Senior is school’s first
state jazz band member

By KAITLYN ROLLINS/News Editor
Feb. 26, 2008

            There’s always a first for everything, and being the one to be the first can be a big moment, especially if it’s something that you’ve been dreaming of for quite a while.
            Just ask Erica Wilson, a senior who plays trombone and is the first person from China Spring to ever make All-State Jazz Band.
            “I got the packet in the mail and didn’t know what it was,” Erica said. “When I figured out what it was, I opened it really fast and ran through the house like a banshee screaming, ‘I made State, I made State!’”
            Making State isn’t an easy task. After auditioning and making it past Regionals, Erica had a tape sent in and different judges listened to it.
            “I learned the music at the auditions,” Erica said. “Making it in jazz band was a big surprise.”
            The trombone must definitely be Erica’s calling, considering she made fourth chair out of all the participants in the state.
            “In the next couple of weeks, [everyone that made All-State jazz band] will go to San Antonio for rehearsal and then have a concert soon after,” Erica said. “This is just really cool.”
            The best part about making All-State is hard work paying off, says Erica.
            “I would have been really disappointed if I hadn’t made it,” Erica said. “One of the goals I had set was to make it to State by my senior year, and now I did!”