Thomas Pickett, a junior member of the New Braunfels High School Choir, has earned a spot in the Texas Music Educators (TMEA) All-State Choir. The area audition was held January 11th in San Antonio, and Pickett will return to San Antonio to perform with the All-State Tenor Bass Choir. That concert will be held on February 15th at the Henry B. González Convention Center as part of the 2025 TMEA Clinic/Convention.

“I feel like it’s not the fact that you get to join an amazing choir, but it’s everything that it has taken along the way like practicing for the last six months and getting the opportunity to perform with people who have put in the same amount of dedication,” he said.

Pickett was chosen for this prestigious honor through a competitive process held this year across the state at District, Region, and Area levels. He is a private student of Andrew McNair and sings at school under the direction of Mario Contreras, who is a member of the TMEA, a 20,400+ member organization headquartered in Austin. This is Pickett’s first time to perform as a member of a TMEA All-State organization. He is the son of Bill and Debra Pickett.

“Thomas’s dedication to music is nothing short of inspiring. He’s gone above and beyond, attending All-State preparatory camps during both summer and winter breaks,” Contreras said. “It’s also heartwarming to witness the incredible support he receives from his family and peers, which truly fuels his determination.”

Students selected to perform in All-State concerts have competed through auditions to qualify at state. All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can achieve. Students are selected through a multi-level adjudication process that begins with about 70,000 students from around the state vying for this honor to perform in one of 18 ensembles.

“I couldn’t be prouder of Thomas for making the TMEA All-State Choir. As his director, it’s truly a joy to see his hard work pay off,” Contreras added. “He’s competing against some incredibly talented students from much larger school districts with abundant resources, yet his beautiful voice stands out, bringing much-deserved recognition to New Braunfels High School at the state level.”

TMEA sponsors the Texas All-State competition. 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 TMEA Area competitions. The highest-ranking musicians judged at the TMEA Area competitions qualify to perform in a TMEA All-State music group. Only the top 2.6% of musicians who initially audition become All-State musicians.

Directed by nationally recognized conductors, All-State students participate in four days of rehearsals during the TMEA Clinic/Convention. Their performances for thousands of attendees bring this extraordinary event to a close. For the All-State concert and conductor information, go to the Performances section.

“I really feel like it’s going to be amazing because I’ve never been in a choir with that many guys so it’s going to be really fun for me,” he said about performing at the TMEA Convention.

About TMEA
Founded in 1920, the TMEA supports music education for all Texas students. With over 20,400 members, including 14,100 school music educators, TMEA advocates for fine arts instruction and offers professional development through online courses and its annual Clinic/Convention. The association also provides scholarships and programs for high school and college students pursuing careers in music education.