Mission High School (MHS) student, Jesus Olivares, will perform with the Texas All-State 6A Band in San Antonio on Saturday, February 14 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center as part of the 2015 Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Clinic/Convention. He was chosen for this prestigious honor through a competitive process held this year across the state at District, Region, and Area levels. Olivares plays bass clarinet. This is the third time Olivares has earned a spot in one of the TMEA All-State Bands.
High school students selected to perform in the All-State concerts have competed through several levels of auditions beginning in the fall of 2014. All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. Over 1,600 students are selected through a process that begins with over 60,000 students from around the state vying for this honor to perform in one of 15 ensembles (bands, orchestras, and choirs). This 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 3% of musicians who initially audition become All-State musicians.
These All-State students participate in three days of rehearsals directed by nationally-recognized conductors during the TMEA Clinic/Convention. Their performances for thousands of attendees bring this extraordinary event to a close. For the All-State concert schedule and conductor information, go to www.tmea.org/convention.
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