have to give something up, etc? : ” I mean just in time, you know, its really just consistency, you just make sure you’re always working on your stuff, like sometimes you don’t get as much free time as you wanted.”

Was it stressful? : “Yeah, auditioning. I mean they lock you in a room with like hundreds of other kids and then they make you play one after another. But getting results are stressful. It’s also really rewarding, you know, just knowing that your hard work paid off.”

For the PHS Choir, Parker Warren, Alto II won the 2022-2023 All-State Choir Member for the Texas Music Educators Association.

• Parker Warren –

What does it mean to you, to make All State? :  “It was really exciting for me. My choral experience has been very new. I started choir last year and made it to the final round of auditions for all-state. I was super proud of myself for making it that far, but since I was so close last year, I was determined to make it this year (and I did!!!) I am so exited to go sing in a choir with so many great musicians and make new friends that come from all over the state of Texas”.

What did your dedication look like, did you have to give up something, etc? :  “My work on this music started over the summer! I went to a summer camp for about 4 days that was dedicated to learning the audition music. It was at TCU and at the end of the camp we performed the music. I spent lots of nights working hard. I went to workshops throughout the process and worked with my choir directors during free time between school and rehearsals for Grease. I also had to dedicate lots of time to sight reading (which is NOT my strength), seeing as sight reading made up 20% of my audition. Because of the rigor of the music and improving my sight reading, I had to give up doing community theatre productions over the weekend.”

Was it stressful? : “It was SO stressful. The competitive aspect of these auditions is intense. People, especially at the later rounds, are so competitive and it can get to your head. I think one of the most helpful things for me was to remember that this process is ultimately designed for us to improve as singers/musicians. I would not be the singer I am today if I did not take part in the All-State choir process.”