On Nov. 30, four senior varsity choir members will audition at the pre-area round for Texas’s All-State Choir. The stakes are high as the competition is ramping up with the addition of sight reading to the contest. 

“This is the hardest audition they had so far because it’s prepared music and also sight reading,” choir teacher Christine Donley said. 

The four seniors who advanced from the region audition were Gabriel Hernandez, Itati Lainez, Asa O’Farrell and Karson Rogers. O’Farrell and Lainez are auditioning for a space in the All-State Choir for the first time.  

If students advance past this round, they will continue on to Area and then have the opportunity to audition at the All-State level, where they can be chosen to perform in the All-State Choir. The choir department has had 26 All-State members ranging from 2010-2021. Math teacher Caroline Gomez was one of three All-State members in 2014. 

“The All-State Choir is the top 300 voices across the state of Texas, and they get together and make three big choirs and the main conductor is from South Africa so they’re flying him in to work with them,” Donley said. “They do a big concert and make a CD, it’s really prestigious.” 

The past two rounds, contestants were given three songs to memorize before the audition date. Upon arrival, they were told what cut of bars from each song they were to perform for the judges. They were graded on being able to sing the correct notes and vowels. They will do that again this round, as well as a sight reading portion. A sheet of music is given and the competitors are given around a minute to quickly study the music before being able to correctly sing the notes. 

“It’s such a privilege to sing with all these talented people and hear all these songs that you’ve sung before in the previous rounds,” Hernandez said.

The seniors are readily preparing for pre-Area, taking time after school and during Flex Hour to practice their music independently. They hope to join the ranks of the All-State Choir, ending their time in high school choir with a grand finale. 

“It’s really knowing the song and making it your own because you can’t just perform as if you’re in the choir,” Lainez said.