Six Decatur High School students recently received a prestigious honor: a spot to audition for the Texas Music Educators Association's All-State Choir.
More than 70,000 Texas high schoolers start the process to audition for the TMEA's top music ensembles each year, according to the association's website. It's a rigorous process that includes auditions in multiple rounds: Region, Pre-Area, and Area. Less than 3 percent of all students progress to the final auditions. The 6 DHS students were among the select group that earned the opportunity to rehearse, perform, and audition for one of the TMEA’s All-State Ensembles.
"It's like a playoff game for music," said DHS Choir Teacher Chris Yurasek. "Students have to make the top 8 chairs in the pre-Area round to earn a chance to audition for the All-State Choir. They have to earn the spot. They earn their opportunity to audition based off of a strict criteria for singing cuts from 3 different songs and then singing a melody that they have never seen before. The proficiency of those two aspects are judged by 5 choir directors, and their average score determines their rank and whether or not they move on."
Additionally, during the final TMEA auditions, Senior Isaiah Rodriguez, a bass vocalist, earned a 6th chair placement, a ranking that was high enough to earn him one of the 6 spots on the All-State Choir.
The 6 students who auditioned were:
Bass: Isaiah Rodriguez: Placed 6th chair
Alto Catherine Yurasek: Placed 8th Chair
Tenor Lukas Britt: Placed 11th Chair
Bass Levi Johnson: Placed 14th chair
Tenor Mason Payne: Placed 20th Chair
Tenor Leonel Corona: Placed 23rd Chair