Texas All-State strings, 2024-2026
Which Texas schools place the most All-State string players
Across the last three TMEA cycles (2024, 2025, 2026), 680 All-State string placements went to students from 166 Texas schools. Westwood HS in Austin leads with 33, followed by Jordan HS (Fulshear) and Plano West Sr HS at 29 each. The top 10 schools account for about 35 percent of all placements, which means the other 65 percent came from more than 150 different programs. A big program helps. It is not the ticket.
Top 25 schools by string placements
Placements, not unique players: a student who makes All-State twice counts twice. Orchestra organizations only, string chairs only.
| # | School | City | 2024-26 | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westwood HS | Austin | 33 | 12 | 9 | 12 |
| 2 | Jordan HS | Fulshear | 29 | 7 | 11 | 11 |
| 3 | Plano West Sr HS | Plano | 29 | 15 | 7 | 7 |
| 4 | Clements HS | Sugar Land | 27 | 10 | 8 | 9 |
| 5 | Flower Mound HS | Flower Mound | 24 | 6 | 10 | 8 |
| 6 | Kinder HSPVA | Houston | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 |
| 7 | Jasper HS | Plano | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| 8 | Seven Lakes HS | Katy | 20 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | McNeil HS | Austin | 17 | 7 | 7 | 3 |
| 10 | Tompkins HS | Katy | 17 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| 11 | Plano East Sr HS | Plano | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 12 | Lebanon Trail HS | Frisco | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| 13 | Westlake HS | Austin | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| 14 | Dulles HS | Sugar Land | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 15 | McCallum HS | Austin | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 16 | Austin HS | Sugar Land | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 17 | Liberty HS | Frisco | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 18 | Reedy HS | Frisco | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 19 | Round Rock HS | Round Rock | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 20 | Memorial HS | Houston | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 21 | Independence HS | Frisco | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 22 | Allen HS | Allen | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 23 | LASA HS | Austin | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 24 | College Station HS | College Station | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 25 | Taylor HS | Katy | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Per-instrument leaders, 2024-2026
- ViolinWestwood HS (Austin) 23
- ViolaPlano West Sr HS (Plano) 14
- CelloFlower Mound HS (Flower Mound) 9
- String BassPlano East Sr HS (Plano) 8
What the numbers actually say
The seat count is stable: 228, 227, and 225 string placements in 2024, 2025, and 2026. Nobody is expanding the orchestras, so every year is a fixed-size race.
District clusters are real. The four Plano ISD senior highs on this list (Plano West, Jasper, Plano East, Plano Sr) combined for 72 placements, and the Katy ISD group (Jordan, Seven Lakes, Tompkins, Taylor) for 73. Those two districts alone hold about one in five Texas All-State string seats. Austin, Sugar Land, and Frisco corridors carry most of the rest of the top 25.
The honest takeaway for a player: program strength correlates with placements, but 166 schools placed at least one string player in three years. The audition panel never sees your school name. It hears intonation, rhythm, tone, technique, and musicality for about a minute. That part is trainable from any zip code.
Preparing for region or All-State this fall?
Record a take of your etude and get it scored on the five things a panel grades, with the one fix to practice next. The first take is free, no account needed.
Method and source
Aggregated on July 9, 2026 from the public TMEA All-State Historical Rosters (orchestra organizations: Symphony, Philharmonic, Sinfonietta; chairs: Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, String Bass; years: 2024, 2025, 2026). Counts are placements, not unique players. No student names were collected or stored, only school, city, and counts. TMEA is the official source and this page claims no affiliation with TMEA. Compiled by Ethan Kim, violinist of 14 years and founder of Orchestra Kingdom. Corrections welcome.