KILLEEN, TX — After a series of auditions, eight students from Killeen ISD have earned a coveted spot in a TMEA All-State Ensemble. This is the most All-State placements in KISD in 16 years.
On top of the process of auditioning against thousands of other students across the state and navigating multiple elimination rounds, this year’s students submitted their auditions virtually.
The district boasts 5 choir students, 2 orchestra students, and 1 band student.
Ellison High School sophomore Lilyanna Gonzalez, a Soprano 1, will sing in the All-State Treble Choir. Joining Lilyanna are Harker Heights choir students freshman Elena Bryan and senior Kosisochukwu Eneli, both singing Alto 1.
From Harker Heights High School, freshman Mattais Fragoso will be singing Bass 1 in the Tenor-Bass choir. Killeen High School’s Joshua McMiller earned the title of 1st Chair Bass 2 in the Mixed Choir, the highest ranking possible for his section in the ensemble.
Two Harker Heights High School orchestra members, Hanah Kim and Grace Koh, earned All-State status.
Kim, a freshman, will be playing first violin in the Philharmonic Orchestra while junior Koh will play second violin in the Symphony Orchestra. This will be Koh’s third time to make All-State.
Sophomore Harker Heights High School Band member Gabriel Villalpando earned a place in the 6A-All State Bands.
Killeen ISD said in addition to the incredible honor that this is for Gabriel, it is also the first time that Killeen ISD has had a student earn a place in All-State band in over a decade—and making him the only one to earn a spot in any of the 6A All-State Bands in Killeen ISD history.
The last All-State Band student from Killeen ISD was in 2009 when Killeen High School was classified as a 4A school.
All-State students will prepare to perform in their respective concerts on Saturday, February 13, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio. All-State concert schedules can be found online at https://tmea.org/convention/performances/all-state/concerts/
