Gilberto Torres, Jr., a member of the Clear Springs High School Band will perform with the Texas All-State Band in San Antonio, Saturday, February 11, 2017 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center as part of the 2017 Texas Music Educators Association 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. Gilberto is a student of Randy Brennan and plays trumpet at school under the direction of Mr. Lester Williams who is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, a 12,000+ member organization headquartered in Austin. This is Gilberto’s first time to perform as a member of a TMEA All-State organization. Gilberto is the son of Princella and Gilberto Torres, Sr. and big brother of Maria Torres.

High school students selected to perform in the All-State concerts have competed through several levels of auditions beginning in the fall of 2016 to qualify at the state level. All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. 1,780 students are selected through a process that begins with over 68,000 students from around the state vying for this honor to perform in one of 15 ensembles (bands, orchestras, and choirs). 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 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 2.6% 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 the Performances section of www.tmea.org/convention.

The Texas Music Educators Association is an association of over 12,000 school music educators dedicated to promoting excellence in music education. Go to www.tmea.org/convention for more information.

  • Over 68,000 students initially enter the All-State competitive process
  • 1,780 students are selected to perform in 15 All-State ensembles (bands, orchestras, and choirs)
  • All-State performances will be held as part of the annual TMEA Clinic/Convention, Feb. 8–11, 2017. Over 29,000 people from Texas and beyond will attend over 280 workshops, 100 performances, and visit over 1,300 exhibit booths at this nation’s largest music educators’ convention.

Clear Springs High School Charger Band -- League City, Texas -- Director, Lester Williams