The Texas All-State Experience
Conduced by our Co-Marketing Manager Daniel Ma, the following interview features Ali Khan, a clarinetist from Memorial High School who made All-State Band this year.
How would you sum up your experience at All-State?
All-State is an incredible experience. It shows your work and dedication as a musician. Here is a brief summary:
DAY 1
First woke up
Went to school
Hopped on bus from Houston to San Antonio
Went to hotel
Went to a restaurant that I don’t remember the name of
Went to hotel
Went to student meeting
Went to sectional
Went to McDonalds
Went to sleep
DAY 2
Woke up
Hit up Starbucks with Tri Ha (check out his interview!)
Went upstairs
Went to Rehearsal 1
Went to Chipotle and hung out with Cy-Woods kids at the food court
Went to a convention
Went to Rehearsal 2
Went to a convention again but then it closed
Went to Chipotle with orchestra people and ran around for 30 minutes trying to find another Chipotle that never even existed in the first place but we still got our food
Went to Rehearsal 3
Went to the Alamo
Went to hotel and slept
DAY 3
Woke up
Starbucks again
Rehearsal 4
Food court with Choir people
Rehearsal 5
College Night for 10 minutes
Walked around the San Antonio Riverwalk for 2 hours trying to find somewhere to eat because all the restaurants were completely seated. We nearly gave up but then we found this Mexican restaurant. It was pretty good 8/10
Went to hotel. Ended up talking until 2 am
DAY 4
Woke up
Hit up iHop
Watched the Phil Orchestra rehearse for a bit
Rehearsal 6
Went to the food court with Cy-Woods kids. Then the group disintegrated because half of them had to go to rehearsal
Bought a shirt. Then I went to watch the Concert Band rehearsal
Went to watch the Phil Orchestra rehearse for a bit
Went to last rehearsal
Performed at Concert
Went home and slept
How much preparation did you do?
In sophomore year I grinded and slowly practiced less in Junior and Senior year due to all the coursework. However, I was able to successfully balance school with practicing whenever I could. Practice is the "meaning of life".
How were the people in All-State?
They were pretty cool. They all expressed their passion with music and I was able to make friends with them which I could never have done before. I never made friends outside of school, but All-State provided me with the opportunity to finally experience friendship beyond school.
How was the performance?
It was pretty awesome, but the trumpets messed up sometimes haha.
How were your roommates?
Tri was awesome. Tri and Jonathan were so cool. Jonathan was freaking out once he realized me and Tri had perfect pitch.
How was the music?
The music was pretty hype. Especially Molly on the Shore. For the other pieces, 10 out of 10!
Author: Daniel Ma
Editor: Kevin Zhang
#interview #AliKhan #music #allstate #TMEA #highschool #DanielMa