Becoming a member of the All-State Choir, Band, or Orchestra is one of the most significant achievements any musically inclined student can accomplish. The Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) auditions 70,000 students from across the state, handpicking only 1,810 to comprise their All-State Choir. This year, four students from Cypress Falls have been recognized for their talent and have been selected as members of the Texas All-State Choir: Benjamin Mera (12), Lucus Lynn (12), Gabe Gutierrez (10), and Joey Sanchez(12).

“The All-State Choir process is a series of auditions, in which you have to be selected to proceed onto the next audition gradually getting more difficult,” Mera said. “The first three auditions are competitions within the district. The district will display their final five for each singing part to represent them in the final audition for the qualification of the All-State Choir, which is [called] the Area audition.”

Traditionally, the auditions for All-State Choir have been held in-person; however, due to COVID, all auditions were held online. Because of this, the competition was expected to be fiercer than the years before, as students were not doing live auditions and instead, sending videos, thus allowing them to pick and choose what they sent to the judges.

“The biggest difference with All-State auditions this year was that instead of singing in front of a judge, you have to submit a recording of you singing cuts of the designated music,” Sanchez said. “This means the tension while auditioning isn’t nearly as high because instead of singing once in front of a judge, you’re just standing in front of a microphone and submitting your best recording.”

Results of the Area Auditions took place on January 9, with final results coming out later that month. The Cypress Falls Choir announced their four All-Stater on January 17 via an Instagram post. 

“When I saw that I made the All-State Choir, I was incredibly happy,” Sanchez said. “Making the Choir is huge because it basically tells you you’re one of the best in the state of Texas, which is a really fulfilling and awesome thing to say. When I found out I made it, I felt like I was a significant member of something much bigger than I had ever hoped and that’s a wonderful feeling.”

Auditioning for the All-State choir is open to anyone, but due to the competitive nature of the auditions process, the choir is dominated by juniors and seniors. 

“It feels great being an All-Stater this young,” Gutierrez said. “I was so close to making it last year that I dedicated myself to the process ever since the summer before my sophomore year started. I’ve heard ‘you’re literally a beast for your age’ and ‘you’re doing these kinds of things as a sophomore’ and it makes me feel good. It really makes me feel like my hard work paid off.”