Edna sends nine to 3A State Solo & Ensemble
Edna High School is sending two ensembles and a soloist to the 3A State competition at the end of May. Saxophone quartet Jackie Avalos, Michael Martin, Andy Schroer and Michael Spree, plus percussion ensemble, Julian Escobar, Anthony Rojas, JR Tello, and siblings Kyle and Tiffany Zheng.
Band director Russell Balusek, who’s been with EISD for nine years, said 2025 will be the second year to state for Schroer, K. Zheng, and Rojas, while T. Zheng is making her third trip.
“Almost all of these students learned their music for this outside of school time, so they’ve put in a lot of extra work and effort for themselves,” he said.
Schroer will be playing the piano for his solo, and although he’s participated at the state level before, he said this year feels like the year where everything has clicked. Balusek agreed, saying Schroer as a musi- cian grew tremendously since the last school year, and he played this year at Regionals better than he did last year at State.
“Part of it is maturity and experience, but a lot is that his skill level has put him in a new level of performance,” Balusek said. “He’s moved beyond just learning notes and rhythms, he’s performing the music with the emotion and spirit that it was intended to.”
Schroer has chosen to play Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, the third movement, which lasts about six to eight minutes. There’s been a particular relationship between Schroer and this specific movement.
“Last year it wasn’t on the list, but I really wanted to learn this one, so I started practicing it on my own,” the junior said. “Then when I found it this year on the list I was really happy, so then I started working really hard on it.”
He said it’s one of the most difficult pieces he’s ever learned. He practiced days and days until he had a good start, and then his faith and belief in himself knew he could learn the entire piece. This allowed him to continue to work on it until he memorized it completely. In addition to choosing a Class 1 piece, which is college-level literate, one must memorize what they play in order to qualify for state.
If you don’t know the piece already, find Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata online: it’s a very recognizable tune. The piece is heavy and mature with ominous tones, yet the difficulty is attempting to keep the music light, despite the understanding that night slowly edges itself into day. The third movement is quick and concise, with wild fingers attacking the correct keys.
Balusek said everything Schroer has earned has been through old-fashioned hard work and dedication, rather than being born with superpowers to play the piano.
“He puts in hours and hours of time sitting on a piano bench and getting to work at home, and the results show every day when he comes back to school,” he said. “And his ensemble put in more hours than any other group after school.”
Schroer began playing the piano at a young age, around six years old. He has been studying for a decade at Enny’s Music School in Victoria, better known as Enny Velasquez.
That sort of background gave him the discipline to continue his craft in solitude at home.
The state competition begins in late May, Schroer said in Pflugerville. One is the best rating, and five is the least.
Schroer is the son of Andy (better known as Pastor Andy) and Clariza. He also participates in debate, art and STEM, plus several other clubs.
“In class Andy is sort of quiet and reserved, and outside of performing, he’s an awesome student and classmate,” Balusek said. “He’s pretty humble and caring, and always respectful.”
“I like representing Edna because of how small it is, and I like helping Edna to get well-known,” Schroer said.
