All-State Choir Information

What is it?  The Texas Music Educators Association hosts the annual All-State Choir audition process.  Students in grades 9-12 compete against singers from across the state on their respective voice part vying for a spot in either the Texas All-State Mixed Choir, Texas All-State Treble Choir, or the Texas All-State Tenor-Bass Choir.  The audition process begins in September with a series of four auditions, the final audition occurring the first Saturday in January.

How much will it cost? The audition fee is a one time cost of $20.  Also, many students opt to attend summer camps that have various costs.  It is recommended that students take private voice lessons during the summer and school year.  Voice lessons provided during the school day cost $20 per half hour on a weekly basis.  Summer lessons vary in cost depending on the voice teacher.  Please contact Mr. Rives or Mx. Kats for more information about private voice.

How much time does it take? A man on his way to a concert asked a passerby “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” the man’s reply: “Practice, Practice, Practice!”  Yes, the best way to make the All-State choir is to practice more than your competition.  Summer lessons and summer camps are a great start.  When school starts in August we will be available 4:15-5:00pm for group practice every day in the choir room.  We encourage all auditioners to practice at least 30 minutes everyday on their music and sight-reading. 

When does this all happen?  Here are the All-State dates for 2023:

• September 9th, Phase One Audition, Lewisville HS

• October 16th & 17th, Region Auditions 

  • Treble Singers on the 16th at Flower Mound HS

  • Tenor/Bass Singers on the 17th at Marcus HS

• October 30th, Region 2 Clinic and Concert at Denton HS

• November 14th, Pre-Area Auditions, Hebron HS

• January 6th, Area Auditions, Texas A&M Commerce

• February 7th-10th, TMEA Convention in San Antonio

How do I get the music? Music packets should be available after Memorial Day.   Packets should be purchased at Pender's Music Company in Denton and cost about $30.  Also, the ever important All-State rehearsal tracks will be shared with auditioning students via Google Drive.  One set of tracks will have the voice part being sung (for practice and learning), the other will have only the piano accompaniment.  The accompaniment only tracks are the ones used in the auditions.

How do the auditions work? Students will sing a portion of two or three songs from the list of all-state music called a “cut”.  They will sing the cut by themselves for a group of five judges who are hidden behind a screen.  The judges consider the knowledge of the music and quality of singing and rank students from highest to lowest.  All students will also sight-read a short line of music in the later rounds of auditions.  Students are given 30 seconds to study the line and then sight sing the exercise.  The scoring is on a 300 point scale using Olympic scoring system (drop the highest and lowest scores and average the rest).

Do I have a chance to make it?  It is very difficult to make the All-State choir.  Over 15,000 students start the process in August and only about 350 make an All-State choir.  Although the odds seem very long, Ryan HS has a great history of placing students in the All-State and All-Region choirs.  All-Region and the 9/10 Honor Choir are great honors as well and worthy goals especially for younger singers in the process.

Is it worth all this time and effort?  Yes! It is very much worth the time and effort.  Even if a student does not make the first audition, the lessons learned and the vocal growth that will occur will improve the individual singer.  Students that make the Region choir will enjoy the experience of working with an excellent clinician and singing with talented and music-loving students from around the area.  Students that make the All-State choir will be recognized as dedicated and high quality musicians.  All-State singers get to work with a renowned All-State clinician, meet likeminded and highly talented students from across the state, be a part of the largest music convention in the world, and parents, don’t forget college night, where universities from all over the country recruit All-State performers with scholarships. The experience concludes with an incredible All-State Concert attended by every choir director in the state of Texas.  Yes, it is worth all the time and effort.

I’m still not sure…  Contact Mr. Rives or Mx. Kats and we’ll talk about it and make sure that All-State auditions are right for you.  This is a wonderful experience if approached with the right attitude and work ethic. We can be reached at drives@dentonisd.org and skats@dentonisd.org.