 In only its second full year as a varsity program, the Allen High School Orchestra placed sixth in the state at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Honor Full Orchestra competition in July.
“The incredible growth of the string programs in Allen ISD over such a short period of time is amazing. It is not often that such a young program can actively compete at the state level,” said Michael Alexander, TMEA vice president and orchestra division chairman.
Director David DeVoto submitted a CD of Allen High School’s March UIL performance to the competition. The first round of voting was conducted in June, and the final round placed Allen High School in the top six in late July.
“The judges are charged with selecting the group that they think will best represent the State of Texas in performance at the Texas Music Educators Convention the following February,” said Alexander. “In its simplest forms, placing in the final round means that those orchestras gave the best performances (in the opinion of the judges) from those that were submitted. It tacitly implies that those groups reflect excellent teaching and possess similar qualities with the finest orchestras in the state.”
Allen High School won sweepstakes at UIL two years ago as a non-varsity orchestra. It began varsity-level competition in 2002.
Web Resources
Allen High School Orchestra:
www.allenorchestra.org
Texas Music Educators:
www.tmea.org
|