ARLINGTON -- The orchestra program at Martin High School in Arlington is celebrating yet another big win.
The Martin Symphony Orchestra was named the 2016-2017 Honor Orchestra by the Texas Music Educators Association.
Recordings of high school orchestras around the state are sent to a panel of TMEA judges, who choose two high school orchestras -- one string and one full (which includes wind instruments). The judges choose the school "blindly," meaning they listen to the music without knowing which school is playing.
Martin High School has six orchestras with over 300 members, representing nearly every continent in the world, according to Booster Club President Mike Snyder.
"The program does a great job of taking 'regular kids' and developing championship performers,' Snyder said.
He added that 99 percent of the students began playing in 5th grade, and many are in the STEM program at Martin HS.
"These teens represent what is good and right about our society," Snyder continued. "Seeing the passion and commitment of these students gives me hope for our future."
You can attend a TMEA preview concert by the Martin Symphony Orchestra at Arborlawn United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. on Feb. 6. The group will then head to the Texas Music Educators Association Convention in San Antonio where it will perform Feb. 9.
It's only one of two high school orchestras playing at the convention.
This is the third year in a row that a Martin group has performed at TMEA. The String Orchestra played in 2015 when it won the same state title, and the Chamber Singers performed in 2016.
"It is extremely rare for a school to perform for three consecutive years at TMEA,” AISD Fine Arts Director Jeremy Earnhart said. “This benchmark is a tribute to the outstanding student-musicians and staff and the consistent campus and community support at Martin."
The Martin Symphony Orchestra is under the direction of Michael Stringer, Brad McCann, Jamie Ovalle, and Sammy Branch. The students will perform:
- Don Juan, Op. 20 by Strauss
- Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88; Mvt. III by Dvorak
- Malagueña from Andalucia Suite Espagnole No. 6 by Lecuona/Grofe
- Enigma Variations, IX. Nimrod by Elgar
- Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36; Mvt. IV by Tchaikovsky
