Celebrating our Region, Area, and All-State Musicians

Each fall, more than 70,000 high school musicians across Texas undergo a highly competitive audition process through the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) to earn spots in their Region and All-State ensembles. Receiving a spot in these groups is one of the most selective honors a student musician can achieve. Every student who chooses even to audition undertakes an immense challenge.

The process begins at the Region level, where students perform in front of panels of judges who rank each student. The top performers advance to an Area-level competition, where they audition again to secure highly coveted chairs in TMEA's elite All-State ensembles - recognized nationwide for their extraordinary musical standards. This year, Fort Worth Youth Orchestra students once again proved their excellence.

FWYO students earned 196 Region and All-State placements this year, including spots in the TMEA 6A and 5A band and orchestra ensembles, both TMEA Jazz ensembles, Mariachi groups, and numerous high school and middle school region bands and orchestras.

Notable Ensemble Numbers:

• Youth Orchestra (YO): 22 students earned chairs in All-State ensembles and 53 in Region groups, for a total of 75 out of 108 students.

• Philharmonic Orchestra (PHIL): 3 students earned chairs in All-State ensembles and 31 in Region groups, for a total of 34 out of 81 musicians.

• Wind Ensemble (WE): 5 students earned chairs in All-State ensembles and 26 in Region groups, for a total of 31 out of 66 students.

• Jr. Wind Ensemble (JWE): In only its first semester with FWYO, 23 out of 35 students earned spots in middle school Region bands.

To put it simply, over 60% of students in our top ensembles (YO, PHIL, and WE) earned Region or All-State recognition. And our younger musicians are already making waves in the middle school ensembles. These numbers reflect the exceptional talent, dedication, and discipline of our students - and the unwavering support of their families, teachers, and private instructors.

Congratulations to all of our students who worked hard to participate in this year's audition process - and thank you for representing not only FWYO, but also Fort Worth with such distinction!

Ways you can help our students continue to thrive:

• Make a gift today to support our mission to bring in top instructors, provide state of the art performance opportunities, and care for our beloved home at Orchestra Hall!

• Interested in volunteering or serving in a leadership capacity? Let us know by sending an email to info@fwyo.org

• Are you an alum? Register now at https://www.fwyo.org/alumni to stay connected.

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About FWYO:

Celebrating 60 years of extraordinary music education during the 2024-2025 season, the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra has won local, national, and international recognition as one of the finest youth orchestra programs in the United States. Through ten programs - including four major orchestras, two wind ensembles, a jazz band, Early Childhood Music, FWYO Suzuki School, and chamber programs - the FWYO delivers high quality musical instruction to nearly 500 students ranging in age from four to eighteen years, and represents communities throughout North Texas.

Founded by a community group headed by Betty Utter and under the direction of conductors Ezra Rachlin and John Giordano, the FWYO was founded to promote and inspire the continuing development of musical talent in qualified area youth through intensive education in classical orchestral rooted music and performance. The programs offers students the opportunity to further develop their talent as well as their leadership skills, self-discipline, confidence, and pride in personal achievement. Many of the nearly 20,000 alumni of the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra program have gone on to become members of major symphony orchestras, music educators, or leaders in their fields.

The Orchestra's accomplishments include international concert tours in Europe, Mexico, Canada, and the Far East; music festivals in Switzerland and Washington, D.C.; and numerous other concert appearances across Texas and the Southwest. Its most recent tour in 2024 was to Spain with performances in Barcelona, Valencia, and Cullera. The Youth Orchestra has also been honored to perform with artists such as Van Cliburn, Jose Feghali, Yakov Kasman, Tamàs Ungàr, and John Owings, and composers Morton Gould and Samuel Adler. In 2021, the FWYO also received 2nd in the Youth Orchestra Division of the prestigious American Prize and 3rd place in the 2024 American Prize. The Wind Ensemble also won 1st place in the American Prize Youth Band division in 2024.

Under the leadership of Music Director Dr. Germán Gutiérrez since 2000 and Executive Director Andrew Reynolds since 2021, the FWYO has become one of North Texas’ most prestigious performing arts organizations. In addition to its educational programs, the FWYO owns and operates historic Orchestra Hall in Foster Park that has been home to numerous performing arts organizations since 1975.

Press Inquiries: Lauren Arie - larie@fwyo.org / 817-923-3121 x18