Congratulations to Lufkin High School Senior, Claudia Salazar (3rd Chair All-State Mixed Choir), junior Yisselle Castro (2nd Chair All-State Mixed Choir), senior Luke Little (1st Chair Trombone), and senior Case Shockley (1st Chair Percussion) selected as Texas All-State musicians.
High school students selected to perform in All-State concerts have competed through auditions to qualify at the state level. All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can achieve.
Texas Music Educators Association sponsors the Texas All-State competition. This competitive process begins throughout the state in auditions hosted by 33 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 eight 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 2.6% of musicians who initially audition become All-State musicians.
“It’s harder to make All-State than to get into Harvard, percentage-wise,” Little shared. Extensive preparation and dedication goes into making it to this level, and all of the work begins in July, with practice time increasing throughout the year, all while juggling team performances during football season and regularly scheduled holiday shows. For Luke, “it didn’t even seem like work. I was just doing what I enjoyed doing and it was fun.”
Both sets of participants, choir and band, utilized camps and resources at SFA as part of their preparation. Choir Director, Nicole Stewart, expressed her thankfulness to the Gear Up partnership, which provided students with the experience of the college/program visit, and helped cover the camp costs. “We sent the most kids to camp this summer that we’ve ever had,” Stewart shared.
We sat down with our four talented musicians for a Q&A, and here’s what they had to share:
Q: When did you start singing or playing an instrument?
A: Luke Little: I started playing trombone when I was a kid because my dad (the LHS Band Director) had one. Then, I officially started playing one in the 6th grade beginner band. I wanted to play the saxophone, but my mom picked the trombone for me. I don’t play the saxophone at all now. It was a good choice.
A: Case Shockley: Ms. Bristow really encouraged me in music when I started in the 3rd and 4th grades at Anderson Elementary. I wanted to play the trumpet at first, but was put into percussion in the 6th grade. I was always banging on stuff everywhere I went.
A: Claudia Salazar: I started singing in the 4th grade at Brandon Elementary. The music teacher asked me to join the Honor Choir. After that, I sang at LMS and now for LHS. None of my family members sing.
A: Yisselle Castro: My story is the same. I started in 4th grade at Brandon as well, and no one else in my family sang.
Q: What are your goals and do they involve music?
A: Claudia Salazar: I want to study Music Education.
A: Yisselle Castro: I plan to study Musical Therapy.
A: Case Shockley: I want be a Band Director. I had plenty of dreams before this, you know, from architect to pro golfer, engineer, pilot…then 6th grade hit and I started doing music and stuck with it.
A: Luke Little: I want to be a Band Director. It’s a family thing. My dad is the band director here, so I’ve been around it my whole life and it’s gotten to the point where I can’t really imagine life without it. It’s something I’m very passionate about.
Q: What kind of music do you listen to for fun?
A: Case Shockley: Country.
A: Luke Little: It varies. It’s pretty nerdy, but I actually listen to band and orchestra music most of the time. I tell people it’s like watching film for football. I’m already two steps ahead from everybody else because when I see a piece of music, I already have an idea of what it is supposed to sound like, from listening to it for fun.”
Q: What is something you would tell your 4th grade self or another student that age about choir?
A: Claudia Salazar: Actually focus on the music and learn to read it. It’s a skill that you can grow. You’re not born with knowing how to do everything. Like for this round, a lot of the soprano pieces were super high, so I had to learn how to extend my range. Beyond that, honestly, choir has allowed me to express my passion and it’s given me the confidence in a lot of things.
A: Yisselle Castro: It gets way more fun and challenging along the way. I like learning new music; it’s like music is another language to understand. Music has encouraged me to not only understand it, but to also get along with peers and group members. It’s working as a team. It’s a skill and it takes effort.
Q: What has band taught you, other than music?
A: Luke Little: People management, time management, hard work, work ethic, communication with your superiors and people under you.
A: Case Shockley: In band, there is a lot of communication with your teachers and section if you’re a leader during marching season. Band has helped me be a better communicator. It also taught be that you’ll never know how much you might like something unless you actually try it (like the drums).
Lufkin ISD is proud to provide music enrichment at all grade levels. Mrs. Stewart contributes the success of these four students largely to the musical role models and mentors who supported them along the way. “Their achievements started much younger, before they got to Lufkin High School. Having those foundational skills, just from the elementary level, learning how to practice and how to work with others…skills that aren’t necessarily music specific, but are taught in the music classroom, help students to have the drive and determination to understand the accomplishment and the work they need to make this level of recognition a reality.”