Senior Braden Lefevre and junior Meghan Brooks will perform in the All-State Band at the Texas Music Educators Association convention in San Antonio Saturday, Feb. 17 after competing at Area auditions in Odessa.

Lefevre will perform with the 6A All-State Band while Brooks will play with the 5A Symphonic Band. Lefevre said working to make All-State has taught him many valuable lessons.

“Learning to manage stress has been a big thing for me,” Lefevre said. “Walking into an audition and not blowing it because you get nervous, being able to control your nerves and say ‘I know how to do this’ and just getting the experience of working hard for something is a big thing.”

Only one student per instrument from each of the eight areas is chosen for the All-State Band. Lefevre said he was happy with the audition and felt that he had done the best he could do.

“I don’t think there is such thing as a perfect audition,” Lefevre said. “I always think there is going to be something that could go better. There’s always room to improve, to learn something more, to perform better and to execute something with greater precision.”

Lefevre made the All-State Band both his sophomore and junior year, which he said has helped him have a better mental grasp while trying out this year.

“I knew that realistically this was a feasible thing for me to do,” Lefevre said. “I had done it two years before, I could do it again one more time.”

Brooks also made the All-State Band last year. She said last year she did not expect to make the band.

“It is stressful,” Brooks said. “You feel like you have to make it again because otherwise, how are people going to look at you?”

In the All-State Band, the pair will work with elite directors and composers and play with some of the best musicians in the state. Band director Mike Sheffield said both students were competition ready.

“As well as Braden prepares, I just didn’t see anyone beating him,” Sheffield said. “Meghan has the confidence to not only prepare but to perform. That’s not typical. A lot of people practice but get nervous. Meghan knows how to control those nerves.”

Brooks said she is very excited to participate in the All-State Band.

“My first year I didn’t really realize how big of an honor it was,” Brooks said. “I feel like I was just focusing on how tired I was the whole time. This year I’m going to try to ignore that and take it all in.”

Alto Saxophone

Braden Lefevre, 6A representative

Bassoon

Meghan Brooks, 5A representative