Spring Branch ISD Featured News

This month, hundreds of band, choir and orchestra musicians from across the state competed to earn All-State ensemble honors from the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), the highest award high school musicians can achieve.

Spring Branch ISD was well represented in these upper echelons, with 14 students from Memorial High School (MHS) receiving 2021 TMEA All-State designations. 

Especially notable were six MHS students named to All-State choirs, the most ever awarded in one year from the school’s choir program. In addition, MHS cellist, Sophia Yoon, earned the All-State Orchestra honor for the fourth year in a row.

Making the cut

Each fall, TMEA sponsors Texas All-State auditions to promote dedication to excellence in musical skill and performance. More than 70,000 students, within various regions across the state, begin the competitive and rigorous process of being named to an All-State ensemble. This process consists of three rounds of auditions: Region, Area, and All State. Panels of judges rank each instrument or voice, and select which musicians advance to compete at the state level for placement in All-State band, orchestra or choir ensembles. 

In lieu of featuring All-State ensemble performances at the TMEA conference in February, a traditional honor, a June showcase is under consideration due to winter pandemic restrictions.

Congratulations to these All-State musicians from Memorial High School:

All-State Band:
Stephanie Han, MHS sophomore, flute
Ali Khan, MHS junior, clarinet

All-State Choirs:
Aiden Madaffri, MHS sophomore, Bass 1-- Tenor-Bass Choir
Carissa Nair, MHS junior, Soprano 2 --Treble Choir
Jason Oquendo, MHS junior, Tenor 1 -- Mixed Choir
Jason Park, MHS senior, Bass 2 -- Tenor-Bass Choir
Sabine Waldron, MHS senior, Alto 2 --Treble Choir
Amelia Zhang, MHS senior, Alto 1 -- Mixed Choir

All-State Orchestra:
Tri Ha, MHS junior, piano (two-year honoree)
Drew Schachel, MHS senior, violin (two-year honoree)
Kevin Zhang, MHS junior, violin
Ellen Seok, MHS junior, violin (two-year honoree)
Phillip Liou, MHS senior, cello (two-year honoree)
Sophia Yoon, MHS senior, cello (four-year honoree) 

MHS band, choir and orchestra directors for these highly-ranked musicians are: Suzanne Scott and Jeffrey Munger, Memorial Band; Lawrence Johnson and Katie Gravesmill, Memorial Choir; Danielle Prontka and Matthew Chan, Memorial Orchestra.