HITTING ALL THE RIGHT NOTES: Seven Mercedes music students advance to state UIL Solo Contest
Special to The Enterprise
MERCEDES – Seven students from Mercedes Independent School District earned a Superior Rating (Division I) in the University Interscholastic League Solo Contest on Feb. 27 and will advance to the virtual state competition May 29-31. The students who achieved this distinguished level are: freshman Noah Diaz, marimba; sophomore Alaina Garcia, violin; senior Josiah Noriega, violin; junior Rudy Pedraza, snare drum; senior Ramsey Ramirez, vibraphone; freshman Bryan Reyes, snare drum; and junior Alan Trevino, oboe.
Fifteen students also earned a Superior Rating but will not advance to the state competition. They are: sophomore Jared Abrego, trumpet; junior Matthew Ayala, alto sax; freshman Max Castro, alto sax; senior Oscar Cantu, snare drum; freshman Charles Chacon, alto sax; junior Kevin Cisneros, euphonium; junior Jazzlynn Colunga, violin; freshman Henry DeLeon, tenor sax; freshman Ruben Hernandez, alto sax; junior Juan Medina, bari sax; junior Eulalia Medrano, alto sax; freshman Lizette Moreno, snare drum; freshman Jesus Tamez, alto sax; sophomore Priscilla Vasquez, flute; and senior Aden Ybarra, euphonium.
Ten students who earned the Excellent Rating (Division II) are: junior Mario Bustamante, trombone; junior Madison Galvan, snare drum; sophomore Jared Gonzalez, French horn; freshman Mayah Ledesma, trumpet; senior J.J. Martell, timpani; junior Gabriel Mireles, French horn; senior Julianne Rincon, violin; and junior Ariyana Sifuentes, clarinet; senior Alyssa Villarreal, violin; and junior Nicholas Yanes, trumpet.
The judges of UIL Solo Contest were Byron Engle for band and Avigai Gonzalez for orchestra. Engle is a retired band director from La Feria Independent School District and Gonzalez is an associate orchestra director from San Benito Consolidated Independent School District. The pianist was Balvina Dornbusch, a band director with Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District.
According to Guy McKinney, director of Band & Fine Arts for MISD, 32 students entered the competition, and all of them received no less than an Excellent Rating.
Superintendent Carolyn Mendiola, M.Ed., said, “The fact that all our student musicians performed so well in the competition speaks highly to the quality of our music program. I applaud the students for their hard work and accomplishments, and I thank the teachers for helping them develop their talent and skills to achieve this level of success.”
