Midway choral students make All-State Choir

By Sandi Horton

Whenever a high school musician achieves the status of "all-state" in Texas, respect and admiration follow the young person for years. Thousands of students throughout Texas began working on difficult music in August with visions of making "all-district," "all-region," "all-area" and ultimately "all-state" in band, orchestra or choir.

Tryouts continued until January when the highest achievement of all-state was announced. 

Midway High School has a magnificent choral program. Last fall more than 100 choir students made the Texas Music Educators’ Association All-Region Choir. Ten MHS students were then chosen to advance to area tryouts on Jan. 7, 2012.

Three students made all-state. They are: 1st soprano Rachel Stern, 2nd alto Kasie Meek and 1st tenor Braden Guess. MHS choir directors are Jeff and Jennifer Rice.

The all-state students from all regions in Texas gather at the TMEA conference in San Antonio every February to rehearse and then perform for thousands of music educators, family, and friends.

Midway High School choral student Rachel Stern will be performing in the All-State Women’s Choir during TMEA in San Antonio. I have heard Rachel sing solos at church and in various choirs the past seven years. She began singing in the children’s choir at First Presbyterian Church when she was three years old. She began singing in Midway school choirs in sixth grade. She has also been in the Waco Children’s Choir and the Waco Girls’ Choir.

Rachel has always had a certain spark that captivates the listener. Rachel’s love of singing is evident every time she performs. Her eyes seem to smile and her musical voice is heavenly.

Rachel’s talent, hard work, and dedication have resulted in one of our state’s highest honors — All-State Choir. Rachel is quick to point out that her honor is not just hers, but the result of many great teachers throughout the years including her current private voice teacher Julianne Best. The support and encouragement of her family and friends also contribute to her success.

I asked Rachel if she had a favorite song. She replied, "I do not have a favorite song, but one of my favorite pieces is the 'Nunc Dimittis' by Holst from the All-State repertoire. The way that the parts build on each other is just beautiful. There really is no way to describe how wonderful it is.”

I asked if she had a memorable performance experience she wanted to share. Rachel replied, “There have been too many great performance moments to count, but I have always loved that moment when I am performing and get goose bumps while I'm singing.”

Over 3,000 choral teachers in Texas are active in the TMEA organization. If each teacher had a total of just 50 students in their program, that would add up to 150,000 choir students in Texas.

I have attended TMEA more times than I have fingers to count. It is always a thrilling experience for me to hear the performances, renew acquaintances with other musicians, and browse the music and instruments at hundreds of vendor booths.

      Email    Print