Johnston is the first from the Houston area to be so honored
Johnston Middle School’s Sinfonia orchestra will be heading to Carnegie Hall next April, thanks to a stellar performance at a National Orchestra Honors competition this spring and the encouragement of an internationally acclaimed conductor.
The orchestra was named one of three national winners in the “middle school strings” category of the contest held in May of 2013 after submitting recordings of two of its performances for judging.
Johnston Middle School’s Sinfonia Orchestra recently earned recognition at both the state and national levels.
The group was ranked as one of the top five most-outstanding middle school orchestras for the third consecutive year by the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), through the TMEA’s Honor Orchestra program. This annual competition seeks “to recognize and honor quality musicianship in the performance of advanced literature at the highest level” since 1960.
On the national front, Johnston was also named one of the Foundation for Music Education’s commended Mark of Excellence winners in the “string orchestra” category of the National Orchestra Honors project (Lanier MS is the other honoree from HISD; it won in the “full orchestra” category).
The Johnston Sinfonia Orchestra is directed by José Rocha.