Joseph Hernandez, a member of the San Benito High School Greyhound Chorale, will perform with the Texas All-State Mixed Choir in San Antonio, on Saturday, February 13, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center as part of the 2016 Texas Music Educators Association Clinic/Convention.
Hernandez, a San Benito High School (SBHS) senior, was selected for this prestigious honor after successfully participating at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Area G vocal auditions, hosted by Rockport-Fulton High School in Rockport, Texas.
The son of Alejandro and Laura Hernandez, Hernandez is a choir student who sings under the direction SBHS Choir Director Ted Lyra and Assistant Choir Director Anna Garcia, both TMEA members. This is the young musician’s first time performing as an honored member of a TMEA All-State organization.
“All-State” is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. Student musicians selected to perform in the All-State concerts have competed through district, region, and area levels of auditions beginning in the fall of 2015 to qualify at the state level. Though over 64,000 students initially enter the All-State competitive process, only 616 students are selected to perform with an All-State choir. TMEA sponsors the Texas All-State competition.
The competitive process begins throughout the state in auditions hosted by 28 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 seven 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 three percent of musicians who initially audition become All-State musicians.
All-State musicians participate in three days of rehearsals directed by nationally recognized conductors during the TMEA Clinic/Convention. Over 26,000 people from throughout Texas and beyond will attend over 315 workshops, 100 performances, and visit over 1,300 exhibit booths at the nation’s largest music educators’ convention. The students’ performances will bring the extraordinary event to a close.
The Texas Music Educators Association is an association of over 12,000 school music educators dedicated to promoting excellence in music education. For the All-State concert schedule and conductor information, please visit the “Performances” section of the TMEA’s website, www.tmea.org/convention.
