At the end of January 11 CLHS Concert Choir students traveled to Richardson, TX to participate in the 2025 Texas Private School Music Educators Association (TPSMEA) All-State Choir. These students submitted audition recordings in October 2024 and made it through two rounds of auditions to ultimately earn a spot in the All-State Choir. After the final round of judging, they needed to end up being ranked in the top 25 of their individual sections to be named to the All-State Choir.
The following students earned a spot in the 2025 TPSMEA All-State Choir:
- Selena Lemmon ‘25 – Soprano 2 (4th year All-State)
- Lucas Wallace-Hesson ‘25 – Bass 1 (2nd year All-State)
- Angelina Elsisi ‘26 – Alto 2 (1st year All-State)
- Eden Heckner ‘26 – Alto 1 (1st year All-State)
- Nathan Okikiolu ‘26 – Bass 1 (1st year All-State)
- Ella Reed ‘26 – Alto 1 (2nd year All-State)
- Marley Wheless ‘26 – Soprano 1 (2nd year All-State)
- Lucas Winetrout ‘26– Tenor 1 (2nd year All-State)
- Elijah Iwama ‘27 – Bass 2 (2nd year All-State)
- Mary Kate Moore ‘27 – Soprano 2 (1st year All-State)
- Amelia Schmidt ‘27 – Soprano 1 (2nd year All-State)
From Thursday through Saturday, the singers were in and out of rehearsals preparing for the concert, which took place Saturday afternoon at the Eisemann Center in Richardson. The choir clinician this year was the world-renowned Dr. Anton Armstrong from St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN). His level of expertise and high expectations for the students was inspiring for anyone who was able to sit in on a rehearsal to watch him.
The combination of top-notch vocal music instruction and social time, the weekend was a wonderful learning and musically fulfilling experience, culminating in a professional-level concert on Saturday. We are blessed to have such talented students, and we are proud of them for this incredible accomplishment!!
Individually, senior Selena Lemmon became the first CLHS student in the last decade to become a 4-year TPSMEA All-State choir member. Lemmon incredibly has been selected for the All-State choir every year since her freshman year. Only a handful of students achieve this accomplishment throughout their high school careers, and it is a HUGE honor and testament to her talent. Selena was recognized with a few other 4-year all-staters before the concert on Saturday.
Additionally, four CLHS students ended up being ranked at the top of their voice parts after the final round of judging. Selena Lemmon was the #2 ranked Soprano 2 out of all of TPSMEA, and this makes the 2nd year in a row that she’s received that high of ranking, junior Ella Reed was the #2 ranked Alto 1, junior Lucas Winetrout was the #2 ranked Tenor 1, and senior Lucas Wallace-Hesson was the #2 ranked Bass 1. This also marks the first time in school history that four CLHS students earned a top 2 ranking.
We did have four other students earn a top 10 ranking in their section including sophomore Mary Kate Moore who was the 7th ranked Soprano 2, junior Eden Heckner was the 7th ranked Alto 1, junior Angelina Elsisi was the 5th ranked Alto 2, and sophomore Elijah Iwama was the 7th ranked Bass 2.
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Two symphonic band students also earned spots in the prestigious TPSMEA All-State Jazz Band weekend hosted in Richardson, TX at the end of January. This elite band was comprised of only 20 students from private schools across Texas, making the competition and selection process very challenging.
The following students earned a spot in the 2025 TPSMEA All-State Jazz Band:
- Nate Held ’25 – Bass Trombone (1st year All-State)
- Clark Johnson ’25 – Baritone Saxophone (1st year All-State)
Individually, both Held and Johnson were honored as they were selected to be the 1st chairs for the Jazz Band in their section based on their audition process at the end of 2024.
The clinician for this year’s Jazz Band was Dr. John Wasson. Wasson is a composer and performer who has done several pieces with the famed Univ. North Texas One O’clock Jazz Band. He’s composed/arranged music most recently heard on the Academy Award winning film, Whiplash, as well as music for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Philly Pops.
Mr. Held was fired up to hear Dr. Wasson teach the students for a few days and was grateful for what they learned from him. The members of the TPSMEA Jazz Band performed a concert also at the state-of-the-art Eisemann Center in Richardson on Saturday morning.
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The 13 students had free time on Friday evening, and they chose to compete in two teams to see who could do an escape room the quickest. Both teams escaped with the girls team beating the boys team by 10 minutes! Following the escape room, the students enjoyed some gelato in old-town Richardson. It was a great evening to relax and have fun together!
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For more information and upcoming performance schedules of our Fine Arts programs at Concordia, including our Vocal and Instrumental Music programs, visit www.SaderNationTX.com/finearts
Later this Spring, both our Choir and Band programs will host spring concerts in preparation for the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) 6A State Music Competitions. Concordia’s Vocal Music program is the 4x defending State Champs while the Instrumental Music program has won the last three years and are looking to complete the four-year sweep for this year’s senior class.
We thank and praise God from whom ALL blessings flow, including the blessings of music and talent in our Fine Arts students, programs, and staff.