By Toni Garrard Clay/AISD Communications Coordinator
Jacob Moore just did something astonishing. The Athens High School Varsity Choir member earned a first chair in the Texas All-State Mixed Choir for the fourth year in a row — a feat his choir director is not shy about calling incredible.
“It was my goal to make the all-state choir for four years,” said Moore, “but I didn’t think it would actually ever happen.”
Not only did it happen, the bass singer did so this year and last while competing in the All-State Large School Mixed Choir, which is made up of 5A and 6A schools. 4A Athens High School falls into the Small School Mixed Choir category, but Moore wanted to challenge himself, as well as gain access to more scholarship opportunities.
“Jacob has pushed himself with new challenges all four years of high school,” said Choir Director Bridget Scott. “Since his freshman year, his vocal and musical knowledge has grown immensely because of his strong work ethic. Making an all-state choir once is a huge accomplishment. The fact that he has made first chair four years in a row is the result of his hours of preparation and study.”
All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. Students are selected through a process that begins with over 70,000 students from around the state vying for the honor to perform in one of 15 ensembles (bands, orchestras, and choirs). This competitive process begins throughout the state in auditions hosted by 33 Texas Music Educators Association Regions. Individual musicians perform selected music for a panel of judges who rank each part. From this ranking, a select group of musicians advances from their region to compete against musicians from other areas in eight TMEA Area competitions. Only the top 2.5 percent of those who initially audition become all-state musicians.
The all-state students participate in three days of rehearsals directed by nationally-recognized conductors during the TMEA Convention in San Antonio. Their performances for thousands of attendees will bring the event to a close on Feb. 17 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. For the all-state concert schedule and conductor information, go to the Performances section of www.tmea.org/convention.
Moore is the son of Jason and Shari Moore. He has been accepted to several universities, including Baylor where he considering attending as a music major.