Ellie Hale and Cooper Warden, members of the Liberty High School Choir, will perform with the Texas All-State Small School Choir in San Antonio on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, at the Henry B. González Convention Center. Their performance is part of the 2025 Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Clinic/Convention.
Hale and Warden were chosen for this prestigious honor through a competitive process held this year at the district, region, and area levels. Hale, a student of Debra Greschner, sings at school under the direction of Christie Bean, a member of TMEA, a 20,400-member organization headquartered in Austin. This is Hale’s third time performing as a member of a TMEA All-State organization. She is the daughter of Josh and Christie Hale. This is Warden’s first time to perform as a member of a TMEA All-State organization. He is the son of Terry and Jennifer Warden.
High school students selected to perform in All-State concerts have competed through auditions to qualify at the state level. All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can achieve. Students are selected through a multi-level adjudication process that begins with about 70,000 students statewide vying for the opportunity to perform in one of 18 ensembles.
TMEA sponsors the Texas All-State competition. The process begins with auditions hosted by 33 TMEA regions across the state. 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 others at eight TMEA area competitions. The highest-ranking musicians at these area competitions qualify to perform in a TMEA All-State music group. Only the top 2.6 percent of musicians who audition become All-State musicians.
Directed by nationally recognized conductors, All-State students participate in four days of rehearsals during the TMEA Clinic/Convention. Their performances, attended by thousands, conclude the event. For information about the All-State concerts and conductors, visit the Performances section at www.tmea.org/convention.
About TMEA
Founded in 1920, the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) supports music education for all Texas students. With more than 20,400 members, including 14,100 school music educators, TMEA advocates for fine arts instruction and offers professional development through online courses and its annual Clinic/Convention. The association also provides scholarships and programs for high school and college students pursuing careers in music education.
For more information, visit www.tmea.org/convention.