Three members of the Rockwall HS Band, Justin Dower, James Matthews and Nick Messick, will perform with the Texas All-State groups in San Antonio, Saturday, February 17, 2018 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center as part of the 2018 Texas Music Educators Association Clinic/Convention.
They were chosen for this prestigious honor through a competitive process held this year across the state at District, Region, and Area levels.
This will be Nick’s third time to perform as a member of a TMEA All-State organization.
1,780 students are selected through a process that begins with over 70,000 students from around the state vying for this honor to perform in one of 15 ensembles (bands, orchestras, and choirs). Only the top 2.5% of musicians who initially audition become All-State musicians.
In addition, all three of these young men will perform with Rockwall High School’s Jazz I, this year’s TMEA invited jazz band. Much like the individual audition process, Jazz I submitted a recording that competed at the Region and Area levels.
Jazz I from Rockwall High School is the first ever TMEA invited group in the history of RISD.
“We are honored that Jazz I was chosen as the top jazz band in the state and look forward to representing Rockwall High School, Rockwall ISD, and the Rockwall community at TMEA,” said Brandon Downs, director of bands at Rockwall HS.
