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Burnet HS student takes another step to all-state choir

Burnet High School senior Caleb Blakeney is advancing to the area round of the Texas Music Educators Association’s All-State Choir tryouts.

 With more than 20,000 students participating in high school choir in the Lone Star State, only 300 are chosen for the all-state mixed choir, men’s choir and women’s choir. This is the second year the Burnet choir member has made it to the area round. 


BURNET — Burnet High School senior Caleb Blakeney hit all the right notes Monday in the pre-area round of the Texas All-State Choir selection process.

After finishing  fifth chair Tenor II last year in the same round, Blakeney earned the first-chair position at the pre-area round at Round Rock McNeil High School. Now it’s on to the area round Jan. 10 in Waco, where the all-state choir members will be selected. 

The Burnet choir member is trying to be one of 900 high school students chosen for one of three of the Texas Music Educators Association’s groups.

About 20,000 high school students participate in choir. The all-state choir selects 300 for mixed; 300 for men’s; and 300 for women’s.

Even though he made it to the area round last year, Blakeney said it was still exciting this year.

“I think it is still a little frightening because it’s my senior year,” he said. “It puts a little more pressure on me.”

But Blakeney doesn’t seem to mind the pressure. When he started the selection process earlier this year, he was among 80 competing for the Tenor II position at the pre-area level. 

“Now he’s the best of those 80,” choir director Lynda Hamby said. “He’s worked incredibly hard to get here. We’re so proud of him.”

Getting to the area round wasn’t easy. During the pre-area competition, the choir students knew what two songs they would be singing. They just didn’t know which parts they should sing until they arrived at McNeil.

The two songs the TMEA officials selected for the audition process are “Cantate Domino” from Dorchester Psalms and “Dona Nobis Pacem” from Mass in b minor, BMV 232 by J.S. Bach. Both are in Latin.

During the tryout Monday, Blakeney said the students get to warm up and then go over the songs twice as a group. 

“After warm-ups and going over the song twice, you can only look at the songs,” he said. “You can’t practice them again.”

After all the students are broken down to smaller units based on their singing (such as Bass I, Tenor II), they are then taken one at a time to another room to perform. Three judges are in the room but separated from the student by a drape or other material that allows them to hear the singer’s voice, but doesn’t allow them to see the student.

Following the performance of the two pieces the student knows, the judges give the individual a sheet of music and words he or she hasn’t seen before. 

After flipping the sheet over, the student has 30 seconds to take a look.

“Then you sing through it,” he said. “If you haven’t had any sight reading before, it can really tear you apart.”

Fortunately for Blakeney, he has plenty of sight-reading experience.

“It still adds a lot of stress to the tryout,” he said.

But as he headed into the room for his audition, Blakeney remembered something his dad told him before leaving for Round Rock — just have fun. Even the next day it really hadn’t sunk in.

“When I woke up the next morning I thought, ‘Did this really happen?’” he said. 

Blakeney isn’t the only area student to make it to the area round. Marble Falls High School choir member Ariel Moncivais also made it through pre-area tryouts. Blakeney has just more than a month to get ready for the area-round auditions in Waco. Hamby said she has high expectations for her student. 

“I think he’s going to make it (to all-state),” she said. “He’s that good. But more than that, he’s just a fine young man.”

daniel@thepicayune.com

Photo by Daniel Clifton