Matthew Kim, a member of the St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Orchestra, has earned the prestigious honor of being named a Texas All-State Musician. Despite practicing and playing since March 2020 under COVID-19 restrictions, the resilient 12th grader remained strongly committed to developing his musical talents.
“Matthew, who was selected for this honor through a highly competitive process that began last fall, serves as concertmaster of the St. Stephen’s Orchestra,” said John Moon, St. Stephen’s director of orchestras and a member of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA). Kim also studies privately with John Holguin.
TMEA sponsors the Texas All-State audition to promote students’ dedication to their musical knowledge and skill and to encourage educators to support their students in their development. All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive.
More than 50,000 students from around the state participated in the initial TMEA audition process, and 1,860 students were selected to continue in the competition. From among this group, a select number of musicians advanced to compete against musicians in eight area competitions. The highest-ranking musicians judged at the area competitions qualified for the 2021 TMEA All-State group.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, TMEA will not host in-person conference sessions or final performances of All-State musicians in mid-February. Rather, students will have online access to the conference, which they will be able to attend virtually, while also interacting remotely with other students, and college and university representatives.
St. Stephen’s offers a number of exceptional music education programs, including both Middle School and Upper School orchestras, jazz bands and more. Please visit www.sstx.org/fine-arts to learn more about these exciting offerings.
