Ananya Nair and Jonathan London
Sophomore Ananya Nair and Senior Jonathan London were recently accepted into TMEA All-State Orchestra. Over 70,000 high school students compete in TMEA Region across Texas, and Ananya and Jonathan were a part of the select few that made it.
Ananya has been a violinist for 10 years, a member of the Reedy High School Symphonic Orchestra, and was previously accepted into All-State during 2020. Jonathan has been a cellist for 7 years, a member of the Reedy High School Symphonic Orchestra, and is the current Reedy Orchestra president. Both students have made many achievements regarding orchestra and their instruments.
To qualify for All-State Orchestra, the two had to be accepted into All-Region. Then, they had to compete in the pre-area round of judging before the area round that determined those who made All-State. Finally, their recorded excerpts were judged for chair rankings, and Ananya ranked 43, while Jonathan ranked 39.
This long and tedious audition process was described as "nerve-wracking," but Ananya stated, "The fact that I practiced for a long time made it easier, and I just wanted to go out there and do my best." Jonathan agreed, sharing, "I just needed to learn to play what I practiced and not worry about the competition."
Ananya and Jonathan are both hardworking students and musicians who greatly enjoy playing their instruments. Jonathan expressed that playing his instrument is something that "takes the stress off" of schoolwork. Practicing helps him "focus on something" so he can "get back to focusing" on the other work he needs to do. Ananya also says it is a "stress reliever" and it helps her "feel productive" while relaxing at the same time.
The Reedy Orchestra is incredibly proud of Ananya and Jonathan's achievement in All-State Orchestra and can't wait to see their upcoming musical accomplishments.
Bruce Wu
Last week, Reedy Freshman Bruce Wu, competed in a water polo tournament with the Mavericks team and won third place. They competed against 12 teams and through teamwork made it through a contentious game.
Bruce is a violinist in the Reedy Camerata Orchestra and has participated in water polo for two years. Originally, he joined the sport through his parent's suggestion. "My parents introduced it to me and I thought it'd be pretty interesting," Bruce said.
He plays with the Mavericks team in the Colony twice a week and the tournament was an exciting day. It was a close game, as the team lost one of the games and was tied to win another. In this tense game, the opponents participated in a shoot-off where each person shot until they were no longer tied.
Bruce said the most fun part was "cheering on teammates" and overall getting to play the game. Through the series of events, he learned "to be more aggressive" and to use "more strategy" when playing.
Bruce greatly enjoys water polo as he says it is a "unique sport" and very uncommon because not many sports "swim and fight or shoot goals at the same time." This complex sport is Bruce's favorite, and he's even been recommended by family to create a water polo team at Reedy.
Reedy Orchestra is proud of Bruce for the incredible accomplishment of third place in the water polo tournament and we hope to see more from the Mavericks team.