Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) proudly announces that 201 outstanding students have earned placement in the highly selective Florida Music Educators Association (FMEA) All-State Ensembles, distinguishing themselves among the state’s most accomplished young performers.
Each year, FMEA conducts rigorous statewide blind auditions to fill positions in 24 different All-State performing groups, spanning elementary, middle and high school levels. Students submit recorded auditions that are evaluated against thousands of peers from across Florida. This year, 20 elementary, 101 middle and 80 high school students in HCPS earned All-State selections from a competitive pool of more than 10,000 audition entries, proudly representing the district at the 2026 FMEA All-State Music Conference held in Tampa.
Superintendent Van Ayres celebrated the students’ achievements, stating: “To see such a large number of Hillsborough County students earn All-State recognition from a field of more than 10,000 auditions is truly remarkable. It shows not only their hard work and talent but also the strong music and fine arts opportunities our school district provides. Our students thrive because they are supported by exceptional teachers who build outstanding music programs, and we are incredibly proud of their success.”
Students selected for All-State represent schools across the district and excel in a wide range of ensembles, including orchestras, choirs, concert bands, jazz groups, guitar ensembles and specialized performance groups.
HCPS congratulates the following students from our area for achieving this prestigious honor:
Elementary School:
All-State Elementary Chorus
- Cecelia Cannon — Collins K-8 School
- Azalea Covarrubias — Collins K-8 School
- Amara Fontanez — Collins K-8 School
Middle School:
All-State Middle School Band
- Giuliana Daniele — Barrington Middle School (Trombone)
Middle School Honors Band
- Jocelyn Laseca — Randall Middle School (Bb Clarinet)
- Seth Carpena — Burns Middle School (Alto Saxophone)
- Joshua Pinizzotto — Mulrennan Middle School (Trombone)
All-State Middle School Orchestra
- Matthew Maloney — Burns Middle School (Violin 1)
Middle School Honors Orchestra
- Emanuel Jerald — Randall Middle School (Violin 2)
All-State Middle School Treble Chorus
- Leah Kim — Randall Middle School (Treble 1)
- Karys Grimaldo — Eisenhower Middle School (Treble 2)
- Keila Akingboye — Barrington Middle School (Treble 3)
- Genesis Hurtado — Barrington Middle School (Treble 3)
- Natalie Simos — Randall Middle School (Treble 3)
- Brunette Telcy — Rodgers Middle School Treble 3)
- Linden Whitman — Barrington Middle School (Treble 3)
All-State Middle School Mixed Chorus
- Hannah Wright — Burns Middle School (Soprano)
- Lily Alerta — Barrington Middle School (Alto)
- Eleanor Floyd — Barrington Middle School (Alto)
- Norah Nadeau — Burns Middle School (Alto)
- Cara Stewart — Barrington Middle School (Alto)
- Rory Steever — Barrington Middle School (Tenor)
- Clark Bentinganan — Barrington Middle School (Bass)
- Andres Ospina — Barrington Middle School (Bass)
- Rishit Srivastava — Barrington Middle School (Bass)
- Noah Ward — Burns Middle School (Bass)
- Austin Zaifert — Barrington Middle School (Bass)
High School:
High School Honors Orchestra
- Angel Mercado — Sumner High School (Violin 1)
- Chase Copeland — Bloomingdale High School (Cello)
- Madison Moncrief — Lennard High School (Cello)
All-State Symphonic Band
- Nicolas Hart — Riverview High School (French Horn)
High School Honors Band
- Tamara Yasin — Lennard High School (Flute)
- Adam Goodenough — Bloomingdale High School (Bb Clarinet)
- Allison Mazuchowski — Brandon High School (Trumpet)
- Ryan Tardy — Lennard High School (French Horn)
- Ian Cortes — Lennard High School (Euphonium)
- David Baca — Durant High School (Percussion)
- Ryan Chandy — Strawberry Crest High School (Percussion)
All-State Popular Music Collective
- Tamara Yasin — Lennard High School (Vocalist)
All-State Concert Orchestra
- Grace Ge — Strawberry Crest High School (Cello)
- Rebecca Jorgensen — Newsome High School (Bass)
All-State Symphonic Orchestra
- Michael Iwanicki — Newsome High School (Cello)
- Romeo Mongaya — Durant High School (Bass)
- Jalina Guo — Newsome High School (Oboe)
All-State Concert Chorus
- Julia Guarnieri — Newsome High School (Soprano 2)
- KAnjali Pathania — Bloomingdale High School (Alto 2)
- Nitya Srikant — Strawberry Crest High School (Alto 2)
- Matthew Bowman — Riverview High School (Tenor 1)
- Ian Silverman — East Bay High School (Tenor 2)
- Ryan Noe — Newsome High School (Bass 2)
- Gavin Taylor — Newsome High School (Bass 2)
All-State SSAA Chorus
- Parker Herold — Newsome High School (Soprano 1)
- Alexis McLean — Newsome High School (Soprano 1)
- Ella Bucko — Newsome High School (Soprano 2)
- Olivia Heinis — Newsome High School (Soprano 2)
- Hayrah Rahman — Lennard High School (Soprano 2)
- Patience Bond — Riverview High School (Alto 1)
- Eliana Estes — East Bay High School (Alto 1)
- Nitya Hargewar — Strawberry Crest High School (Alto 1)
- Devi Schmidt — Newsome High School (Alto 1)
- Layla Williams — Newsome High School (Alto 1)
- Adra Allen — Lennard High School (Alto 2)
- Lorena Figueroa-Carrillo — Newsome High School (Alto 2)
- Neela Lee — Riverview High School (Alto 2)
- Brooke McOrmond — Newsome High School (Alto 2)
- Susanna Perez — Durant High School (Alto 2)
All-State TTBB Chorus
- Jacob Lachance — Sumner High School (Tenor 1)
- Brock Bartlett — Newsome High School (Tenor 2)
- Owen Kudia — Newsome High School (Tenor 2)
- Jacob Loviska — East Bay High School (Tenor 2)
- Patrick Mares — Bloomingdale High School (Bass 1)
- Keegan Hartung — East Bay High School (Bass 2)
To learn more about fine and performing arts at HCPS, visit www.hillsboroughschools.org.
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