North Lamar Students Selected as Texas All-State Musicians

Posted Date: 01/22/2021

Paris, Texas, January 22, 2021 – Brian Slater, Connor Dawes, Bonnie Dong, Jillian Jones and Isla Taber, members of the North Lamar High School Choir and Band, have earned the prestigious honor of being named Texas All-State Musicians.  Despite the innumerable challenges encountered throughout this school year, 2021 All-Staters remained committed to their personal musical development.  They demonstrated the very perseverance and dedication that ongoing participation in a music program fosters.  The five musicians chosen for this impressive honor began the competitive process last fall and included District, Region and Area levels.

Slater, a senior, sings bass with the North Lamar Chamber Singers and is his first time to perform as a member of a TMEA All-State organization. He is the son of Sean and Carrie Green.

Dawes, a senior, sings tenor with the North Lamar Chamber Singers and is his first time to perform as a member of a TMEA All-State organization. Connor is the son of Cortney Dawes.

Dong, a junior, sings soprano with the North Lamar Chamber Singers and is her first time to perform as a member of a TMEA All-State organization. Bonnie is the daughter of Mike and May Dong.

Jones, a junior, sings alto with the North Lamar Chamber Singers and is her second time to perform as a member of a TMEA All-State organization. Jillian is the daughter of Cory and Melissa Jones.

Taber, a junior, plays clarinet with the North Lamar Band and is her first time to perform as a member of the TMEA All-State organization.  She is the daughter of Christine Taber.

NLHS Choir Director Rebecca Hildreth, Band Director Randy Jones, Band Associate Director Jason R. Smith, and Percussion Director Marcus Lutz are members of the Texas Music Educators Association, a 19,000+ member organization headquartered in Austin.

TMEA sponsors the Texas All-State audition process to promote students’ dedication to their musical knowledge and skill and to encourage educators to support their students in this development.  All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive.

Over 50,000 students from around the state initially entered the audition process, and 1,860 students have been selected for 2021.  This competitive process begins throughout the state in auditions hosted by 33 TMEA Regions.  Individual musicians perform selected music for a panel of judges who rank each instrument or voice 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.  The highest-ranking musicians judged at the TMEA Area competitions qualify to a TMEA All-State music group.

Because of the impacts of the pandemic, TMEA will not host a 2021 performance event.

The Texas Music Educators Association is an association of over 13,500 school music educators dedicated to promoting excellence in music education.  To learn more about TMEA and its rich 100-year history, go to www.tmea.org/centennial.