Seven MFHS students make all-state choir
Marble Falls High School choir students (from left) Hunter Holder, Hudson Brantley, Nick Dahl, and Jade Maynard, Choir Director Bryce Gage, and students Jennie Lynn Gage, Bella Salinas, and Ella Bray at the Texas Music Educators Association’s annual conference on Feb. 10. The seven students qualified for the TMEA Small School All-State Choir. Not pictured is Assistant Choir Director Nike Aune. Courtesy photo
Seven members of the Marble Falls High School choir were selected to the Texas Music Educators Association’s Small School All-State Choir in February. They are seniors Nick Dahl and Bella Salinas, juniors Ella Bray and Jade Maynard, sophomore Hunter Holder, and freshmen Hudson Brantley and Jennie Lynn Gage.
It’s the MFHS choir program’s highest-ever number of all-state selections, said Director Bryce Gage.
“When hard work and preparation meet opportunity, that is where luck happens,” he said.
The TMEA’s Small School All-State Choir competition pits high schools from classes 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A against each other annually. This school year, around 2,500 students vied for 112 available spots on the choir, which consists of 28 sopranos, 28 altos, 28 tenors, and 28 basses.
Competing schools are divided into five geographic areas. Marble Falls is in the Central area, which has a total 16 available spots.
“The dedication and work ethic of these students is incredible,” Gage said.
The competition includes three rounds of head-to-head auditions of songs in a variety of languages. Auditions began in July 2023 at Tarleton State University in Stephenville.
“Once school started, they rehearsed before school, during advisory, and also on their own time all the way until the TMEA conference (on Feb. 10),” Gage said.
Almost half of the MFHS state qualifiers were underclassmen.
“The future is bright for the choir program,” Gage said.
The Texas Music Educators Association was founded in 1920 to promote excellence in music education for students across the state. Over 13,000 music educators are TMEA members.