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More Than Half-a-Hundred Katy ISD Student Musicians Net State’s Highest Honor

KATY, TX [February 5, 2025] – Carrying on the legacy of excellence in fine arts, 54 Katy ISD students were selected for All-State honors in band, choir and orchestra, securing the state’s highest honor for students in music. These students represent the elite, top 2.6 percent of student musicians in Texas following a highly competitive selection process that began with nearly 70,000 students from across the state.

“Congratulations to these students for achieving this incredible statewide recognition; students range from their first time earning this recognition to their fourth time achieving this honor,” said Damon Archer, executive director of fine arts in Katy ISD. “I commend their dedicated teachers for their work in leading these talented students and helping them achieve such high-profile recognition.”

Each year, the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) sponsors the prestigious All-State competition, welcoming student musicians from the organization’s 33 regions. Students audition before a panel of judges who rank each entrant for advancement to the area round, and from there, the highest-ranking musicians are selected for their respective All-State ensemble. Katy ISD had four students that were ranked number one in the state on their instrument: Caleb Elrod (Katy), Leah Wu (Tompkins), Parham Vakili (Seven Lakes) and Brayden Sanchez (Jordan).

All-State musicians participate in four days of rehearsal during the annual TMEA Clinic/Convention, performing before thousands of attendees from across the country and around the world. This year’s convention will be held Feb. 12-15, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Name	Ensemble	School
Lakshya Deshpande	Choir	Cinco Ranch High School
Lucy Ebben	Orchestra	Cinco Ranch High School
Ryan Gover	Band	Cinco Ranch High School
Micah Marsh	Choir	Cinco Ranch High School
Ian Pelton	Band	Cinco Ranch High School
Srisamhita Ponnapalli	Choir	Cinco Ranch High School
George Stevens	Band	Cinco Ranch High School
Ava Cooper	Choir	Jordan High School
Samantha Cui	Orchestra	Jordan High School
Jeweet Fang	Orchestra	Jordan High School
Michael Guo	Orchestra	Jordan High School
Jacob Jang	Orchestra	Jordan High School
Pranav Kelwada	Orchestra	Jordan High School
Zach Lim	Orchestra	Jordan High School
Christian Olowookere	Choir	Jordan High School
Brian Rhee	Orchestra	Jordan High School
Brayden Sanchez	Band	Jordan High School
Sasha Shetty	Choir	Jordan High School
Kelvin Sun	Orchestra	Jordan High School
Maxwell Tang	Orchestra	Jordan High School
Nathan Xu	Orchestra	Jordan High School
Huanran (Henry) Yu	Orchestra	Jordan High School
Caleb Elrod	Band	Katy High School
Zoe Guess	Choir	Katy High School
Adryan Pineda	Band	Katy High School
Mackenzie Simkins	Choir	Katy High School
Joyce Tan	Orchestra	Katy High School
Walter Bryant	Choir	Paetow High School
Jude Sepulveda	Orchestra	Paetow High School
Joshua Corrigan	Band	Seven Lakes High School
Austin Falck	Band	Seven Lakes High School
Grace Gamel	Choir	Seven Lakes High School
Samir Gandhi	Orchestra	Seven Lakes High School
Robert Garcia	Orchestra	Seven Lakes High School
Kevin Hu	Orchestra	Seven Lakes High School
Jenna Lee	Orchestra	Seven Lakes High School
Avery Lindsey	Choir	Seven Lakes High School
ChenXi Ling	Orchestra	Seven Lakes High School
Olivia Owen	Band	Seven Lakes High School
Shugo Sakamoto	Orchestra	Seven Lakes High School
Lauren Son	Choir	Seven Lakes High School
Bill Sun	Orchestra	Seven Lakes High School
Parham Vakili	Orchestra	Seven Lakes High School
Avika Nimmagadda	Band	Taylor High School
Jennifer Park	Band	Taylor High School
Sophia Tang	Orchestra	Taylor High School
Javier Bustillos	Band	Tompkins High School
Arjun Chandupatla	Orchestra	Tompkins High School
David Escobar	Choir	Tompkins High School
Jake Jiang	Orchestra	Tompkins High School
Kendall Porter	Orchestra	Tompkins High School
Sreya Sreejith	Choir	Tompkins High School
Leah Wu	Band	Tompkins High School
Crystal Yang	Orchestra	Tompkins High School

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