Sofia Rendek, a member of the Faith West Academy Choir, performed with the Texas All-State Choir in San Antonio, Saturday, February 13, 2016. The performance was held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center as part of the 2016 Texas Music Educators Association Convention. Sofia, a 10th grade student, earned third chair Soprano 1 for the State Performance. She was chosen for this prestigious honor through a competitive process held this year across the state at district, region, and area levels. “It is exceedingly difficult to earn a chair in one of the All-State Choirs,” said Faith West Academy choir director Carren Ellis. Only the top 3% of 64,000 musicians who initially audition become all-state musicians.
Sofia is a student of Michel Dial & David Golasso, and she sings at school under the direction of Mrs. Ellis, who is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA). This was Sofia’s third time competing at the area level but her first time to perform as a member of a TMEA All-State organization.
Sofia’s interest in music began in 5th grade. She was exposed rock music at an early age, as her dad toured with the band Rush. She had the opportunity to meet Geddy Lee, lead vocalist for Rush, on several occasions, and he remains one of her favorite singers today, along with Ariana Grande. However, Sofia’s favorite music interest is operatic in style, from the Romantic period of the late 18th and early 19th century. She sited Johann Sebastian Bach as one of her favorite composers.
In preparing for competition, she will drink as many as eight bags of tea, followed by warm-ups. She stated that she doesn’t get nervous before an audition, and attributes that to her mother who peaked her interest in drama at an early age, boosting her self-confidence. “The most difficult part of an audition,’ she says, ‘is how to set the tone for the piece. Understanding the meaning of the piece, and how to put my own stuff, my own artistic style into the piece, is critical.”Sofia is the daughter of Steve and Jennifer Rendek of Katy.
The Texas Music Educators Association is an association of over 12,000 school music educators dedicated to promoting excellence in music education. Go to www.tmea.org/convention for more information.
