Greenhill Band members performed with the Association of Texas Small School Bands and the Texas Music Educators Association in San Antonio on Feb. 10.
Upon arrival in San Antonio on Wednesday, Feb. 7, students participated in chair auditions to determine their final placement in the band. Following these auditions, rehearsals were held Wednesday night, and all day Thursday and Friday.
The concert was held on Sat. Feb. 10 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in the Lila Cockrell Theater.
Senior Ayne Park was the first chair flute, and it was her third time as the first chair at the state performance. Sophomore Rachel Jiang was the second chair flute and junior Aditi Vikram was sixth chair clarinet.
Seniors who have made the all-state band three times were awarded a $500 scholarship, and seniors who have made the band four times were awarded a $2,000 scholarship. Park was one of the seniors awarded this prize.
“I am planning on either upgrading my instrument or buying new school supplies [with the prize money],” Park said.
Park was recognized at this concert and is only the third Greenhill band member to ever receive this award.
“This is something I’ve been working for since freshman year,” Park said. “Once I made it freshman year, that just became my goal, to be able to do it three more years.”
In preparation for this concert, performers were met with hours of practice and a rigorous audition process. In order to make it to the ATSSB/TMEA 3A All-State Band, students must go through region auditions in December and finish in the top three of their sections to qualify for Area auditions in January. In the area auditions, the top two flute players and top four clarinets make the All-State Band.
“Outside of class, I try to practice an hour or two every day,” Park said.
Park, Jiang, Vikram, junior Christan Park, freshman Collin Sun and freshman Carys Diamond all qualified for area auditions on Jan. 6. Park and Jiang finished first and second for flutes respectively, and Vikram finished second overall among the clarinets. All three of them earned a chair in the All-State Band.
ATSSB Region Band
On Dec. 4, 12 Greenhill Band members went to Van Alstyne, TX. for the ATSSB/TMEA Region Band auditions.
Once arriving at the audition, each student was assigned a number and was then split into different groups in which they waited for their turn to play.
“Playing in front of a judge is always a little nerve-wracking,” freshman Elyse Lau said. “And being nervous often affects my playing.”
Ten Greenhill Band members were selected to have a chair for both the Symphonic and Concert Bands. They participated in the clinic and concert from Jan. 12-13.
The following students earned a spot in the band:
Ayne Park, first chair flute, Symphonic Band
Aditi Vikram, first chair clarinet, Symphonic Band
Collin Sun, second chair bassoon, Symphonic Band
Rachel Jiang, fourth chair flute, Symphonic Band
Christan Park, seventh chair flute, Symphonic Band
Sanay Nesargi, first chair bassoon, Concert Band
Carys Diamond, fifth chair french horn, Concert Band
Elizabeth Nassi, seventh chair clarinet, Concert Band
Jin Huang, seventh chair percussion, Concert Band
Vincent Le, 10th chair trombone, Concert Band
Brian Chao, percussion alternate
Elyse Lau, flute alternate
