Three incredibly talented students from Arlington High’s choir made it to the All-State Choir. Junior Hannah Flenniken and seniors Graham Feil and Nick Kannenberg competed against hundreds of talented students from other schools in Texas, and came out victorious.

The process of getting to All-State was a very challenging experience, and these students worked exceptionally hard to get to where they are now.

“There were times I was super nervous, and then I would get over it, and then it would come back,” Flenniken said.

Apparently the main source of anxiety was the impromptu performances.

“You work a ton on the pieces, so I didn’t feel nervous about the pieces, but the sight-reading rounds kinda get you every time, because you don’t know what to expect,” Kannenberg said.

For Feil, the anticipation disappeared as soon as the singing began.

“I’m more nervous before the audition, before I go into the room to sing, but once I start singing, I realize that I’ve been practicing this music since forever, so I should just do what I know,” Feil said.

Beating students around the district at any competition is already pretty impressive, but to beat students in the state is a lot more challenging, since the talent is more vast and, of course, there’s more of it.

“I like to call them ‘nut jobs’, there’s always these guys, they wear their letter jackets, and they flaunt around like they’re the coolest people in town; you’d be surprised of how evil some of those people are, they try to taunt you out; they’ll say like, how many times they’ve made All State before, and it’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen, I promise you,” Kannenberg said.

Being in All-State is something that can benefit one in school today, but also in the future.

“I guess if we choose to go into music, that’s a feather in our cap, to be in All-State,” Flenniken said.

Along a similar vein, Feil too was confident of the boon of this program.

“Whenever you audition for any choir, having the All-State background will really help you out,” he said.

Making it to All-State can be something that happens continuously throughout the future.

“My first year in All-State was last year, and I only got to round two, and that stunk; but this year, ta da! I made it,” Flenniken said.

For Feil too this was a new experience.

“This is my first time making All-State, but I tried three times, so I’m glad I made it,” he said.

For Kannenberg, this is a repeat occurrence.

“This is my second time making All-State, I’ve tried out for three years; I did the music my freshman year, but I didn’t actually try out,” he said.

To learn more about All-State choir, visit http://www.tmea.org/programs/all-state.