Junior, Isaac Neuman, and sophomore, Hunter Digby, members of the Pleasant Grove High School Band, have earned the prestigious honor of being named Texas All-State Musicians. Neuman and Digby were chosen for this honor through a competitive process that began last fall and included District, Region, and Area levels. This is both Neuman’s and Digby’s first time to perform as members of the ATSSB All-State organization. All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. TMEA sponsors the Texas All-State audition process to promote students’ dedication to their musical knowledge and skill and to encourage educators to support their students in this development.
Over 50,000 students from around the state initially entered the audition process, and 1,860 students have been selected for 2021. This competitive process begins throughout the state in auditions hosted by 33 TMEA Regions. 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 musicians from other areas in eight ATSSB Area competitions. The highest-ranking musicians judged at the ATSSB Area competitions qualify to a ATSSB All-State music group.
Because of the impacts of the pandemic, ATSSB will delay the 2021 All-State Clinic to June 9th through 12th in Melissa, TX. The Texas Music Educators Association is an association of over 13,500 school music educators dedicated to promoting excellence in music education.
Isaac Neuman is the child of Dr. Ben and Nicola Neuman. Hunter Digby is the child of Jody and Brandi Digby. Digby also studies privately with Joey Castrogiovanni of The Band House music store in Texarkana, TX. Neuman and Digby play with the Pleasant Grove High School Band under the direction of Bass Deese, a member of the Association of Texas Small School Bands and Texas Music Educators Association, a 19,000+ member organization headquartered in Austin.
