NEW HERE?
Welcome to the Family!
Hello!
On behalf of Clements Choir, we would like to welcome you to the high school choir world!
Incoming 8th Graders:
All freshmen trebles (sopranos and altos) will be in one class unless there is a scheduling conflict. This choir is called “Cantiamo.” The freshmen tenors and basses will be in one class and it’s called “Con Brio.” The freshmen choirs are required to do: Fall Concert, Men’s/Women’s Fest, Winter Concert, UIL Concert & Sight Reading, and Pop Show. All Freshmen are invited to participate in the All-State Process and Solo Contest. There is also an annual campus musical October-January that choir supports! For more about our program’s ensemble structure, please see this page.
Current Clements Students joining Choir:
We’re so happy to have you! Whether you have had a little or no music experience, there is room in Clements Choir for you! Please stop by or email Mrs. Blakey or Mr. Shen so we can hear you! In general, new-to-choir 10th-12th are in A Cappella/Sonoro.
Need to know:
There will be a mandatory event “Choir Express” around the 3rd week of school. At this event, there will be a freshmen parent orientation, students will be fitted for their formal uniform (tuxes and gowns), turn in required paperwork, and much more! You can buy spirit gear, get your student signed up for voice lessons, join the booster club, and connect with other parents. It’s a vital evening packed with information. Whenever our calendar is set in mid-May, we will update the website, send an email, and put something up on our social media (Instagram & Facebook). It is a mandatory event!
For the financial planners: The choir fee will be no more than $100 for the year and there will be a fee for the choir polo, around $35. You only purchase 1 polo for your entire high school career so it’s an upfront investment. There is also an annual a freshmen-only trip in the fall that will be low cost and a ton of fun! We are really hoping for 100% participation in this and will keep the cost under $100.
The choir program provides formal uniforms for students to borrow. For the formal uniform, families may choose if students wear the concert gown or the tuxedo. Students who wear a tuxedo will need a black dress shirt, black dress shoes, black undershirt, and black dress socks. Students who wear the concert gown will need to purchase 2-inch black character shoes. The plan is to have some of these things available for wholesale purchase at Choir Express. All-students will need a pair of blue jeans with no holes.
An important aspect of the fall semester in high school choir is the all-state process. This process is for students who are looking to get more out of their choir experience. If your student is passionate and excited about choir, wants to improve, be a part of a tight community of supportive singers, the all-state process is for you! It’s a huge process, so strap in for more explanation!
All-State Explanation
The What:
District Audition>Region Audition> Region Choir>Pre-Area Audition>Area Audition>All-State Convention
May 1st, the state (TMEA- Texas Music Educators Association) releases a packet of music that becomes our audition music. We audition within our region first (FBISD and LCISD).
The first round is in late-September (District Auditions) and involves 3-4 pieces for kids to know. The region takes about 40 students per voice part (soprano 1, soprano 2, alto 1, alto 2, tenor 1, tenor 2, bass 1, bass 2).
The second round is in late-October (Region Auditions) and involves another 3-4 pieces for kids to know. The top 15 sing in the Region Mixed Choir, and currently there is a Region Tenor Bass Choir and Region Treble Choir that the next 20 or so singers place within. (The lower 2 choirs’ structures are changing and I will have an update in late-May).
The region choirs are wonderful opportunity for students to collaborate with high-achieving music students from FBISD and LCISD. The best part is that our region hires renowned clinicians to work with these ensembles- this past year was Dr. Allen Hightower of UNT and Ms. Janwin Overstreet-Goode, past TMEA-President and recently retired from Friendswood HS. Students grow a lot in their musicianship from this experience. This is a very achievable goal for the average Clements freshman!
If students make the top 13 in their voice part at Region auditions, they compete in the 3rd round in late-November (Pre-Area). Students will have 3 more pieces to learn by this audition and also sightread as a part of their audition. The top 5 advance from Pre-Area to the final round (Area).
The Area audition is January 11th of 2025. The Area we compete with is from Channelview-Alief-Katy and south. Out of 20 singers in each voice part, the top 11 sopranos and altos make an all-state choir. Out of 20, the top 9 tenors and basses make an all-state choir.
Only the top 2.9% of students make an all-state choir. If students earn a spot in the all-state choir, they travel to San Antonio for the TMEA convention in mid-February to sing with world-renowned clinicians. Next year, if a student makes it into the All-State Mixed Choir, they will also get to perform at ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) convention in early March in Dallas! The district heavily subsidizes both these experiences. (Bus, hotel, some $ for food)
The How:
Students who make it to the final round all-state, typically juniors and seniors, begin the process their freshmen year. They often have voice teachers beginning the music with them over the summer and all-state camps are a HUGE benefit for the process. Overall, students learn 9-12 pieces of music and that’s hard to do concurrent to a busy school year. Students can learn all the notes and rhythms to the packet over the summer and spend their school year refining for each audition. It takes out a lot of the stress and makes school-year practice much more efficient, and frankly, fun!
This process is extra-curricular, meaning this preparation happens largely outside the class. Clements Choir offers sectionals 2 days a week and require our auditionees to do a mock audition prior to the first two auditions. We prepare our kids well and we do well at these competitions!
The Why:
This process is amazing- it teaches how to break down a large project into smaller portions, independent musicianship, implementing feedback on an individual level, personal accountability, failing constructively, and self- confidence. Making it to the All-State choir is a huge achievement- it opens up scholarship money at Texas Universities, even for non-music majors. It is something that a student can add to their portfolio that is hard to achieve! Even making it to the Area level is something people speak of proudly as adults. This process builds pride in one’s musicianship!
The Who:
If you’re on the fence about this process, FBISD offers a $65 camp on July 23-24 at Fort Settlement with more details here. You can come, sing the music, and decide later if you want to do this process! The sign-up is available now. If you are PUMPED about this process and want to do a camp, you will find a list of camps here. You will want to make sure you are signed up for the LSC (large school choir) track. Some camps are local and are commuter. Others are “sleep away” at major universities! There’s a camp for every budget and timeline.
All of our middle school choir programs are exceptional. Any student coming from a Varsity MS choir in our feeder zone is well-prepared to begin this all-state process. If you are non-varsity singer who is looking for a challenge and want to prove your potential, this is a great way to launch your high school career!
It’s a lot of information, and don’t feel like you need to know it all! This is meant to be a “heads-up” and not the last time you will hear this stuff. We can’t wait to hear your student in the coming weeks and launch them into high school! Choir is a great place for a year or an entire high school career. Check us out on Instagram/Facebook for more updates!