This January, nine students from Trinity’s orchestra and chorus participated in All-State ensembles hosted by the Florida Music Education Association (FMEA). All-State is a prestigious event that brings together young musicians from around the state to perform in one of 24 All-State ensembles for the purpose of recognizing top-performing students. The event took place at FMEA’s annual professional learning conference, from Jan. 14 to 17 at the Tampa Convention Center. Students worked with talented professionals, culminating in great performances.
Before summer break students in the orchestra program were given the audition material. Once back in school, Orchestra Director Mauricio Cespedes gave students who committed to auditioning class time to rehearse. He also provided guidance through the challenging material.
“The material includes scales (notes arranged in ascending or descending order), arpeggios (a chord played in sequence rather than simultaneously), some excerpts and sight reading, which is reading on the spot, so it gets to be really competitive,” Cespedes said.
The preliminary auditions took place in September at Freedom High School. Students were recorded by a committee, and then the tapes were sent for evaluation.
“We first had to go to the school, and there was a classroom with two people sitting recording you,” orchestra student and junior Ali Tseng said. “It’s a blind audition, so they only sound record you, and they will tell you the excerpt you play, the etude, the scale and the sight reading, and you play it on the spot.”
After waiting months, the audition results were released on Nov. 1. This year is also one of the few years that two middle school orchestra students, Ian Tran ‘31 and Arianna Jaffer ‘30, have been accepted, a testament of their dedication and talent. Even for the students who had previously been accepted, the wait still had them anxious.
“I was worried because I felt like, since I’ve gotten in so many times, if I didn’t get in, it would be kind of embarrassing,” Tseng said.
Students then had to work the next couple of months on preparing their assigned concert music, as rehearsal time during the conference is limited. This is separate from their audition materials and is distributed either to directors or students directly after audition results are finalized in November.
“They give you the music about two months beforehand, and they expect you to practice it,” Tseng said. “And then the day of All-State, you get a seating audition for violins. If you do well, you can place higher in your seating.”
The audition process for choir was slightly different and included two parts: A music theory exam and sight reading, and in the second phase, excerpts (a segment from a larger musical work) and the pre-audition material.
“One excerpt is announced ahead of time, and two are announced on the day of the audition,” choir student and sophomore Nicholas Reeve said. “Then you have to go in and sing a part of a song on your part, and your part is muted to everyone else.”
The selected students arrived in Tampa on Jan. 14. Once there, they met with accomplished musicians and received comprehensive instruction and feedback, learning skills that they will bring to future performances.
“I would like to bring back the ability to sight-read pieces,” Reeve said. “I would also like to bring back a lot of the concepts the director discussed, including sound placement, the idea of tonus (being constantly in motion), emotion and more.”
After two long days full of instruction, they attended two student performances on Friday evening, including a few Trinity students. While the All-State experience was intimidating and stressful at times, the students enjoyed themselves regardless.
“When you’re not in rehearsals, you get to be in Tampa with all the other people who are there, and I really enjoy that time I get to spend with them,” Reeve said.
On Saturday morning, there were two more performances from other ensembles, including the TTBB (Tenor 1, Tenor 2, Baritone and Bass) choir. By the afternoon, the students were headed back home, carrying with them invaluable memories.
“Overall, it was an amazing experience,” Reeve said. “I loved being able to spend time with friends and be in a room with a sound you cannot achieve anywhere else. The performances were spectacular, and I am so glad I was able to attend.”
