Six Allen ISD band, choir and orchestra ensembles earned National Winner honors in the 2026 Mark of Excellence competition, placing them in the top 25 percent of entries nationwide.
Four more ensembles were named Commended Winners in the varsity division, and five additional groups won National Winner awards in the non-varsity Citation of Excellence division, according to the district.
The Foundation for Music Education, which sponsors both competitions, evaluates middle school and high school ensembles across the country.
The results span five Allen ISD campuses: Allen High School, Lowery Freshman Center, Ereckson Middle School, Curtis Middle School and Ford Middle School.
Varsity National Winners
The six top-tier winners in the Mark of Excellence varsity division were the Ereckson Middle School Select Treble Choir, directed by Stephanie Petru; Allen High School Jazz Band I, directed by Alex Baczewski; Allen High School Symphony Orchestra, directed by David DeVoto; Allen High School Chamber I Orchestra, directed by DeVoto and Matt Cross; Curtis Middle School Symphony Orchestra, directed by Amanda Su and Clint Schaefer; and Ereckson Middle School Chamber Orchestra, directed by Joanna DeVoto, Rachel Boone and Annabel Choi.
Four ensembles earned Commended Winner recognition in the same division: Ereckson Middle School Select Tenor-Bass Choir (Petru), Ford Middle School Vivocem Tenor-Bass Choir (Leo Castro), Ereckson Middle School Symphony Orchestra (Joanna DeVoto, Matt McGann, Chris Garza) and Curtis Middle School Chamber Orchestra (Su).
Non-varsity standouts
In the Citation of Excellence division for non-varsity groups, five Allen ISD ensembles earned National Winner status. They included Allen High School Wind Symphony, directed by Baczewski; Allen High School Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Matt Cross and Baczewski; Lowery Freshman Center Symphony Orchestra, directed by Charles Robinson, Candi Ice and Joshua Blankenship; Lowery Freshman Center Chamber Orchestra (Robinson); and Curtis Middle School Sinfonia I Orchestra (Abigail Waymon).
Ereckson Middle School Sinfonia I Orchestra, directed by Boone and Joanna DeVoto, was named a Commended Winner.
Broader context
The awards are not isolated. On Aug. 10, four orchestra ensembles from Ereckson Middle School, Curtis Middle School and Allen High School earned top-four finishes at the Texas Music Educators Association Honor Orchestra State Finals. Several of those same groups appear on the Mark of Excellence winners list.
DeVoto, Allen High School's director of orchestras, said after the Aug. 10 TMEA results that placing four ensembles at the state level in the same year was a monumental achievement for the community.
Baczewski directed three of the winning ensembles across both divisions. James Rees, who was named Allen High School's director of bands earlier in 2026, has prior Mark of Excellence National Winner experience, according to the district's hiring announcement. The 505-member Allen High School Eagle Escadrille marching band performs under his direction.
The Allen High School Varsity Men's Choir, directed by Trenton Davis, is scheduled to perform at the 2027 TMEA Clinic and Convention in San Antonio in February 2027. That appearance will mark the first time the AHS Men's Choir has received the invitation.
